Starting an Elimination Diet Wednesday & Some Questions

chellebelle · Post by **chellebelle** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 3:50 am

Hello all,

I have read around this forum a bit & looked up things about histamine foods, etc. I have decided on chicken/turkey, sweet potatoes, plantain/banana & some parsley (cooked with the poultry) for my elimination diet to start. I am going on just these, with extra virgin olive oil - I'm Cuban/Italian; I could drink the stuff and the only side effect would be glowing skin ;) - for two weeks. If I can't drink water like a normal person without issues by then, I may cut out the chicken, just to see.

I read somewhere on here to do 2 weeks then start adding things in one at a time; does that time frame usually work for everyone? I feel like I should wait a month or two, just to be sure everything is cooled off in there. The only intolerances I am really checking for are yogurt/cheese & chocolate; the low histamine diet in general would probably be at the very least somewhat helpful for me, since I have so many allergies. My son has pledged to not eat any rice products in the house that make crumbs for two weeks (I am allergic to all grains, but he only needs to eat gluten free) since I have been getting hives quite often which I believe is from the heat kicking up his rice dust (it's like he makes confetti out of his brown rice tortillas!!).

How about plain seltzer water for a beverage? Is this bad for MC?

Also, when I start adding back in raw fruits & veggies, I suppose I should adjust up slowly, like maybe 1/2 cup per day to start and adding 1/2 cup maybe each week?

This is all pretty overwhelming, I used to fast a lot back in the day. That was easier, LOL.

I contacted customprobiotics.com about mixing up a probiotic powder with only the neutral and histamine-reducing strains. Has anyone tried that at all?

Also - I get migraines. I rarely take medicine for them and use feverfew for prevention; I also take American Ginseng & Rhodiola for energy/blood sugar, plus gymnema. I had the MC before I started taking all those, so I know they are not the problem. I did read, however, that the OTC migraine medicine (I use the generic Target version of Excedrin Migraine very sparingly, averaging out to 1-2 pills per month) is indicated as possibly triggering MC. I know it does not feel good when I take it in my tummy, but sometimes I must to function. Do y'all think having to take a painkiller would set back the elimination diet? I only get migraines during that time of the month, which is now, so I would have at least ~4 weeks with no painkillers to start off.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the responses to my other post and sharing all this information. I am usually the one giving out health advice & making herbal medicines for my friends and family, so it's been a long time since I had to ask for help. I hope I will have more to contribute here in the future!

Best wishes!!

Michele

Post by **tex** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 11:20 am

Michele wrote:I read somewhere on here to do 2 weeks then start adding things in one at a time; does that time frame usually work for everyone? I feel like I should wait a month or two, just to be sure everything is cooled off in there.

IMO, it might not be totally unreasonable to test some foods after 2 weeks of remission, but that is still a mighty short allowance for healing. Easy cases may be able to get away with that, but for those of us who are very sick, more time is usually needed. I followed a restricted diet for about a year and a half before I was able to successfully reintroduce foods. And believe me, I tried to reintroduce them sooner. Every month or so I would test corn, for example, and it never worked until about a year and a half had passed. I probably slowed down my healing a bit by doing those tests too soon, but back then I didn't know any better.

So I agree with you — allowing some healing time after you are in remission will definitely facilitate adding foods back into your diet, and it will put you farther ahead in the healing process, so that even if you react to a test food, the reaction will be milder, and it won't last as long.

Michele wrote:How about plain seltzer water for a beverage? Is this bad for MC?

That should work just fine, as far as I am aware. When I was recovering, I was only able to drink water, unsweetened tea, and as an occasional treat, Virgil's Root Beer (one of the few soft drinks available at the time without a corn-based sweetener).

Michele wrote:Also, when I start adding back in raw fruits & veggies, I suppose I should adjust up slowly, like maybe 1/2 cup per day to start and adding 1/2 cup maybe each week?

Yes. An initial serving even smaller, and gradually increasing the amount each day, might work even better, because that gives the digestive system time to slowly ramp up the production of the enzymes needed to digest specific fruits and vegetables. Always peel any fruit or vegetable that has a peel (at least initially), in order to reduce the chances of triggering a relapse because of too much fiber in the diet, too soon.

Michele wrote:Do y'all think having to take a painkiller would set back the elimination diet?

Unfortunately the odds are rather high that taking an oral NSAID would trigger a relapse. NSAIDs are a well-known trigger for MC (even most GI specialists are well aware of this one

). Safe painkillers with MC are acetaminophen, tramidol, and narcotic painkillers. Some members have found that they can tolerate NSAIDs when applied transdermally (through the skin). You might look into that option, but I have no idea if that technology will work for the menses cycle, or not. Here are links to a few references that might be helpful:

Quantitive systematic review of topically applied non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Transdermal drug delivery in pain management

You can have them custom formulated, if you wish:

Sports Medicine: Benefits of Transdermal NSAIDs

Further searching shows that topical application of NSAIDs might work, because it has been shown that transdermal nitroglycerine is effective for controlling pain associated with primary dysmenorrhoea

Transdermal nitroglycerine in the management of pain associated with primary dysmenorrhoea: a multinational pilot study. The Transdermal Nitroglycerine/Dysmenorrhoea Study Group

Best of luck to you with your diet program, and please keep us informed on your progress.

Tex

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 12:59 pm

HI there. It sounds like you are on the right track with your diet. And since Tex already answered all your questions ( he's great), I can only say that I hope this works quickly for you.

How long have you had MC symptoms? How bad are your symptoms now? Those answers will give you a clue as to how long you should go before adding foods. I stayed on my strict elimination diet for 6 months ( but mine was not as strict as you). The easiest foods to add in at first are proteins ( beef, pork,fish…etc.). The first food I tried was white potatoes…. with success! I was so happy about that. It took a while before I could eat a salad, maybe a year or so. I still ( three years) have problems with anything more then a small quantity of fruit. We are all different with our recovery.

Have you tried antihistamines? If so, are your MC symptoms better? if so, then you pretty much know that you have a histamine/mast cell issue. I know I do.

Be careful with the probiotic thing. Most of us either do WORSE on them or feel no help at all.

Good luck.
Leah

ldubois7 · Post by **ldubois7** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:00 pm

Hello Michele,

My comment is about probiotics. I take GutPro because after researching the different strains that were histamine lowering, and gut healing, I found the right combination. There were a few strains that were suspect in Custom Probiotics, according my research. Maybe you could start with just one or two strains, but it took almost 2 years for me to be able to tolerate a probiotic and enzymes.

I wasted so much money buying different probiotics that I simple couldn't tolerate.

I only took hydrochloride acid due to low stomach acid and Vit D For almost a year before adding any other supplements successfully. Vit. D is essential for healing, but you have to find a clean one....I can take Freeda brand.

chellebelle · Post by **chellebelle** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:03 pm

Hi Leah,

I'm happy to hear you are doing better with your recovery :). That is unfortunate about the fruit, but great about the potatoes!

When I first started probiotics back in 2001-2002, they were a huge help to me. I had over 100 rounds of antibiotics as a kid (age 0-19), so I was having all sorts of unpleasant health issues. The past few years, I have taken them on and off but noticed no difference with them, positive or negative. When I started having tummy issues, I started taking VSL3 to see if it would help, and it did seem to quiet things a little, but that could have been other things I was tinkering with. They definitely don't make things worse for me. I've been pretty much the same for the past 5-6 months. It's hard to say when my symptoms began because I've always been prone to the runs, since I was a kid. I had to be hospitalized more than once back then. It became a definite problem by 2011, when I had to miss work more than once. I work from home now. I didn't realize what a huge issue it had become until about 5 months ago, when I realized I'd had loose bowel movements 5/7 days, minimum for the previous 6 months. I've had electrolyte imbalance problems since 2011. So I guess I'll say then for when it all started.

I take Benadryl (well, the generic dye-free children's liquid version LOL) for anaphylaxis & hives. I took it for the first time last spring, when a gentle breeze blew who-knows-what in my window & almost killed me (BBQ Shrimp, maybe?). I have noticed that Benadryl makes me feel super great all around, but I try not to take medication unless I absolutely need it. I haven't taken it & paid any attention to my MC because, before this forum, I didn't even know there was a connection. I will keep an eye on it next time. Maybe that is the reason for feeling "great" with it.

I don't know if I have a mast cell issues, but I do have many, many food allergies, some of them severe, so I wouldn't be surprised if I at least had a histamine issue.

Thank you for the reply!

Best wishes,

Michele

chellebelle · Post by **chellebelle** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:07 pm

ldubois7 wrote:Hello Michele,

My comment is about probiotics. I take GutPro because after researching the different strains that were histamine lowering, and gut healing, I found the right combination. There were a few strains that were suspect in Custom Probiotics, according my research. Maybe you could start with just one or two strains, but it took almost 2 years for me to be able to tolerate a probiotic and enzymes.

I wasted so much money buying different probiotics that I simple couldn't tolerate.

I only took hydrochloride acid due to low stomach acid and Vit D For almost a year before adding any other supplements successfully. Vit. D is essential for healing, but you have to find a clean one....I can take Freeda brand.

They can make blends of whichever strains you choose now, not sure if they did that when you used them. I will look at GutPro, thank you for the recommendation!

We have Healthy Origins Vitamin D3, which is from lanolin, in a gelatin capsule with glycerin & olive oil and is, according to the label, "Free of Sugar, Salt, Yeast, Wheat, Gluten, Corn, Soy, Barley, Fish,
Shell&sh, Nuts, Tree Nuts, Egg and Dairy Products. No Preservatives, Artificial
Colors or Artificial Flavors." Because of my allergies, I have to be really careful with supplements.

Thank you for responding!

Hopeful · Post by **Hopeful** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 3:20 pm

Chellebelle, I think you might be pleasantly surprised by taking antihistamines regularly. I know how you feel about taking meds, but compared to the strong prescriptions I have been on, antihistamines are pretty benign.

I was taking Allegra during the day (expensive! and not very effective) and 1/2 a benadryl before bed. But Tex suggested Chlorphen. The 12 mg. is just too strong for me unless I want to sit in a chair all day. Even the 4 mg. is a bit strong, but I split it in half and take it twice a day. I found a very cheap version of it on Amazon. It has definitely made a difference in my symptoms and I'm starting to tentatively (with all fingers crossed!) think I'm in remission.
I am feeling pretty confident that I can now start to slowly taper off the Entecort, which is my goal.

You might want to give it a try. Like you, I have suffered from various allergies since childhood so I'm pretty sure that histamines are a problem for me.

Good luck!

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:10 pm

Hi there,
Welcome to the group...

There is a discussion a few posts down where another member asked about elimination diet, did you read that post??

Main advice, there is no fixed timing or schedule. Listen to your body, don't rush the process.
Depending on your cell health, stress levels (emotional, mental and physical) healing can take anything from 3 months to 2 years...
Histamines/mast cell is vey common, after using h1 and h2 blockers for almost 2 years, I got good balance on histamine inflammation via high doses of magnesiu, vit C and zinc.

Only for situations where I will be amongst dirt and grass dust etc, do I take 4mg of the old school H1 blocker. I like this as it only works for the few hours I need extra support. I am not totally blocking histamines for a 24 hour period. (We need balanced amount of histamine for optimised digestion)

Majority of people here have to be super careful with all foods, supplements and even body creams, make up, lip balms etc for irritants and triggers... If you use the search function you will find many discussions about safe supplements, body products, make up etc....

Keep in mind that triggers can be external things like mould, chemicals, pollen, temp change, air change, dental work etc etc.... More so if you have heightened histamine/mast cell reactions

Good luck and happy healing....

chellebelle · Post by **chellebelle** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:43 pm

Thank you all for the informative and helpful replies to my post. I found out a couple days before my elimination diet that it is Truvia/erythritol which has been triggering me, which is great!! cause I can still have dairy and chocolate, LOL. It takes about 2 days for the erythritol to hit me if I have less than 10 grams of it - I did an experiment with a Bai5 drink. I have been normal/on the dry side for about 10 days. I am now increasing my water one glass a day & seeing no issues so far. Whew! I was really praying I wouldn't have to eliminate anything else, and this is really no big deal, as I can still use stevia on its own.

dfpowell · Post by **dfpowell** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:17 pm

Linda,

How is The GutPro probiotic working for you? How do you take it and how much do you take?

Thanks

ldubois7 · Post by **ldubois7** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:31 pm

Hi Donna!

The GutPro is working well. I purchased the powder form because there are no insert ingredients. I only take a very small amount. They have measuring spoons that I bought to get an accurate dosage.

My bloating/gas are minimal now. I think I'm going to order Prescript Assist, too. The more research I do the more I feel I need more than one type of probiotic to overcome the imbalance in my system.

How are you doing?