Dang it!
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knittnponder
Posts: 1,954 Member
I have fibromyalgia and among my food allergies/intolerances gluten is one that I know makes my body hurt. I've been gluten free for over a year and had been mostly feeling pretty good with just some down days but really bad days were not happening very often. For the last several months though I seemed to take a nose dive and was having more and more bad days. I know what I eat affects how I feel and even though I was gluten free I was eating a lot of not so good for me stuff during the holidays (processed foods and WAY too much sugar) so I chalked it up to that.
Then after the holidays were over and I went back to eating much cleaner (mostly because I was miserable at that point) I thought I would make some progress toward feeling better. I have not been able to figure out what was going on though! So many days of a LOT of pain and fatigue! I know, it's a sad sort of normal when you have FM but I do know that when I eat a certain way I usually can feel well enough that I can function and not just want to curl into the fetal position and cry. My pain wasn't going away but some days could be on the upswing and then WHAM! I was down again. I have no insurance so I don't have meds and couldn't go see a doctor for any so I was getting fairly hopeless.
Then I was having a particularly bad day and was going over what I'd eaten with my husband just trying to talk it out when the light bulb went on. Potatoes. Every time I eat potatoes I feel HORRIBLE! Not only does my body ache but I also get very itchy and it lasts several days. I am tired and have the brain fog too. So after reading up on night shades (I already knew about them but I was in denial) and potato intolerance in particular I think I have found my issue. Looking back at my journal all the days where I felt the worst were after eating potato in some form. I actually think they make me feel worse than eating gluten.
Let's have a moment of silence as I say good bye to potatoes in all its lovely forms. I'm actually eliminating all the night shades for awhile and then I'll try them one at a time and note how I feel before I say good bye completely. I also have a friend who can eat organic, non-gmo potatoes or popcorn but cannot eat non-organic, gmo versions without having issues so I may explore that too but we'll see if I can purposely make myself feel bad over and over again.
Then after the holidays were over and I went back to eating much cleaner (mostly because I was miserable at that point) I thought I would make some progress toward feeling better. I have not been able to figure out what was going on though! So many days of a LOT of pain and fatigue! I know, it's a sad sort of normal when you have FM but I do know that when I eat a certain way I usually can feel well enough that I can function and not just want to curl into the fetal position and cry. My pain wasn't going away but some days could be on the upswing and then WHAM! I was down again. I have no insurance so I don't have meds and couldn't go see a doctor for any so I was getting fairly hopeless.
Then I was having a particularly bad day and was going over what I'd eaten with my husband just trying to talk it out when the light bulb went on. Potatoes. Every time I eat potatoes I feel HORRIBLE! Not only does my body ache but I also get very itchy and it lasts several days. I am tired and have the brain fog too. So after reading up on night shades (I already knew about them but I was in denial) and potato intolerance in particular I think I have found my issue. Looking back at my journal all the days where I felt the worst were after eating potato in some form. I actually think they make me feel worse than eating gluten.
Let's have a moment of silence as I say good bye to potatoes in all its lovely forms. I'm actually eliminating all the night shades for awhile and then I'll try them one at a time and note how I feel before I say good bye completely. I also have a friend who can eat organic, non-gmo potatoes or popcorn but cannot eat non-organic, gmo versions without having issues so I may explore that too but we'll see if I can purposely make myself feel bad over and over again.
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Replies
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Wow, potatoes seem so innocuous. That sucks. Good for you for figuring it out though. I know sugar does it for me, but that's the only diet-related trigger I've found so far.0
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You've got me thinking. Maybe a sort of pain journal as well as this food diary might be good. That might make it easier to pinpoint any food triggers. My only real food allergy that I know of is to chili peppers (sucks, I love spicy foods!) and I no nitrites/nitrates can make my headaches worse but past that I've never really tried to make a corollary between food and pain levels. I think I should start. I hate needing these pain meds.0
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Sugar is a guilty pleasure of mine that I know makes a huge impact on my ability to function and on my health. I'm trying to cut out but its soooo hard. But I'm getting there! Coffee...another guilty but horrible pleasure of mine. Really bad for the Fibro too. Ho hum...0
