Advice for Friend - Newly on AIP, Fibro, RA, etc.

KnitOrMiss

So a good friend of mine from high school has just been diagnosed this year with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and a handful of other assorteds that go along with this horrible diagnosis. She just did the allergy reactions testing to foods and found out like many of you that she's allergic to nearly everything she's ever eaten. I remember eggs, they were testing further on dairy, a bunch of meats, potatoes, coffee, chocolate, gluten, etc.

She does not do low carb specifically, but she is having a really, really hard time figuring out what she can actually eat. She has an account here but isn't active. I think her ID here is something to do with "AGirlGettingHealthy" or something. I'll ping her again on Facebook if I can't find her here again.

I just wanted to know if any of you who've experience this directly or through close friends/family that might have ideas for her to help her find what she can eat. She's on a drug regimen at this point that's just crazy while they're trying to manage all her pain.

Thanks in advance, everyone.

Twibbly

Look into the AIP stuff. I'll post links from my computer, but Google Phoenix Helix, The Paleo Mom, and He Doesn't Know It's Paleo. Also, I'm looking into doing the Wahls Protocol.

Some of them have meal plans available. Practical Paleo has one as well, but you have to pay attention because every once in a while, she forgets a modification.

nvmomketo

I had a girlfriend who sort of followed an AIP style of diet, years before the term was coined. She has an autoimmune condition that caused her face to slump so her eyes wouldn't open. The steroids were a bandaid for her. After a year or so eating gluten free, 100% orgainc, no processed foods, and a veggie heavy diet her condition reversed itself and hasn't shown itself again for 12 years.

I came to LCHF because of my arthritis pain. In the last two years I have developed osteoarthritis in my knees and hips which I never expected to happen in my late 30's. I also have a few autoimmune disorders that cause inflammatory arthritis - the flare-up includes flu like feelings, mouth sores, fatigue, and symmetrical arthralgias in my upper body (so it becomes difficult to use scissors or dry my hair).

I have cut eggs, dairy and nuts from my diet in the past and it didn't appear to help so I added them back in (no intolerances there). I'm gluten free already. Going GF did help a LOT; it made the difference of a flare-up lasting two weeks, and staying mild, rather than lasting 4 months and seriously affecting my life.

I decided on LCHF with the hope that inflammatory sugar reductions would help with my pain. So fair it has helped a good deal with my hips and knees. I'm quite happy with it.

As for the infammatory (autoimmune symptoms) it hasn't helped yet and may even have set it off again. Within days of going into ketosis a minor flare-up happened. I'm getting another one today. I'm not sure if it is the LCHF WOE or the weight loss (I'm assuming the body wouldn't enjoy that).

A cousin of mine has RA and he finds cutting out nightshades and tomatoes helps him a great deal.

I think it is one of those things where what works for one may not work for another.

BTW, you might want to advise her to get tested for celiac disease if she is gluten intolerant. Those with an autoimmune disease are MUCH more likely to develop celiac than the regular population.

I wish her luck.

kimberwolf71

I also had a friend who over a decade received the exact same diagnosis'... then seizures started and it was a year long battle between specialists trying to decide if she had epilepsy or MS (symptoms and testing kept contradicting the "norm"). The final diagnosis... Lyme Disease. No fibro, no RA. Lyme has the ability to manifest itself as almost any of the auto-immune. She isn't following a specific diet, but often mentions she should in an attempt to expedite treatment, but she just isn't there...

Wish your friend well. We must advocate for our own health, always.

sweetteadrinker2

Perhaps a south beach diet combined with a low fodmap diet would be good for her. You could remove any known intolerance and go from there. It's kind of a new approach from what I hear, but it's designed to manage nerve pain and flareups.

toadqueen

I have fibromyalgia, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and was Type 2 Diabetic. I underwent food sensitivity testing and was found to be unable to tolerate a lot foods and chemicals. My suggestion for your friend is to look into the LEAP-MRT process. She doesn't need the $300-400 test, just follow the protocol. It's like an elimination diet based on what she has learned from her testing. There are 4 phases in which she starts off for 5-7 days eating a very strict diet of the 25 foods she is least sensitive to comprised of 5 or 6 major food groups(meat, dairy, grains, veggies, fruit, etc). After that time period, you add the next group of foods and so on one at a time with days between making note of how they effect her. Eventually, she will find there are some foods she can add back in and some she cannot. I would also have her look at the GAPS diet. This is the one that advocated bone and meat broths to heal the gut. Both of these have helped me to eat something (GAPS) and learn what I really cannot.

I still have the pain of fibromyalgia and most of the hypothyroid symptoms but this process can take years. I can feel that I am less inflamed when I eat this way. I no longer label myself diabetic because my blood glucose has remained consistently in the 70-80 range since I started eating a LCHF diet in 2009 even when I eat inappropriately.

Feel free to have her contact me directly if she would care to speak with someone who lives with this. I know what it is like to be afraid to eat because of the pain and inflammation that so many foods can cause someone with autoimmune.

Cheesy567

Twibbly wrote: »

Look into the AIP stuff. I'll post links from my computer, but Google Phoenix Helix, The Paleo Mom, and He Doesn't Know It's Paleo. Also, I'm looking into doing the Wahls Protocol.

Some of them have meal plans available. Practical Paleo has one as well, but you have to pay attention because every once in a while, she forgets a modification.

Great advice! I've been on the AIP, it's a big transition at first but very eye-opening when you do reintroductions.

canadjineh

I have diagnosed Fibro (5 years) and found that going strict GF (celiac style) means I don't have to take drugs to manage pain or fatigue. She may find the same although my options are not as limited as hers since I have no problems with pre-digested dairy, eggs, the nightshade family, etc. I also have OA but that is from car and workplace accidents - not the same as RA.
Depending on where she lives/has travelled to definitely check Lyme disease, as already mentioned!