fibro

13 Comments Posted on Fibromyalgia

Diet and Fibro- Has a change in diet helped your fibromyalgia?

A change in diet has often recommended for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Looking at our page FibromyalgiaTalk it is also used by many people who have fibromyalgia.

"I don't look sick" - Life with Fibromyalgia - Please like and share Donnee Spencer's great infographic which explains to others what it is like to have Fibromyalgia

“I don’t look sick” – Life with Fibromyalgia – Please like and share Donnee Spencer’s great infographic which explains to others what it is like to have Fibromyalgia

So we thought we would use this opportunity to find out how useful a change in diet has been to our readers with fibro.

Firstly it would be great if you could take our poll below which asks “Has a change in diet helped your fibromyalgia?”

Once you have taken part in the poll we would love it if you might add your thoughts in the comment boxes below. It would be great if you could think about the following questions!

a) How long have you or a loved one been diagnosed with fibro? What are your main symptoms of fibromyalgia?
b) Have you tried diet as a treatment for fibromyalgia? If so which one?
c) How successful was the diet? What do you feel it achieve?
d) Would you recommend it to others?
e) Have you tried other natural treatments for fibromyalgia? If so which ones and how effective were they for you?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

 

Multiplicity I followed a strict no flour, no sugar diet and lost 70 pounds in under a year. Then I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (with MS) and was started on Gabapentin. I have gained almost all the weight back now after only a few months. I am now off the gabapentin and started taking MagSense. I feel good and have dropped a couple of pounds already in only about 1 week.
SaraBarnes I have found cutting out caffeine has helped immensely with pain. It has not taken all the pain away, however I have found I can manage so much better on so much less painkillers having taken out the caffeinexxx
GretaLarssonSerra I’ve had to go all in with; no dairy, no gluten (in fact no grains at all), no processed food and no sugar(except natural fruits/berries and small amounts of honey.
It works a bit with the pain, loads on the cognitive side and gives higher energy and better moods.
opotikimaori @Beeyaach have you tried Kyäni?
Beeyaach I will try to remember.. lol
patienttalk
patienttalk.org		 Beeyaach Wow that does seem very expensive.  Canadian $?
patienttalk
patienttalk.org		 Beeyaach Will you be able to share the Dr’s suggestions after the appointment?
Beeyaach I stopped the diet shortly after I was diagnosed due to cost and the fact that I had already started to put weight on (at an alarming rate!) due to the medication I had started taking WHILE on the diet. At $250-270 per WEEK, it just didn’t make sense. After gaining 30lbs+ I decided to try going back on it, but I couldn’t lose weight, exercise or truthfully stick to the program financially as I’d had to decrease hours at work.
Beeyaach I also forgot to mention that I have tried pretty much EVERY holistic approach out there. Chiropractor, massage therapy, acupuncture, traction, osteopathy, vitamin D supplements, probiotics, to name a few. I had a naturopathic doctor suggest going gluten free, as she figures it’s a gluten “sensitivity”. As being gluten free is so en vogue right now, I just felt like it was yet another dead end and have up there. I am seeing a doctor this week from the Environmental Health Clinic @ Women’s College Hospital in Toronto to discuss other options.
patienttalk
patienttalk.org		 Beeyaach Why did you decide to stop using it?
Beeyaach It is a diet plan based on prepackaged food. Calorie restrictive based mainly, also substitutions such as soy instead of meat protein, low sodium, sugar substitutions. You eat strictly their menu with the addition of your own fruits/veggies and fat free milk. I was on a 1200 calorie intake. They also have a “bar” that is supposed to contain all your necessary vitamins/minerals that I ate once daily.
patienttalk
patienttalk.org		 Beeyaach What is the Jenny Craig diet please?
Beeyaach Nothing changes with diet. Pain is the same. Low sodium, low carb, no meat, no dairy, doesn’t seem to matter. No difference in lower or higher weight. (I’ve gained 70lbs since starting on meds and not being able to exercise) I’ve been diagnosed about 3 years now. I was on Jenny Craig for about 2 years before all of this started with my body and I’ve often wondered if something in the prepackaged food contributed to it.
Leave a comment Posted on Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis

Fibro Cruise – Find out more about this innovative vacation and networking opportunity for people with fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis


Fibro Cruise

Fibro Cruise

A couple of days ago I received a fascinating email on MultipleSclerosisTalk which is one of the online Facebook groups we run.

Julie-Anne Braun, an award-winning author and professional speaker, has written a short introduction to Fibro Cruise which we are sharing with you as a guest post.

She writes “It began with a much smaller event we call “East Meets West.” (Started by my Fibro Cruise partner, Sandy Larson.) EMW is an annual gathering where a number of us, who met in Facebook fibro groups, get together in a cabin for 4-5 days.

In 2011, I was “sponsored” to attend. (Someone paid my way, but I can’t say who – I have my suspicions, but am not positive.) I was very nervous, as I had never met any of these people in person. Once I met everyone, and settled in, the weekend was truly life changing for me! I realized just how often, and how much, I tried to hide my pain, or make excuses for it. Suddenly, I didn’t have to do that. If I needed to go lay down, nobody questioned it. They understood. When I was in a terrible flare on the third day, my roommates brought my breakfast upstairs for me. We laughed, we cried, we shared the things we hated about fibro and the things we were grateful for. I made friends that weekend that I now call my sisters.


After attending my second East Meets West in 2012, I was determined to find a way for more people to share this experience. Since it’s not easy to find a cabin for more than 20 people at one time, I considered cruising. I have always loved cruising, and worked in the travel industry before fibro. I reached out to Sandy and a couple of other women, and asked if they would join me in developing Fibro Cruise.

We had our first Fibro Cruise in March of this year. While it was small, it was also spectacular. Everyone in the group had a fabulous time, and plans to attend again. We had to cancel plans for Fibro Cruise 2016 due to some admin conflicts, not enough bookings, and it being too close to the last one for some. As we started planning for 2017, a friend of mine with M.S. asked if she could join us. I have a number of friends with M.S., and thought it would be a good fit to invite the M.S. community to join us.

That’s where we are to this point. We leave for the fifth annual EMW this Wednesday. I am looking forward to it, and will be recording my experience from there.

P.S. It’s worth noting that we DO hope to offer sponsorships for Fibro Cruise in the future. We have our articles of incorporation, and are trying to raise the money to file for 501c3 status so that we may seek donations. ”

To find out more please check out their web site here.