# Can change of diet effect cfs?



## selenae25 (Apr 4, 2004)

Yesterday I just posted how great I've been feeling so maybe I just jinx myself but this morning I woke up feeling real bad. I having alot of joint pain and it really hurts to go up and down my stairs, my musles are also stiff too. I also feel fatigued and my head kinda hurts and feels foggy. Anyhow I changed my diet last week about five days ago can this effect cfs? I cut out surgar and refined carbs like white bread, rice and pasta. I just feel so awful with no warning after feeling so good for almost two weeks. Is it normal to have a good week or two where you feel normal and then have a bad few days or week? I feel like my body is plotting against me, I'm supposed to be getting ready for a trip to visit family tommorrow. I have to drive five hours to get there and of course the day before we are going I'm having a flare up. ugh.


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

Well, it's a difficult one to figure out selenajean. I would say the answer is yes, diet can affect how you feel. However, so can a lot of other factors. A low pressure might cause the symptoms you are having. Your body may be trying to fight off a viral or bacterial infection too. With CFS/FMS, it is quite common for symptoms to wax and wane. I often have the same symptoms you mentioned. I think that if we are allergic/sensitive to certain things, our body can react against them, as well. I would think that cutting down on the things you mentioned, as long as you are substituting healthy things in their place, should be helpful. The body does react to eliminating caffiene at first too, until it has a chance to adjust.Good luck to figuring it all out. Hope you feel good again soon. I especially hope that your family visit is a pleasant one. Get out and stretch when you have to, and take along healthy drink and snacks!M.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Well, I'm no expert (as everyone can testify to








) but my thinking is that it's possible. One thing that really helped me, especially in the beginning, was to keep a calendar. I bought a special calendar with huge squares, and everyday I wrote down everything I ate, everything I did, how bad my symptoms were, where I hurt, how much I hurt, how I slept, I mean everything. After several months it was quite helpful for my doctor and I to look back and identify certain things or situations that triggered flare ups, or just made things worse. I suppose it could possibly help you identify any patterns, or anything that seems to be triggering particularly bad spells.One day at a time, eh? Just like M said on the other thread.


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## selenae25 (Apr 4, 2004)

Thanks mrsmason that sounds like a great idea to keep a calender, maybe I'll get a day planner type so there is alot of room to write everything down. I do not feel so achey today, but I still have that dizzy foggy feeling. Hopefully I'll be able to make the drive tommorrow. Thankyou for all the advice Selena


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Hi SelenaI really related to your post. I have CFS/ME (this is my second bout and its in its 4th year).About a year ago the atkins diet was all the rage here in England to lose weight (e.g. cut out sugars and carbs) and my entire household went on it. And after a few days I felt just terrible! I had exactly what you described, the aching painful muscles, the headaches and foggy head.I think Moulage hit the nail on the head saying that when you eliminate something out your diet you can react to it..like when you cut out caffeine you get headaches and irritability for a few days.I think this probably explains why you suddenly feel like you do. The way I look at is that with ME/CFS your muscles are not so good at using the available nutrients we provide to give us energy so they do kind of depend on the slow release carbs and sugars to sustain them. So when you take them away suddenly and dramatically your going to notice a dramtic change in your energy levels.What you need to do is to substitute the bad sugary and refined carbs with unrefined ones, such as wholemeal bread, bananas, potatoes and brown rice.Anyway, just wanted you to know I had exactly the same thing happen to me. I went back on the carbs and felt better pretty quickly. What you choose to do is upto you of course and probably your doin whats best for your body so keep it up







but your not alone!Clair


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## selenae25 (Apr 4, 2004)

I added the carbs back and I am starting to feel better. So I guess that was the problem or it caused it to happen. Thanks for the advice Selena


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Selena,Bumping this up, and wondering if your diet changes have helped you feel any better?Let us know how you're getting on


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## selenae25 (Apr 4, 2004)

Well I felt better for a few weeks after returning to carbs but the last few days have been rough. I noticed that when I'm having my bad days that when I eat I feel even worse. I do not know what to think or do. I'm thinking I should go to the doctor but I really do not want to. I do not know anyone here and the thought of getting myself and the kids ready and then them being loud and running around the doctors office it to much to bare. She also did not seem to receptive when I told her my old doc thought I had cfs. She just said OH like that explained everything, like I was a quack. To be fair I was there for a sick visit after having the flu and a sore throat and my kids where fighting and being disruptive. My husband gets back Oct 15th so I'm trying to hold off till then. I'm just so tired, my joints hurt, my eyes hurt and I'm dizzy and foggy headed blah blah blah. Sorry to ramble.


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Selenaits hardly surprising your feeling under the weather having just had the flu and having to deal with your children on your own. With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it always seems to take sufferer's longer to get over the even most basic of infections/viruses because our immune system is a little bit faulty. My doctor has told me that if I got the flu with having CFS it could knock me back seriously in terms of progress and how i feel for anything upto a few months. Therefore you need to take it easy and rest up, and if possible get someone to come take over the kids for awhile so you can get back up on your feet so to speak.Hope you feel better soon, seinding some cyber {{{hugs}}} clair x


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## Guest (Aug 22, 2004)

I wish I could put my hands on it, but a while back I read something that indicated that people with both CFS and FMS "cycle" back and forth and in and out of occasionally feeling fairly well to feeling exhausted and full of pain. As I recall they don't know why this happens but it may be linked to stress.I'm having a rough couple of days, myself. I think part of it is the time of year with the days now becoming shorter and the temps becoming cooler. Sometimes if my IBS is acting up, so is my FMS, so from that standpoint I suppose what we eat might affect our pain and fatigue levels, especially if we eat something we may be intolerant of, but just don't realize it. I knew one lady many years ago who had rheumatoid arthritis who would get worse when she ate tomatoes...







I also feel better when I eat a balance of protein and carbs... even simple sugars...I think I also read somewhere that people with FMS (maybe CFS too...MrsMason can correct me if I'm wrong) have difficulty getting enough oxygen to their cells (especially during exercise) so eating sugar somehow helps with that process.For me, something that helps me get past the pain and the fatigue is having something to look forward to. The trick is finding something to look forward to...







Hope ya feel better soon,







Evie


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

> quote:I read something that indicated that people with both CFS and FMS "cycle" back and forth and in and out of occasionally feeling fairly well to feeling exhausted and full of pain.


This is so true! Sometimes when we get into a flare, we try to figure out "why". Sometimes, though, we have to remember there is no "why". That's just how these illnesses are. Cyclic on their own! (Now that isn't very helpful, is it?







)


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## selenae25 (Apr 4, 2004)

It is helpful to know just fustrating to not have something being a clear cause.


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2004)

Have also read that illnesses like FMS and CFS are more common among women...especially those living in the northern latitutes. That it is more common among women suggests to me a possible hormone link. Either that or it's from living with men.....







 That it is more common among women living in northern latitudes suggests to me that radon might be a potential player.Genetics are probably also at play. All the females in my family tend to have FMS and one even has MS.On the other hand, there may be familial links?Wish I had answers also.... but the best I can do is take medications for sleep, get as much rest as I can and exercise carefully on a daily basis.


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