New member

[Clare3630]

Hi
I’m a new member , I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I have also had ibs for 20 years.
I work full time in a school and I’m just trying to get the end term ( going to reduce my days to 3 from September 👍)
Have lots of pains in legs and ankles at the moment, fatigue and chronic headaches but feel optimistic that now I have a diagnosis I can adapt some things in my life to achieve a better quality of life .
Would love to hear from people who have adapted their diets , as I’m lost at the moment of what to do , bearing in mind the ibs . I know that losing even a stone would help . I’m 5ft 2 ins and 12 stone and I’m often bloated and feel so tired
Thank you for reading and hope you’ve had a good day

 

[Auriel]

Hello Claire! welcome! 😊, ☕🧁, I gave up wheat and gluten (seemed to make a huge difference though I’m not ceoliac) alcohol, caffeine, coffee, coca cola, (drinks with sweeteners in them also) high sugar fructose, general sugar can start flare ups (annoying cos I got sweet tooth) there’s probably others, but yeah lessening/giving these things up has made a difference for me (didn’t make it disappear) it did help though, 🌟⭐💫

 

[Clare3630]

Hi Auriel
Thanks for your response. I think sugar might be a problem for me and I think you may have just confirmed that , how do you get sweet kick ???

 

[Auriel]

It’s hard sometimes I can be away from it (like today i had a milkshake when I really wanted chocolate bad) but I did come off it for a while in the past when I did Atkins and about six months ago when I did the keto diet, but I think I have to try more now cos I got Candida issues and they causing me problems, I think limiting or just treats could work better for me cos I love sweet things ( I make avocado spinach and strawberry smoothies, it tastes strawberry though looks green) but if you can give up sugar entirely that would be good! you’d be a better woman than me 😆

 

[Clare3630]

Thank you for the advice, I’ll give it go 🤞

 

[Auriel]

I’m 5”3 too so we both quite small ✨🧚🏻‍♀️✨

 

[sweetkamie20]

Hi Clare Glad you found us here 🥳 Are you interested in low carb desserts?

 

[Auriel]

I’d be interested in low carb deserts (I’d be interested in low carb desserts all the live long day!) 🍨🍮

 

[sweetkamie20]

K, I'm no cook so nothing fancy here but truly indulgent if you can handle cottage cheese...cottage cheese is about 3 carbs per serving if I'm not mistaken...

For pseudo banana fosters: some banana (according to desired carbs), a pat of butter, brown sugar alternative (or other sugar), mash and microwave for 30 seconds. Add to cottage cheese and voila!

Or take a fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), mash it and add sugar alternative and water, microwave it for 30 secs, add to cottage cheese...

Some people really like using a sugar free pudding (like cheesecake) and adding it to cottage cheese...

Also, in a bind using a no sugar added jam throw it into some cottage cheese.

I think i love these because they are filling and of course don't stimulate cravings...

 

[Clare3630]

Thank you K , I’ll give it a go

 

[fimi]

Hi Claire So glad you're here!
You'll get lots of help and support on here, and also share a few laughs😄

So a BIG WELCOME from me!!

 

[Clare3630]

Thank you , feel so welcome already

 

[JayCS]

Hi Clare from me too 👋

On another level of "diet", a new study has just been published that a Mediterranean diet may be good for cognitive decline & dementia. That's besides having been pretty well proven good for general health, and thus also fibro, plus lipids/CVD, all-cause mortality and more....

Looking for diet comparison for IBS I just found an interesting recent study saying that whilst gluten-free and low-FODMAP may be just as good, the "balanced (Mediterranean)" diet was much more accepted (by 86%) so improves IBS at the same time as quality of life. (Effect of Three Diets (Low-FODMAP, Gluten-free and Balanced) on Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life) This wasn't a big or brilliantly done study, but reviews of it recognize the potential.

That's just in case anyone is looking for a good diet that's not too hard to switch to...

 

[sunkacola]

Welcome, Claire.
What works in terms of diet is different for everyone in its specifics. However, increasing your overall health is taking a large step toward being able to manage fibromyalgia and its symptoms well, and probably even reduce the pain and frequency of it.

for most people, reducing or, better yet, eliminating refined sugar in all forms, avoiding alcohol or cutting down drastically on that, cutting out processed and chemical-laden foods and simply eating a very healthy diet will make a difference. When it comes to specifics, like eating gluten or not, eating meat or vegetarian, or vegan, etc. it depends on the individual, and you can only discover what is best for you by careful experimenting. This means trying one thing at a time, because if you do several at once you won't know what is helping. (Although cutting sugar and alcohol is basic, and you don't need to isolate that because doing that will benefit anyone, whether they have fibro or not.

A healthy diet is very important, and is more important than how much you weigh, although if a person is seriously under or over weight that's of course not good.

I wrote a post with many suggestions on how to manage fibro. Diet is only one of the many ways to approach this management, because fibro is a systemic syndrome and needs a multi-faceted approach. I recommend you check the post out and see if you can start trying some of the suggestions in order to begin your journey toward understanding your own body and what it really needs right now. If you have any questions, we are here to help and support you.

As for sweets, I have found that once you get past the initial removal of sugar from your diet, it's easy to find things that will meet a sweet craving. Many fruits are very sweet and once your body is used to not having sugar they will satisfy you. Also, if you google the question you will find hundreds of suggestions for things that are sweet but still healthy to eat and do not use sugar or sweeteners at all. Be aware that while agave syrup is healthier than refined sugar, it still has a high glycemic index so should be only used very sparingly. Honey is healthy to eat, but again, in small quantities. It's all in "resetting" your body's cravings to a lower level of intensity and quantity of sweetness, and when you do that it's easy from then on.
Best of uck, and let us know how it is going for you.

My advice for managing fibromyalgia (especially for newcomers)

I am not a doctor or anything, just a person who has lived with fibromyalgia for several years now and has done a lot of research and trial and error experimentation. What follows is just basics. There are a lot of variations. You will find your own versions of everything I say, as this is not a...

www.fibromyalgiaforums.org

 

[JayCS]

Honey is healthy to eat, but again, in small quantities

Fully agree. Unfortunately my teeth heart ;-) hurt and I get heartburn even from smallest quantities.