Elimination Diet to Find Food Sensitivities

One of the first things I learned when diagnosed with fibromyalgia was that all autoimmune disorders have triggers -- things in the environment that make symptoms worse. These triggers don't cause autoimmune disorders but they certainly make them more uncomfortable and they are different for everyone. In addition to lack of sleep and stress, I have learned that food is a big trigger for me. I went through an elimination diet process a year ago when I was diagnosed. It was recommended that I eliminate all food for a few days and stick to diet of Ensure or Boost and water before reintroducing foods. Within 3 days of eliminating everything I noticed big changes. It had been weeks since I was able to cross my legs while sitting or walk to and from work without major muscle cramps and suddenly, I could cross my legs again and didn't have to take breaks on my walk. I knew that something I had been eating was causing me pain.

At the time, I reintroduced foods in pretty broad groups. For example, I reintroduced all vegetables at the same time not realizing that some vegetables, like bell peppers and tomatoes could cause inflammation. I also learned, during the dairy week, that I could eat processed "cheese" like velveeta but reacted to good cheese like real mozzarella. The biggest triggers were white potatoes and gluten. The day I ate hash browns at breakfast and french fries at lunch I found myself in bed, barely able to move, with muscle cramps up and down my legs by dinner time. When I ate gluten, my bowels reacted strongly. This may be too much information, but gluten makes me ridiculously bloated and causes me to pass gas and poop all day! Without the advice I received to do an elimination diet, I don't know if I would have ever realized that eating what I thought were perfectly normal foods was causing me so much pain. 

Over the last few months, my pain has been increasing. Last week I learned that I now have pain in more tender points than I did when I was diagnosed. Part of a fibromyalgia diagnosis comes from having pain when gentle pressure is applied to at least 11 tender points. A year ago, I felt pain at 12 points and now I feel pain at all 18. I think this is attributed to lack of sleep, stress, the horribly cold winter we have had, and to foods I may have missed during my first elimination diet. I've learned that there are several foods that are known to contribute to inflammation and pain. Combining that with the knowledge that I react to weird things, like white potatoes, makes me think I need to spread out the foods that I reintroduce.

These are some of the foods that are known to cause inflammation:

• Artificial colors
• Salt
• Monosodium glutamate
• Soy
• Dairy
• Gluten
• Corn
• Oats
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Eggs (egg whites may be ok while yolks may not)
• Nightshades (peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, paprika)
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Beef
• Pork
• Yeast
• Vegetable oil
• Caffeine (in drinks, tea, and chocolate)
• Alcohol
• Sugar
• Citrus fruits

Quite a list, right?! Guess how many of these foods I have been eating without realizing they could be causing me pain? I need to come up with a whole new food reintroduction plan so I don't miss anything. Who likes to be in pain? I certainly don't! If I can reduce pain be avoiding some very specific foods, I'm going to do it. 

I'm going away for an indulgent child-free and husband-free weekend this weekend and plan on savoring the last bites I may ever actually enjoy of some of these pain-causing foods. My new elimination diet starts Monday with a week of my trusty favorites: Ensure and Boost. After that, I will stay on Ensure and Boost while I very slowly attempt to reintroduce a new food into my diet every three or four days. I know that I can have a reaction within a few hours, but it can sometimes take a few days, so I have to be patient otherwise I may miss something again. I'm still tinkering with my new plan, but once I have it figured out, I will be sure to post it!