DesertHealing Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 So I finished my whole30 today and DO feel a bit better than when I started, more in terms of energy than pain. I still have plenty of achy pain. But I refuse to give up yet, I think that for something as serious as a supposed chronic illness, I need to give it more time. So here's to another 60 days at least. Anyone want to join me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Argh, Doubts and Fear today even though I am feeling okay (by my new standards, the way I feel for most people would still be pretty weak and achey and yucky) Doing this diet really isn't a huge sacrifice when it could possibly help me recover my health. Part of my doubt and uncertainty comes from the fact that I am actually following a number of regimens at once, some are geared towards the more long-term goal of complete recovery from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue, such as this diet, and a meditation mind-body program I am doing, rolfing, massage, acupuncture and swimming daily and a number of supplements and oil pulling. But some of my treatments are just necessary to be able to cope and retain some function in my day to day life, work at least part-time and care for my 3-year old son. I hate having to take medication, I have never been medicated in my life but after 8 months of pain I had to do something. But then I worry, what if some of my meds are preventing me from healing leaky gut (which I am not sure I have since I have no IBS or digestive symptoms). Okay, back to the whole90 part, some issues: I'm sort of running out of recipes I like and just getting sick of meat, plus I absolutely cannot stomach meat for breakfast. I. just. can't. I love eating out!!! And its so hard on this diet. What do you guys think about fish tacos breaded in plantain instead of bread, and served in lettuce instead of tortilla with chipotle mayo? That is what I order at my favorite place along with fried yuca. Is fried okay once in a while? I am considering transitioning from whole30 to the GAPS diet which has a more long-term plan and starting to consume raw milk products and kefir etc. Anyone have any experience with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Try it out and keep writing here! It's kind of the beauty of this forum is that you can try different things and see what works and what doesn't. I think the positive effects do begin to manifest themselves over the long term so I plan to refocus and do another Whole30 in January. I sometimes wonder if other things would work better, but then I figure it's just sticking to something that is healthy for a long enough period of time that counts. I hope you keep writing because I'd love to know how the fibromyalgia responds over time. One of my friends has it and I know he's struggled with things. (Have you seen the new research talking about the causes of it by the way? I'd be curious about your thoughts on it...http://www.mecfsforums.com/index.php?topic=18043.0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Thanks for your support, yes I have seen the research and really hope it leads to better treatment, but there have been many other findings of the "cause" of fibromyalgia and its crazy because these findings are all over the place. I subscribe more to the concept that a few have put out that it is really a neurologically driven dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system- that our bodies are always in "fight or flight" whilst most people are only in that setting when being chased by a bear or something. I have decided that for now what is most beneficial to me is to focus on healing and recovery stories and to try what has worked for other people and ignore all the extremely negative, depressing and scary content that is on the web. I am only 33, have a beautiful 3-year old son and my whole life ahead of me, I have to get better. And you know what, it pretty much works! I am sooo much better than I was 5 months ago and through trial and error I keep finding things that work a bit. Some things I would recommend for your friend: the book and website "CFS Unravelled" by Dan Neuffer, The Gupta Amygdala Retraining Program, a drug with no side effects and only beneficial results called Low Dose Naltrexone, and this diet or something similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Back to my Whole90. M1: Kale, mushroom Omelet with hot sauce and decaf coffee Snacks/ M2: a few mandarins, 2 kiwis, flax chips, I cheated and ate a ginger snap. M3: Stir fry with cabbage, kale, mushrooms, onion, garlic, zucchini and some chicken drumsticks I'm trying to eat more green vegetables, I realized that maybe I have been "officially" doing whole30, but eating more potatoes and eggs and fruit and nuts and probably not enough veggies. No exercise today but I swam yesterday evening and felt really good afterwards, the type of good that restores my hope for a bit. Today was just a dark, cold day and my son has a cold and my husband is in Architecture school finals so it was a lazy day at home, which is okay sometimes. I also feel like I am also fighting off the cold so resting is probably a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drtracyb Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 My aches basically disappeared while I was on my whole30. I am post- whole30 now but have stayed Paleo compliant because the aches are just not worth it. I find I have developed aversions to grains and dairy, just imagining the aches later. I have trouble making myself eat non-starchy vegetables to the level we are supposed to. Luckily, in post-whole30 world, I have been eating a lot of soups with blended vegetables. During my whole30 I roasted broccoli and brussels sprouts and still had them left over at the end. My favorite recipe at the moment is roasted butternut and vegetable (onions, carrots, garlic, sweet potato) soup, which I have been having daily for M1. I also made Mediterranean Pot Roast with leeks, carrots, mushrooms and green olives. That was delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 That is so great drtracyb!! That is what I was hoping for but the aches are still pretty persistent, I plan on giving it plenty of time though. Why do you think the problem with non-starchy vegetables?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drtracyb Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Oops, I didn't mean I have trouble with vegetables in that they cause me pain. I have trouble making myself eat enough of them cuz they're not as tasty as the others and don't have the nice creamy mouth feel. Why else is it so hard to get kids (young and old) to eat their vegetables? My rheumatologist recommends making sure you get adequate sleep, as fibromyalgia is related to lack of the right REM sleep. And he recommends sitting in a hot tub daily. Not that I do that, but he recommends it. I suspect my version of aches is most related to dairy, but most certainly living a whole30 lifestyle has almost eliminated my aches for the moment. However, I am a graveyard shift worker and never get adequate sleep, so I still notice I get achy if my sleep pattern has been disrupted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drtracyb Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 The other fibromyalgia person on this board that I have corresponded with, got a diagnosis of gout while she was on her whole30, which explained her aches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Isnt it funny how we are all so different with Fibro? I have my sleep pretty much resolved and it does help but not a ton. Actually I'm not even sure if my diagnosis is Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue, probably both but I don't have the tender points, just deep aches and fatigue and sometimes nausea although that is mostly resolved. I LOVE the hot tub and sauna at my gym and that, along with swimming is probably what helps me the most, I can feel almost "normal" for a few hours afterwards. I'm just going to keep trying as much as possible, I like the theory by Dan Neuffer that to get out of CFS/ Fibro is sort of like preparing a ship to sail, you have to have quite a lot of variables lined up and ready to go in order to be ready to set sail or start getting better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snailytrail Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Hi, good luck with everything! I have CFS, sadly my energy levels haven't changed at all for doing this. But it's still worth it for me. I used to get blood sugar crashes before every meal which made my health crash a bit if I was late eating and I don't get that anymore, which is something. For me now it's more about staying as healthy as I can and not gaining any additional health issues over the next 20/30 years, because life is already tough enough! I hope you see more improvements in your energy though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Good luck to you too snailytrail, don't give up on getting better! So today I full-on cheated, considerably but not over-the-top. I had some refried beans with my huevos at breakfast. I had some soy milk in my decaf starbucks bc I forgot to bring my coconut milk. I ate one of my son's natural gummy bears I tried a weird piece of gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free pizza called Daiya that still seemed to have some prohibited rice derivitives and oils. I ate a bite of my son's ice cream bar. Oh, and I am sort of totally eating white potatoes ocassionally, hard to avoid. Sort of satisfying honestly but I will be paying attention to see if I feel any worse, since I've actually been doing pretty well. I even worked an AM and PM job today and did okay. I'm just hoping that all of my improvement is not due to the low dose of amitryptiline (10 mg) that I started about a week ago. I want lasting change! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertHealing Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 My cheating heart! And belly! Fudge Brownie Sundae, need I say more? ( a few bites, not the whole thing) Argh, this is happening more and more often. Trying to get back on the train and even trying to convince my husband to do it for his allergies. Also we are about to go on vacation so I am worried I will behave even worse, maybe I should just let myself take a break and see how I feel? But on the other hand I really want to give this a consistent 90 days or even 6 months to see its true potential. Honestly part of the "problem" is that I am feeling better with the help of some meds and am sort of back to living life, hence less incentive to really do this diet. But come on me, its not that hard! And the potential benefits are greater than that of some delicious treats! Off to bed, tomorrow is another day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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