Joint pain and stiffness (diagnosed as arthritis) much decreased through Paleo (sometimes primal with full fat dairy). Restless leg gone. Bloating only comes back when I eat grains or non-full-fat dairy. I avoid nightshades most of the time. I used to get three days of pain and stiffness if I'd eat nightshades, but after doing this for five years, I can very occasionally have them without penalty.

Update: AIP eating can be a funny (not haha) thing. Yesterday I posed about how I can eat some nightshades, once in a while (not oftener than once or twice a month) and not have pain and stiffness. I was able to add potatoes first, then Mexican seasoning (chiles and peppers), and finally a limited amount of tomatoes.

Yesterday evening, I added curry powder to our chicken salad. I haven't had curry in years. It is going to stay crossed off my list awhile longer. I had a clear and miserable reaction: bloating, digestive pain, joint and even tendon and ligament pain.

So there's something in the curry powder (haven't looked at the ingredients yet this morning) that really set things off. I will have to stick with AIP "curry" (I haven't made it in awhile, but I think I remember turmeric and cinnamon as two of the ingredients? Definitely turmeric, I don't remember the other stuff.)

"I live traditional Paleo with the exception of occasionally salting my food and I enjoy sweet potatoes. "

Maybe I'm confused but neither of these things are not paleo. Paleo believes in the use of pink Himalayan salt and sweet potatoes are highly nutritious.

To answer your question...and why I'm here looking for a support group in this direction...I originally went off gluten with a celiac disease diagnosis, and within 2 weeks my nighttime leg pain, neuralgia, and RLS were gone. After years of suffering, gone. I tended to eat mostly paleo, but not entirely...a sugar monster lives in my soul, and tends to possess my body quite often. I also have a dx of fibromyalgia. My chiropractor had me read Dr Gundry's Diet Evolution and eat his protocol. Very close to primal, almost a bit more restrictive in some ways, looser in other ways. I ate this way for a month. 3 weeks into it, my fibro pain was almost entirely gone and I'd lost 7 lbs. Then, because I dove into it too fast (I know myself and should have taken it by steps), and because my head and attitude were not in the right place, I rebelled, gained the weight, and got to have my pain back. That was 2 years ago. I see the difference on a day to day basis...what I eat (sugar monster rearing its ugly head, or not) directly affecting my pain scale for the day. I've been playing at eating "right", making excuses all this time. No more. I'm done. The pain and the weight I carry isn't worth the sweet, bubbly goodness of a Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper....(sigh). Really, it isn't, and I'm ready to do something about it. I pulled Dr Gundry's book off my shelf last night. I know from experience that eating whole foods and no added sugars works - at least for me. You need to try it, be consistent, and keep with it. Tweak it to what works for you. Maybe you can eat a potato now and again, maybe you can't. The longer you eat this way, the quicker you'll realize your body's response to foods that might not agree with you. My celiac symptoms including many "atypical" symptoms...things I never would have thought were connected or could have to do with a "digestive disorder" (as I thought of it at the time). Now if I inadvertently get "glutened", I will know it by how my body responds, and it's not necessarily digestive. This isn't just all in your head. Keep going, and listen to what your body is saying to you. And yeah, this pep talk wasn't just for you! Good luck!

Hi I too have fibromyalgia I never felt better than when I was paleo but I gave it up as my husband doesn't believe in "fad diets" as be calls them and was giving me a hard time. I am now heavier than ever depressed and struggling with fibromyalgia. I keep saying I'm going to start again but never get around to it. It works I just need to get my head together.