Glynis Steele
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This is the third out of 4 Januaries that I've been trying to figure out what food is bothering me this time. Three years ago, it was gluten. Last year, it was dairy and soy, with more to follow by the time my problem gall bladder was diagnosed and removed. Now, I'm once again having a problem with dairy or soy, or possibly both. This time, I suspect I've developed some new food sensitivities. Those are among the many joys of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
This is one of the areas of our illness that we don't know a lot about, other than that it's really common for us to have food sensitivities. I think the most convincing theory I've seen comes from Ginevra Liptan, MD, and is outlined in her book Figuring Out Fibromyalgia. Here's her theory in a nutshell:
Our autonomic nervous system has 2 modes - sympathetic, which is known as fight-or-flight; and parasympathetic, which is known as rest-and-digest.
In us, it's stuck in fight-or-flight, meaning blood is diverted away from the digestive system.
That causes the spaces between cells to widen, which allows tiny food particles to slip between them and escape into the blood stream, which leads to sensitivities.
Doctors can test for food sensitivities, but there's disagreement between mainstream and holistic medicine as to which tests are most accurate. You can check for food sensitivities on your own as well:
Find Food Sensitivities With the Elimination Diet
I first did the elimination diet a few months after my fibromyalgia diagnosis. It's a huge pain, but it doesn't last long and is worth doing, since food sensitivities can cause horrible digestive symptoms and exacerbate your other symptoms as well. It involves cutting back to very few foods and then reintroducing one category at a time. I was frustrated the first time because I didn't find anything, but at least I knew it wasn't a food problem.
Later, when the gluten issue was becoming apparent, I had a pretty good indication it was gluten and tried eliminating just that. It helped within just a few days, and when I tried to re-introduce gluten, I was back to square one. (Then I needed to be tested for Celiac disease, which is an autoimmune condition, and fortunately I don't have it.)
Both with my gluten problem and last year with my bad gall bladder, I waited to long to go to the doctor. Because of that, I suffered longer than I needed to and let the problem impact my life too much. This time, I'm going in sooner. If it is food sensitivities, I need to find out quickly so I can get rid of the symptoms that are disrupting my life - I don't need more fatigue, sleep problems, muscle pain and puffiness, thank you very much! If it's not, at least we'll have eliminated that so we can look for other issues.
And that reminds me - don't let your doctor blow off digestive problems as "just" fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. Yes, we're prone to food sensitivities and also to irritable bowel syndrome, but those are problems that need to be diagnosed and treated separately. Additionally, our existing illnesses don't prevent us from developing other problems, like my gall bladder infection or other serious digestive problems. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Do you have food sensitivities? What bothers you, and what symptoms does it cause? Did you find sensitivities through testing or the elimination diet? Leave your comments below!
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2...ith-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm
This is the third out of 4 Januaries that I've been trying to figure out what food is bothering me this time. Three years ago, it was gluten. Last year, it was dairy and soy, with more to follow by the time my problem gall bladder was diagnosed and removed. Now, I'm once again having a problem with dairy or soy, or possibly both. This time, I suspect I've developed some new food sensitivities. Those are among the many joys of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
This is one of the areas of our illness that we don't know a lot about, other than that it's really common for us to have food sensitivities. I think the most convincing theory I've seen comes from Ginevra Liptan, MD, and is outlined in her book Figuring Out Fibromyalgia. Here's her theory in a nutshell:
Our autonomic nervous system has 2 modes - sympathetic, which is known as fight-or-flight; and parasympathetic, which is known as rest-and-digest.
In us, it's stuck in fight-or-flight, meaning blood is diverted away from the digestive system.
That causes the spaces between cells to widen, which allows tiny food particles to slip between them and escape into the blood stream, which leads to sensitivities.
Doctors can test for food sensitivities, but there's disagreement between mainstream and holistic medicine as to which tests are most accurate. You can check for food sensitivities on your own as well:
Find Food Sensitivities With the Elimination Diet
I first did the elimination diet a few months after my fibromyalgia diagnosis. It's a huge pain, but it doesn't last long and is worth doing, since food sensitivities can cause horrible digestive symptoms and exacerbate your other symptoms as well. It involves cutting back to very few foods and then reintroducing one category at a time. I was frustrated the first time because I didn't find anything, but at least I knew it wasn't a food problem.
Later, when the gluten issue was becoming apparent, I had a pretty good indication it was gluten and tried eliminating just that. It helped within just a few days, and when I tried to re-introduce gluten, I was back to square one. (Then I needed to be tested for Celiac disease, which is an autoimmune condition, and fortunately I don't have it.)
Both with my gluten problem and last year with my bad gall bladder, I waited to long to go to the doctor. Because of that, I suffered longer than I needed to and let the problem impact my life too much. This time, I'm going in sooner. If it is food sensitivities, I need to find out quickly so I can get rid of the symptoms that are disrupting my life - I don't need more fatigue, sleep problems, muscle pain and puffiness, thank you very much! If it's not, at least we'll have eliminated that so we can look for other issues.
And that reminds me - don't let your doctor blow off digestive problems as "just" fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. Yes, we're prone to food sensitivities and also to irritable bowel syndrome, but those are problems that need to be diagnosed and treated separately. Additionally, our existing illnesses don't prevent us from developing other problems, like my gall bladder infection or other serious digestive problems. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Do you have food sensitivities? What bothers you, and what symptoms does it cause? Did you find sensitivities through testing or the elimination diet? Leave your comments below!
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2...ith-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm