Intestinal Inflammation Link to CFS/FM

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BFSDiner

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A lot of people here I've spoken with feel there is some general tie between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/FibroMyalgia and BFS. One person referred to BFS as "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome's little sister" or "Cousin". This paper was just released and is causing quite a stir in the CFS community right now, as it identifies *INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION* as the initiating cause of an autoimmune reaction common to those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS sufferers have many of our symptoms including muscle twitching). Clearly the ongoing discussions here about avoiding inflammatory foods, going Paleo, and the benefits of avoiding Gluten and other inflammatory Gut related triggers matches perfectly with this. To clarify - while full blown CFS patients read this article and may be faced with the reality that they have a newly discovered Autoimmune Disease, we are still just BFS ... the distant cousin - and most mild form. This means unlike them, we have hope. We can work on reducing Gut inflammation and hopefully stop the immune system attack which may be perkolating right now inside all of us. Autoimmunity is well known to be the result of ongoing agitation on the immune system. Eliminate this factor early enough, and one can possibly avoid progressing to autoimmunity which progresses on its own. Here is a more user friendly explanation:Moral of the story: Reduce Gut inflammation. Focus on proper balance of biotic flora. Avoid Gluten foods like the plague. NO MSG. Avoid grains and pastas if at all possible. Go Paleo.BFSB
 
i was shocked when i realized all the different products that contain MSG. some companies even label it with sly names so you don't think right off the bat MSG....essentially if you eat any packaged foods you can count on it having ingredients harmful to your health.I am convinced at least half of us on this board have an unclassified autoimmune disorder...something like neuromyotonia just not as fiersome.
 
I am eating now according to Montignac method. I am "gluten free" for a month. I am "sugar free" for one month now. I cook my own meals, don't use prepared food any more (ok, part of the reason is most contain sugar and/or gluten).I can not say my BFS is worse then ever, but it is quite bad this month. I would expect to be at least not worse than before, but it is. I have no explanation why this is, either it is not autoimmune and "gut related" in me or something else.I will continue to be eat this way, but for now I don't see any real benefit and I have many problems with excessive flatulation (to be honest I had this before also).
 
There's your key Jerry. The flatulation means something you are eating isn't sitting well with you. Your first order of business should be to find the offending food and eliminate it. To eliminate the gas. Maybe you are allergic to dairy?When it comes to intestinal issues, everyone is extremely unique. There is no perfect solution that works for everyone. Have you heard of the "Elimination Diet" ? If you have any time on your hands, start googling and reading the first few web sites that talk about it. Its a process by which you take each food, and determine its effect on your body. I really believe this will be a huge help for your situation. The flatulence is actually something good. Its an obvious, outward sign that whatever you just ate (within 6 hours) is something your body reacts poorly to. Elimination diet is a pain in the @ss, but when it comes down to it, the alternative is just no longer acceptable. I too had very bad flatulence. Eliminating that factor I believe will reduce your symptoms. I can no longer eat pizza (my favorite food on this planet). I can no longer eat Subway Sandwiches (my favorite lunch) because of the breads. My workout supplement (Cytogainer) is about to go on the black list as well because it clearly causes flatulence and increased problems for me several hours later. You want to stop the gas. Once the gas is stopped, the level of inflammation and acidity going on in your Gut will be reduced significantly. And maybe this "autoimmune-like" reaction your body has will also calm down. The part that sucks? This may mean you end up eating nothing but chicken and salad for the rest of your life. I am facing the same possibility right now. And I love my tasty foods. But I love my ability to stay alive more. I love the thought of reducing the burden on my body more. I love avoiding eventual disability more. I love the idea that my immune system isn't being triggered into a crazy response ... more than I love Pizza. I prefer knowing that if I stop this bad diet now, maybe I can avoid (forever) the risk of actual autoimmune disease. I do believe there's a "threshold" you cross over at some point, where "inflammatory reactions" become "autoimmune disease". I believe we all have a choice whether we get that far. Or stop it in its tracks. ChauBao has already beat all of us to this ... and is reaping the rewards. The food is no fun. It sucks. But my health matters more to me. There are Paleo delivery services here in the USA and myself and Aztwitchy are considering getting going on one of them. Its expensive, but ultimately to eat nothing but paleo (non-inflammatory foods) may have far reaching health benefits. So I am going to take the plunge. I've been shoveling in Stouffers TV Dinners for awhile now and that can't be good for me. I do look for "Monosodium Glutamate" on the label but Yulisar is right - they sometimes change the name. The stuff is TOXIC to your brain, your CNS and your gut. I've been PMing with Seventhcandles for awhile now - and as he has stated, he can't even eat 70% of the foods we can. He has violent reactions from the food itself. Neurological reactions. I hope he sees this thread, because he was going to look into meeting with an Intestinal Neurologist (i think that was the title?)BFSB
 
My gut is wierd, as you knbow I was fasting 4 days and I had flatunence, how is this even possible...I just wonder how many people live "on" McDonalds daily and they don't twitch and they don't have intestinal problems... So the key is that I have something wrong they don't.
 
Have you tried Probiotics yet Jerry? The good ones are not cheap. But a bottle of 60 capsules (refrigerated type only) may be worth it. If you want I can send you some too. I know a lot of countries don't have all these crazy organic health conscious type stores in them like we do here in the usa.To everyone else -
 
Jerry, dairy and soy are usually two problem foods for people so if you're doing a diet experiment you would do yourself justice in removing these items as well. Its a little tough doing without butter, but olive oil can sometimes substitute. I've found almond milk to be a very reasonable substitute for standard cow's milk. The taste is similar and the consistancy is too. Cow's milk is truly made for cows, who have 4 stomaches, hence the protein is complex and difficult for the human body to break down. Lactose causes some people even more issues. They sell sweetened and unsweetened versions of almond milk, so if you're avoiding sugar make sure to watch for that. I prefer the unsweetened anyway.
 
I know this question may sound silly, but it is possible to have some kind of "intestinal inflammation" going on without experiencing any real intestinal symptoms? I'm asking this because I remember reading a paper about a possible link between intestinal problems and neurological conditions. All my problems started after taking antibiotics for two weeks or so to treat a bronco-pneumonia. By the end of the second week, I started to feel cramps all over my body and they lasted several weeks-months, then came the twitching. Could antibiotics cause long term damage to the intestines, and if so, is the problem reversible? not only the intestinal inflammation, but the neurological problems caused by it? isn't too late once the neurological damage has been done?
 
Agreed, garlic supplements are no where near as good as the real thing. The same goes for any synthesized vitamins. This is a good anti-candida and detox supplement: Candida is resilient, so if you're going to cheat on your diet and not commit 100%, don't bother. It is difficult to give up comfort foods, but if you stick to it, the sacrifice is only temporary. With the right management you'll be able to work back in the foods you had to give up, but do so in moderation. The difference in your energy levels and overall health should be enough of a wake up call.Also, a little known contributor to leaky gut syndrome is your drinking water supply. Tap water and many of the 'drinking water' bottled water supplies have stuff in them that causes the intestines to become porous. Your best bet is to switch to spring water. Nothing filters water better than the earth itself.
 
I agree, there's nothing as good and powerful as real fresh garlic. I'll just keep eating it like I'm doing right now then. As for the water, I'm already drinking spring water. Anyway, I'll try my best to stick to the plan for a whole week and then I will let you know how it went. It's not going to be easy but I'm willing to give it a try.Take care guys.J.
 
When you consider the gut theme, maybe it is not always the best idea to fixate on "unhealthy" food or MSG or even the gut flora. Let us say that our nerve system is aleady in a hyper mode. Meaning that too much information is coming to the brain because it is not filtered. Most of us know how this feels in form of parestesias, pains etc. Every input we get on any surface of the body (or even a spontaneous nerve firing) will reach our brain unfiltered. Noe think of the guts as a huuuge surface. This surface can get a LOT of information. This is happening to IBS sufferers as well. They can (even painfully) FEEL movements in their guts, because they are aware of inputs "normal" people cannot feel. Now all this gut nerve information gets to the brain that is already overfed with information, and makes even more mess. So a Fibromyalgia diet in NOT on a first view a diet that will seem healthy. It is a diet to calm down the guts, to minimize any stimulus to the guts and therefore to the body. For people that are glutene sensitive, of course a big stimulus is glutene. But not for all. Usually the greatest stimuli are the raw , healthy foods, everything that has lots of fibers. Especially also onions. Feasting is a hard task for the body, I would not do that right now. Dairy products are a stimulus for many because honestly our bodies are just not made to digest milk as grown ups. So a diet that eliminates all stimuli consists of broth, cooked sugarfee oatmeal, soaked and cooked grains (they need to be slimy) and rice and potatoes. This is what I did in my first two weeks of my therapy, and it was...gross. But helped. Got me rid od my 16-year-old IBS I have been suffering from. And then slowly add back all those things you want to have in your diet, step by step. Start with well-cooked veggies and then built it up. Try to avoid sugar because sugar/insuline peaks are a stressor. At those points you add back the big suspects dairy and glutene, be extra-careful. If they give you problems, then it is not an issue of stimulus but maybe an intolerance. Be also careful with fruits (acid and sugar!). Soy is on of the biggest allergenes those days and often not the best substitute. You can try rice or almond milk instead. But only if you feel that dairy is not doing any good for you. In the end the goal is that you can keep your symptoms under control and live your life with as little limitations as possible. I was able to add back ALL foods to my diet, even some I was intolerant to before. It is mportant to understand that BFS is not a terrible deadly disease that we have to fight with tons of meds and stuff. It is a reaction of our body telling us " hey, I don't like your stress management and your lifestyle or maybe just that virus I had". I still think that the biggest key to healing BFS is to calm down and be happy, have a positive attitude and to listen to your body, what is good for it and what not. The reasons why people get BFS are various, and I guess so are the things that help it to calm down. But my answer is SLOWING DOWN. Taking time for yourself, and lower the expectations you have towards yourself. Learn to give up control and anxiety. If you do not do that, you can stuff whatever suplement into your body, eliminate any food from your grocery list, nothing will change. A major key to healing BFS is within the brain, not he body.
 
Chrissi, isn't paresthesia lack of information from the body not vice versa? Every night my hands field like they belong to some alient and they are half numb when I wake up, then it is better. Isn't this lack of info to the brain, not too much?
 
I asked our allergy specialist I know very well, a year ago, if allergy to any food can cause such symptoms as I have and she clearly told me that is not possible, more like a skin rash, IBS problems, but not twitching, tingling, pain... She clearly said there has to be more than food.
 
No, paresthesias is not a lack of information, anything you feel IS an information. Hmm. hard to explain. But also it is not true that allergies cannot cause neuro symptoms.
 
No worries Jerry, I'm not trying to call anyone out or anything. I just know from my experience that my neurological conditions would ramp up when I ate certain trigger foods. It is possible that the neurological symptoms were a direct response to what my body was percieving as an allergen, or it is possible my neurological symptoms were actually the result of increased stress to my body as my immune system tried to deal with these allergens. Indirect response or direct response, either way it was a response. In the bigger picture though, the allergies are just a response themselves, to something being out of balance. In most cases allergies are due to an overtaxed liver that can't get rid of toxins fast enough.
 
I wanted to mention a couple of things. I took something called the ALCAT test that helped me define my food sensitivities/allergies.I was shocked at all my food sensitivities (which now I'm wondering whether they're tied to leaky gut syndrome). I was highly sensitive to wheat, for example (along with sweet potatoes, oats, apples, strawberries, sesame, etc.). I had idea and was eating those foods all the time.I gave up gluten completely, and my digestive system has thanked me immensely. My stomach rarely bloats, gas practically doesn't exist with me, everything moving nicely. I honestly think that giving up gluten made a big difference in my overall digestive system, but admittedly hasn't made a difference in my twitching (I'm going on almost a year and a half gluten free). In fact my whole diet hasn't made a difference with my twitching. BUT, that doesn't mean that it's not having a good effect overall in my body.I think that even if you give up certain foods, you can't expect to see immediate results. Don't give up gluten or dairy and expect your twitching to stop tomorrow. It may improve slowly over time, or it might not improve at all, but no matter what - it is good to stop eating foods that you are sensitive to. These foods will cause inflammation in your body, and that is a very bad thing for your overall, general health.If you choose not to go the ALCAT way - you should try the elimination diet. (Please keep in mind, I'm not promoting ALCAT in any way - it's very expensive. You can accomplish the same thing with eliminating foods from your diet and seeing if they help in your overall feeling of health and well-being. ALCAT just made it very easy for me.).Mitra
 
I still have an active Cytomegalovirus infection going on in me, so being that its a herpes virus, I decided to start taking Lysine.I and several others here have realized over time that even supplements can agitate twitching. Something I learned in school was that anything you put in your body generates an immune response. Antibodies are produced for everything. Even chocolate. (at least thats what they told me). This means that when I began taking Lysine daily, and my twitching started right back up .... I guess it made sense. My friend is one of the most well known Naturpathic docs on the east coast. His comment to me was this:"Your immune system is so overtaxed right now that its freaking out at whatever you throw at it. You need to stop throwing things at it."It makes sense. Calming the ssytem. Giving the immune system time to calm. This is the opposite of Auto-immunity. As soon as I stopped the Lysine, the twitching stopped. Inflammatory foods trigger immune reactions. The gut is something like 70% of the immune system (so im told). If you have a disorder which manifests as twitching when the immune system is stirred ... then what you put into your gut is going to affect your level of symptoms. I can't tell if things are getting worse with this or not, but now when I drink lemon water all day like I have been for months, I twitch. But when I stop .... it stops. I hope this isnt going to be a continually worsening problem. BFSB
 
Antibodies are only created against Proteines where you can find an epitope. so no antibodies against sugars or fats. But I agree with your friend: you definately have to stop throwinf things at your immune system. I told you so before. let things calm down. Starting and stopping hundrets of things on and of is an immense stress for the body.
 
Quick update: I've been doing the gluten-dairy free diet for a month. Unfortunately, the twitching is still the same. I'll do it for another couple of months (at least the gluten free part of the diet) but if I don't see any positive results, I'll probably just stop it. Take care,J.
 

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