fibromyalgia/the princess and the pea

Hi everyone!

As promised, below is the diet you should be using. Actually, it is not so much a diet as a way of life eating. The interesting effect I have found from eating this way for the last 6 months, is that I no longer crave sweets in the afternoon, or ever. I am never hungry. I eat when I feel a little hunger and I don't need to eat much to feel satisfied. I haven't had nor have wanted a piece of chocolate in 5 months and I am a chocoholic.

I find the easiest way to eat in this manner is to read all ingredients on everything. The less ingredients, the purer the food, and the less likely you will have a reaction to it. It may be allergic or intolerance. But the chances are much less likely.

So try it and enjoy eating, and the absence of pain. I keep a copy of this list in my purse and refer to it when I'm in the restaurant. I have no problem asking the server to ask the chef any questions about any food I might like to order. They are always helpful, and patient. More so than some of my friends, I might add. But I do it anyway. Hey, I'm the one who is going to suffer, not them. So don't be embarrassed. Just ask if you're not sure.

As a by product of my eating this way, I also lost 20 lbs. Now if that doesn't motivate you, the pain will.

Sources of gluten Primary sources:

* wheat (including semolina, durum, spelt, triticale, and Kamut(r) grain)

*rye

* barley

* oats (oats don't naturally contain gluten, but are often subject to contamination with small

amounts and many gluten intolerant people avoid oats).

Hidden sources: (ingredients/additives which may contain gluten)

The source of many of these ingredients must be carefully scrutinized to ascertain whether or not any gluten is present. For example, modified food starch from corn is acceptable, as long as no wheat starch is included. Apple cider vinegar is acceptable, but distilled vinegars may contain gluten. Pure buckwheat or buckwheat flour is acceptable, but many buckwheat flours are contaminated with or have wheat flour added.

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* Binders

* Bleu cheese

* Brown Rice syrup (if barley malt enzyme is used)

* Caramel coloring (made from barley malt enzymes)

* Coatings

* Colorings

* Dextrins

* Dispersing agents

* Emulsifiers

* Excipients (added to prescription medications to achieve desired consistency)

* Extracts (in grain alcohol)

* Fillers

* Flavorings (in grain alcohol)

* Flours, Breads, Cereals, Crackers, Pasta, Sauces & Condiments made with the above listed

grains or their derivatives.

* Grain alcohol (beer, ale, rye, scotch, bourbon, grain vodka)2

* Homeopathic Remedies

* Hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP) hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)

* Malt or Malt Flavoring (Barley malt)

* Modified starch, modified food starch (when derived from wheat)

* Mono- and di-glycerides (made using a wheat starch carrier)

* Oils (wheat germ oil & any oil with gluten additives)

* Preservatives

* Soy Sauce (when fermented using wheat)

* Spices (if containing anti-caking agents)

* Starch (made from grains listed above)

* Vegetable gum (when made from oats)

* Vegetable protein

* Vinegars (distilled clear and white or with a mash starter)

* Vitamin E oil

Good night and sleep and eat well.

Shirley

fibromyalgia / princess and the pea

Hi Everyone!
In my last blog, I talked about diet and the need to move your body. Tomorrow I will post the entire list of foods which you should positively NOT eat. But for right now, I would like to talk about the pain and how to get through it. We talked about medication for sleep and depression. After you have seen your doctor and have found the right medication that works for you for sleep and depression, you might also need to take a pain pill prescribed by your doctor. Perhaps something in the ibuprofen meds. When you get the pain under control, so that it is tolerable, you may begining some mild exercise. Stretching slowly is always a good way to start. Remember that the objective is to get the blood flowing bringing oxygen to your muscles. There will be times when the smallest amount of exercise will be painful.

If you can work through the pain, slowly, you might find that the pain will stop. If it does not stop, then you need to stop the exercise, rest your muscles with moist heat and try again the next day. Too much is not good, so start slowly and for short periods of time. You can lengthen the time as your muscles can work through the pain. Remember to start SLOWLY.

I find that most of the time, when I play tennis, I will have pain in different parts of my body, sometimes my feet, shoulders, elbows, fingers, somewhere, but as I continue to work through the pain, it decreases within minutes. You must also find some form of exercise that you like to do. It is important to look at this exercise as a pleasure and not a chore. Something you can look forward to every day. As you get more into the exercise or sport or whatever, you should do it only every other day. It takes 24 hours for your muscles to recover. In between, you can rest the muscles, use moist heat, and your pain meds.

Eventually, you will not need the pain meds. It might take a month, 6 months, a year, 2 years or whatever. It depends on the level of your pain, and when you are ready to go it alone without the pain meds. It's up to you.

There are many different ways to deal with the pain, along with the exercise. Meditation, as I mentioned, is a wonderful way to focus on your breath and refocus your mind, The more you focus on your breath, and are only aware of the pain, but do not give the pain any thought, it will not be an issue.. Refocusing your mind is one of the most important steps in managing your pain. Not that you don't have it or notice it, just that you don't give it any energy. I know this sounds strange to some of you. But if you just try sitting still for a few minutes and focusing on your breath, you can let me know how that was for you. Just send me a comment and I will discuss it in my next blog.

I hope you will benefit from my experience. It is long, complicated and difficult. But it can be done. I have done it more than once. Each time you have a trauma, you almost need to start over. But it can be done. Right now, I am in a good place, practicing everything I have written about so far, and I play tennis 4 or 5 times a week, play golf once or twice a week, and swim or do water aerobics whenever the weather and the temperature of the pool allows.

Good luck in beginning your journey to healing and living a better life. Stay with it and you will prevail.

So, get some good sleep and will talk tomorrow.
Shirley