Elimination Diet - Success Story!

[GottaSki]

Good Morning All-

Three months ago I could not get out of bed for more than an hour per day (had been gluten free for over two years but continued to get sicker and sicker)....you can read my other posts for more back story.

Today I am writing as a healthy, active, energetic, thankful woman.

On August 10th I began an elimination diet geared towards those with autoimmune disease. The first three days I had nothing but fruit and vegie smoothies. Since my base diet has been meat (I did not make sure it was farm raised, nor hormone free - due to cost to feed family of four); vegetables (no nightshades); fruit (no citrus or bananas as those bother my digestive system).

My health improved more than I can describe during the first week and has continued to get better nearly each day. I have gone from a body in complete pain, digestive mess with serious mental degredation (very serious brain fog/memory loss) that never slept more than an hour or two at a time to sleeping 5 solid hours each night, working full time (first time in years), cleaned and decluttered our home (wanted to do this every day for years but never had the strength for anything but barely getting thru the day without my kids suffering too much), exercise daily (ride my bike from 10 to 25 miles each day and will ski again very soon after sitting out the past two seasons).

After the first month I began challanging the removed foods. Approximately every three days I would challenge one item for a day (sometimes only ate it once because reactions were so severe). Two days back eating meat, vegies and fruit (I did cheat and eat some brown rice occasionally once I had a successful challenge to rice).

I am going to list some general reactions...if you'd like the complete log of symptoms, feel free to message me and I'll send you my detailed food log.

Peppers = severe joint/muscle pain and fatigue

Tomato = Mouth felt numb after 5 min, bloat, joints, brain fog, severe pain upper right abdomin (new pain to me) - better next day but joints still hurt - got worse all day - out cold by 6pm

Peas = felt like I took a sleeping pill

Peanuts = within an hour became very irritiable and continued to get angrier over the next hour -- reduced to uncontrolable tears at 2 hours

Soy = Major bloat - 8 months prego within 20 minutes of eating one cup soybeans - next day none had digested

Corn = Achy morning after tortilla chips at night. Tried eating straight bowl of corn -- got violently sick within an hour…achy, foggy, REALLY sleepy -- two hours a bit better but itching started -- very bad itching like when dx'd with Celiac -- took ONE benedryl at 3 hours in -- helped in 20 mins

Beans - Black beans seemed fine, then tried red beans = felt drugged like sleeping pills while still eating them and then I locked up on way downstairs…Jack ran for benydryl -- not great the next day

Sunflower Seeds = While still at dinner table started bloating - joints locked up BADLY - took 4 enzymes, then benedryl - then real emotional - pain so bad it made be cry to hyperventilatation. Dave had to carry me down to bed cuz I could not move hips or shoulders AT ALL - once in bed snot factory - mucus clogged throat, nose - left ear leaked fluid - horrible pain in sholders, hips and back follwed by electrical pulses or tremors then feet went dumb to knees had Dave check if I could feel touch there and could. DH type itchy rash -- Then jaw locked up and couldn't talk -- dave poored water in my mouth and strangly I could talk again almost immediate. Second benydryl helped settle down mucus flow and calm me - fell asleep -- woke up around 2am locked up but much better -- 6am soaked in epsom salt - 7am some better, but not good enough to ride this morning

After the seed incident I decided to take a break until after the holidays to let my body recover from seed testing...a couple nights after the sunflower incident my husband accidentally used sesame oil in our dinner and I had another horrific night -- am now dx'd nut/seed allergic and carry epi-pen with me everywhere.

My story is truly amazing...all my family and friends have been speechless that I am back and back in no small way -- after spending so much of my life sick (I can now see I was much sicker than I ever thought -- a body compensates for an awful lot until it just can't anymore!). Another victory was my recent blood test results. All of my vitamin and minerals have been extremely low for years. A few weeks back every single vitamin and mineral All Bs, D, K, Iron, Ferritin, Copper, Zinc were ALL in the high normal range. Example - my B12 has always hovered around 200 -- recent test was 796!!!

I haven't been on celiac.com much lately -- but will try to follow this post to answer questions.

Wishing you all a pain-free day!

[dilettantesteph]

Congratulations. I am also a big believer in elimination diets. That is what made a difference for me too.

[AVR1962]

Good for you, glad you're are doing so much better! I too had to do much like yourself, still on a low acidic diet for the same reason. Our bodies are just amazing, they try so hard to keep functioning.....we just have to figure out what we need and can't have, and that takes awhile bt you did it!

I too just posted on my own progress today.....it was only 9 months ago that I was in ER, and like yourself I had so many issues, but I can say that I can look back almost like looking at someone else's life. The progress, while slow, has been amazing.

I wish you all the best for continued good health!

Annette

[Bubba's Mom]

Your journey into food intolerances is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing your story. It really reinforces the importance of a food journal and elimination diets.

I don't think there's any Dr that would have figured all of this out? You would have been labeled as a hypochondriac?

Several of the things that you reacted to wouldn't be too hard to avoid..but sunflower oil seems to be used quite a bit in commercial foods? I'm just omitting gluten and soy and it's hard to ind things without both sometimes.

I'm also trying a low salicylate diet, but not excluding them 100%. The elimination diet is hard.

Congrats to you for sticking with it and finding what was making you so ill. Happy skiing!

[domesticactivist]

Wow! Great job uncovering your problem foods! I'm glad you are feeling so much better and have a clear way to move forward!

[GottaSki]

Thanks everyone!

So nice to finally find good health...hope everyone on this forum finds their way to same.

Happy Friday...oh it's only Thursday...correction -- Happy three day weekend!

[dilettantesteph]

By the way, I love skiing too. I used to live in Vancouver, and Whistler/Blackcomb was my second home. Now I'm stuck in upstate New York. I do a bit of Nordic, but it isn't the same. Why is there no crying emoticon?

[GottaSki]

By the way, I love skiing too. I used to live in Vancouver, and Whistler/Blackcomb was my second home. Now I'm stuck in upstate New York. I do a bit of Nordic, but it isn't the same. Why is there no crying emoticon?

I have family in Kingston/Hurley/Woodstock -- my cousin works in a snow sports store every winter -- she made it to our mountain with us one year...unfortunately it was the last days of the season and the snow was crud.

How long did you live in Heaven? We've skied all of California and Utah...but still need to do Colorado and BC!!! We live in San Diego so our closest hill is Bear Mountain...got early snow this year...I'll attach a pic from last weekend --

[shayori]

If you don't mind my asking, what elimination diet did you follow? I need all the help I can get. Thanks

[GottaSki]

If you don't mind my asking, what elimination diet did you follow? I need all the help I can get. Thanks

Hard to explain in a post....as I researched many elimination diets online for quiet some time to combine all their advise into something specific for the research I completed. I'll be happy to send you the excel document that contains my personal food log...info for tracking challenges...some links for part of my research, etc.

[dilettantesteph]

I lived in heaven for 16 years, from early teens to late 20's. Many of those years I had season's passes and friends with cabins up Whistler/Blackcomb. Blackcomb was built while I lived there. Those were prime skiing years. I was very lucky.

[GottaSki]

Wow...that sounds like the perfect place to live from early teen to young adult. I'll have to get your advice when we head North...won't be for several seasons or more as I have one college freshmen and another headed to college in 1.5 years....but once college is paid for I aspire to be a ski bum!!!

[dilettantesteph]

but once college is paid for I aspire to be a ski bum!!!

Me too. I have one going next year and another three years later.