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Carbohydrate Issues and Fibromyalgia

November 22, 2009 by Lisa


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In year three of my recovery from Fibromyalgia, I read the book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Fibromyalgia.  In it was extensive information about why many (possibly the majority) of people with fibromyalgia have carbohydrate intolerance, or metabolic issues when they consume carbohydrates.

In these people, eating a lot or any carbohydrates can cause some of the following symptoms:

  • Nervousness
  • Irritability
  • Fatigue & Exhaustion
  • Faintness, dizziness, cold sweats, shakiness, weak spells
  • Depression
  • Drowsiness, especially after meals or in the mid-afternoon
  • Headaches
  • Digestive disturbances (hmmm, candida, irritable bowel)
  • Forgetfulness
  • Insomnia
  • Needless worrying
  • Mental confusion
  • Rapid pulse, especially after eating certain foods
  • Muscle Pains
  • Antisocial behavior
  • Overly emotional, crying spells
  • Leg Cramps
  • Shortness of breath, sighing and excess yawning
  • Cravings for starch and sugar rich foods
  • being overweight

So, what’s crazy about this list to me is how many of the symptoms mimic fibromyalgia symptoms.  Imagine, if you had a carbohydrate issue and fibromyalgia, and you took care of the carbohydrate issue by restricting the amount of carbs you ate in some way, and then half your symptoms went away!  Talk about feeling better quickly!

So, what happened to me was I realized that I had carbohydrate issues – in the book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Fibromyalgia they offer a small test that you can just answer yes or no to the questions  to get a good indication of whether you may have carb intolerance or not.    They also talk about it here on their hypoglycemia page.

Basically, the book says that the standard blood test that most doctors consider definitive in determining hypoglycemia actually is not.  In the book they say that listening to a patients history is more effective in determining hypoglycemia, or carbohydrate intolerance.

I definitely had major carbohydrate issues, but when I took the standard blood test (gtt) my results were negative, so I am on board with the opinion that the blood test is not worth anything.

So, I tried the strict carbohydrate diet as described in the book, and I did feel better.  I also lost weight.  I was not able to maintain it over the holidays though.  And I did continue to get better even though I wasn’t on a low carbohydrate diet anymore.  Of course, by this time I was exercising quite a bit, so that makes blood sugar issues less anyway.

Two years later, I tried the low-carb diet again, but this time I did the moderate one – and although I felt worse for the first few days, I felt better after that.  And what was interesting was that my body was now sensitive enough that I could feel what carbohydrates did to me as they were doing it.  I could discern very subtle responses in my body, even the day after.

Through my own experience, I have determined that limiting carbohydrates (especially anything eaten as comfort food or to self-soothe) can be very valuable in trying to feel better from fibromyalgia, if you have a carbohydrate issue.  You can read the book (get it from the library or here or talk to your doctor if you suspect you may have this issue.

A few of my other favorite books on low carb diets are here: Low Carbohydrate books

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Filed under: Candida, Food and Fibro, Reversing Fibromyalgia




Have you seen my book yet? I reversed Fibromyalgia in my own body. I think anyone can do it, no matter how long they've had Fibro or how severe their pain, fatigue, fibrofog, or tiredness. Click here to Start Your Journey Back to Wellness!

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