Laura Austin Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 My ND has been encouraging me to make some dietary changes to help me with my health problems. I have celiac, fibromyalgia, and perhaps arthritis. My thyroid was wonky during my last pregnancy and postpartum period, but has since stablized. I've been gluten free for years, and dairy-lite (sometimes in baked goods or cheap milk chocolate, rarely cheese). My ND really thinks that the Whole 30 plan would really benefit me. I think she wants me to follow the AIP, because she specifically say, "no nuts, seeds, or eggs." She didn't specifically say no nightshades, but since I'm having trouble eating anything without pain, and am off all veggies very temporarily, it was kind of implied. Anyone else been through this? This week (from Jan1) I've done bone broth (with onion,carrot, and celery scraps), turkey, lamb, coconut, and some gentle herbal teas. (And, I confess, some black tea to get through the withdrawal headaches from not having coffee.) I'm desperate to add veggies back in to my diet. I tried adding some finely chopped zucchini squash to my broth at lunch today. Not sure if it was a pass or not, from a tummy standpoint. From a taste standpoint... Bleh. Not great. I was vegetarian (or nearly) for years, and only added meat back in to my diet because we thought it might help improve my health. My husband is still vegetarian, and extremely not thrilled to have meat in the house, especially stinky meats like lamb. The good news is, my stomach pain is less. I had some stabby/burning when I had black pepper the other day, so I guess that's out even though it isn't a nightshade. The bad news is, I don't know where I want to go from here. I don't feel that being on a severe elimination diet is great for my relationship with food, but being in pain every time I eat, or being afraid to eat... Not so great. Anyone else been where I am now? Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I had different health issues, but I totally get the pain with eating!! Endometriosis / likely hypopituitary / hypothyroidism made my life in general pretty hellish for a few year, and within a few months, I figured out that some foods were making it worse. For most people, an elimination diet with re-introduction makes total sense - gives them a chance to eat clean, they feel great, and then they see what makes them feel worse. With people like us, well, a lot of the stuff that makes them feel good makes us (or at least me!) feel pain, and that can feel pretty defeating when you don't have it all narrowed down between what's good for you and what isn't... I'm not discouraging you from doing a Whole30 at all, just letting you know that you're not going through this alone! My Whole30 doesn't look like everyone else in that I have some additional foods to exclude. But, the good news is that some foods don't affect me nearly as much as they used to. And I'm testing eggs now and although the jury is still out, I'm not having as many issues with them as I used to. My goal is that eventually, some of the more normal foods can be regular staples in my diet again. I guess I just want to give you hope that things might improve over time! Any chance your NP offers food allergy testing? For me, that was the absolute turning point. I'd often eat something and have a reaction pretty quickly and try to dissect what was causing the pain, but I always came up short or made the wrong assumptions. I went to an allergist for a scratch test that revealed nothing, not even the things I reacted to as a kid (my mom still had my records!). But, my integrative doc did a blood allergy test and it was like a light bulb went on! It really pinpointed the things that prompted pain, some of them were things I never would have figured out on my own (hello citrus - it's in just about everything!). From there, I was able to fine-tune my diet accordingly. Although I'm still miffed about some things that affect me in the wrong way, at least I feel much more in control when it does happen because 9 times out of 10, it's because I chose to cheat. Hang in there! The fact that you're not having as much tummy pain is a good start, and you're at the beginning yet. Head on over to the recipe thread, see if you can get inspired and can modify a few things to meet your needs until you nail down what your needs are! Oh, and I assume your NP is closely monitoring your thyroid? For me, (and I don't know quite why) NOTHING got better until that was treated, including some of the food reactions. If you're borderline low, even trying a small dose might do the trick if your NP is in the camp that agrees that thyroid labs aren't black/white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Austin Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 With people like us, well, a lot of the stuff that makes them feel good makes us (or at least me!) feel pain, and that can feel pretty defeating when you don't have it all narrowed down between what's good for you and what isn't... I'm not discouraging you from doing a Whole30 at all, just letting you know that you're not going through this alone! Thank you for the empathy and the BTDT. It really helps! Any chance your NP offers food allergy testing? <snip> Hang in there! The fact that you're not having as much tummy pain is a good start, and you're at the beginning yet. Head on over to the recipe thread, see if you can get inspired and can modify a few things to meet your needs until you nail down what your needs are! Oh, and I assume your NP is closely monitoring your thyroid? Yes, I've had both IGE (traditional allergist) and IGG (the naturopath sort) testing. I have classic allergies to dairy and shellfish, but absolutely NOTHING showed up on my IgG panel. Like, my ND had never seen such clean results. So my reactions are either through another mechanism, or I have something else going on. My baby is 2 now, so we're at the "every six months" level for the thyroid testing. But maybe I will call her just to double check my most recent results. My thyroid craziness cause bad morning sickness into my 7th month, at which point we noticed my T3 was off and put me on Armour. I would be really happy if it were that easy to feel better. *sigh* Onward to day five! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pomme Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Just chiming in to say that you have my condolences on the out-of-whack food tolerances. I've never had that, but I do have fibro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Sounds like you have a good doc!! If nothing showed up on your food allergy testing, I'd be even more optimistic about how you may feel during/after your Whole30! Good luck, and don't give up - you'll get there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaela Elmore Cogswell Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I truly feel for your situation. It must be really frustrating to not know what you can and can't eat. Regarding the stomach pain, have they checked you for H. Pylori (stomach ulcer virus) and/or GERD? Maybe some digestive enzymes might be of help to you if you have one or both of those conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Austin Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 I truly feel for your situation. It must be really frustrating to not know what you can and can't eat. Regarding the stomach pain, have they checked you for H. Pylori (stomach ulcer virus) and/or GERD? Maybe some digestive enzymes might be of help to you if you have one or both of those conditions. Thanks Michaela. I am not sure if I was tested for H. Pylori. I doubt I was tested for GERD. I am on enzymes now, not sure if they are helping or not... Just thought I would update. I couldn't deal with switching my diet so drastically, and decided to add eggs and almonds back in. I seem to be tolerating them just fine, though it's impossible to know with 100% certainty since I didn't reach baseline (a complete absense of symptoms). The stomach burning seems to be gone, though I still get a bit of tenderness here and there. I've kept coffee and nightshades out, and of course the standard grains/sugar/dairy/legumes. Today is day 13, and I think I'm feeling better, overall. One day at a time. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 That sounds pretty positive, overall. I hope you continue to feel relief, bit by bit. Sending happy tummy vibes your way (happy tummy vibes are Whole30 compliant!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsona Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Hi Laura, I don't have celiac, but I am gluten intolerant and I also have h pylori (and a couple of other gross things in the gut) and I am doing a mix of the autoimmune protocol and the IBS protocol, so I feel ya! I am keeping nuts, eggs, nightshades, and caffeine out as well. I got completely bummed out about that at the beginning, but am starting to feel the benefits. My burning has decreased as well as my bloating and pain, and I am only on day 10. Have you been able to add any more veggies in? I found that starchy and root vegetables do awesome on my stomach. Do you like those? I also added some raw sauerkraut (started small) and this really helps if I have a little before each meal. I do enzymes, but that actually helped me even more. I know that it isn't for everyone because all tummies are individual. I also do lots of broth, it feels good on my tummy and is really healing. I hope you are doing well on this journey. I keep reminding myself that it is worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitmao Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Had you just recently gotten the wheat/grains out of your diet? I'm not sure how far away from this style of eating you've been, so I may make no sense here. If you're just recently cutting out certain foods that have been harming you (like wheat and dairy), this may just be a period of healing you have to go through. It may take a few months or longer, but I bet if you stayed the course (as boring food choice wise or difficult as that is), you'll start healing faster and possibly be able to get a much greater variety of foods into your diet. I know someone who can't eat dairy, wheat, a variety of other grains, sugar, soy (but she avoids all legumes), eggs, most seed oils, nuts, nightshades, shellfish and (as crazy as this is) any part of beef (not even broth). She has just gotten very experimental with every last thing she does feel o.k. eating and that's how she gets by. She's actually had to eat that was for many years, but it is worth it to her to go to that lengths in order to feel healthy. I sure hope you start feeling dramatically better, however you have to eat, and that becomes worth all the food sacrifices to you. Because good health is just priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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