Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.
My GP has diagnosed me with fibromyalgia and after reading alot of the posts here I wonder if I truly have it or if the symtoms of MC are so wide that they mimic the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Mostly it is the neruological problems and pain that bother me the most with what I thought was fibromyalgia. My neck and shoulders hurt almost all the time. My arms neck and legs "lock up" and I can not move them sometimes. I have knots on my arms and can not stand to be touched and to be quite honest the posts that I have put up on this board I have to let my cousin type for me because I can not think about what I want to say or how to say it. She helps me. I tell her what I want to say and she puts it in and reads it back to me to see it is what I wanted to say. How sad is that. My doctor also said that he thought the "fogs could have been made worse from the 6 hours of an oxygen level below 50 and another 2 hours in the 70-80 range before they got it back in the low 90's. It is still not good.
Sharon I would say there is a good chance that your symptoms are related to MC. Before the D started I had aches and pains (knees hips back & shoulders) for about 10 years and like you I was DXd with FMS in 1998. After going GF/SF and mostly dairy free these aches and pains have significantly reduced. It would not surprise me that FMS may be related to dietary intolerances.
I am going GF and DF also. The gluten is the hardest for me. The obvious gluten is easy it is the hidden gulten I am having trouble with but I can do it. Lately no food sounds good to me anyway. I will do anything to feel better.
Hi Sharon the hidden gluten can be a real issue, and once you have achieved a GF/SF diet it does take a few months (at least for me) to start to see the benefits. To get rid of the hidden gluten and soy I have gotten to the point of preparing all my own foods with the exception of some GF/SF baking mixes. I do not buy (or trust) anything made in a factory. restaurants can also be a challenge. There is so much gluten and soy out there to make sure, you have to prepare your own foods form fresh known ingredients.
This really can be like navigating a minefield at times, but over time it does get easier and we do start to feel better.
I also had those symptoms when I was reacting, (except for the locking joints), and I had severe arthritis in my knees and some of my fingers. The diet eliminated my symptoms, though it took quite a while to heal.
I agree with you about the fibromyalgia. It really amounts to a collection of symptoms that are usually resolved when the symptoms of MC are resolved. Most of us have/had the symptoms of numerous autoimmune "diseases" while our MC is/was active. For most of us, those other autoimmune issues become much less of a problem, and in many cases, disappear altogether, once the MC is brought under control.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Sharon,
I have been gluten free for many years. I am really good at knowing which items contain gluten or 'hidden' gluten. If you ever have a ? on a specific item, don't hesitate to ask!
Jenny
Jenny, I have a question about the granola bars I have been eating. They don't have have wheat or barley but they do have oats. Are those ok. I am really not good at this yet.
What are the brand/make of the granola bars? Make sure if you read on the bottom of the label if they were made in a facility that processes wheat as well
Whether or not a production line is dedicated to non-wheat production has little to do with the risk of contamination from oats. Oats has a very high risk of contamination with wheat during the growing process, and during harvest, transportation, and storage, and once contaminated, it is almost impossible for conventional cleaning equipment to remove wheat seeds from oats. Once it gets to a production facility, the risk of contamination is minimal.
The real risk with oats, however, is sensitivity to the avenin in oats, (avenin is the prolamin protein equivalent in oats, of the gluten in wheat). Many of us here, (including myself), are sensitive to the avenin in oats, and we react to it similarly to wheat gluten. If you do a search of the archives, you can locate several posts describing an oat challenge that I did, 2 or 3 years ago, to prove that I am sensitive to oats which were certified to be pure.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Sharon,
There are a number of nut-based "granola" bars that you can eat while on the go. Most are made up of nuts and dried fruit mashed together. The nuts do have fiber, so be sure to chew them fully. I enjoy the following brands: Kind Bars, Glenny's, Nature's Valley Gluten Free nut bars, Lara Bars, and Bakery on Main (Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bar).
I've also recently discovered Udi's Gluten Free granola made with certified GF oats. But I usually eat cereals made with rice, corn, quinoa & amaranth.
It is 12 months since i went totally gluten free (including most of the hidden gluten)
and at least 6 months that i have been DF/YF/SF
like Joe i prepare 95% of my foods from scratch including making my own stock
once i figured out the irritants and removed them from my world, the pains in my ankles, knees, shoulders, stabbing pains i would get in my colon, headaches, foggy brain, pretty well stopped. I had been having issues with these symptoms for 3 years or more.
last week i ate out for a work lunch, and am sure that i had soy, dairy and yeast and maybe a bit of gluten, post the meal i had one incident of D which wasnt tooo bad, but my ankles gave me grief for 2 days.
it was a nice reminder of why sticking to my eating plan is important
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
My doctor also said that he thought the "fogs could have been made worse from the 6 hours of an oxygen level below 50 and another 2 hours in the 70-80 range before they got it back in the low 90's. It is still not good. 
