by SecretAgentMan on March 21st, 2015, 6:16 pm
Early on after my GP and neuro ran through all kinds of tests and had no answers for me I ended up going to see a holistic doctor. One of the first things they recommended was to cut out wheat and dairy products since they contain hard to digest proteins and are common trouble foods. When I finally broke down and decided to try their recommendation I started feeling better within a few days. The twitching did not go away, but it did diminish. I had other issues I was going through pretty much disappear though, so I felt a great deal better. I was having terrible episodes of brain fog, night sweats, panic attacks, and other stuff going on besides the twitching. One of the first things I did in giving up dairy was I switched to soy milk. Within a few weeks I began getting headaches when drinking soy milk or when I had a product with soy in it. I was developing new food sensitivities. That is when I learned about a condition called 'leaky gut syndrome'.
I went on a rotational diet and kept a food journal. The diet rotation makes it difficult for your body's immune system to learn to target new foods. In leaky gut syndrome the lining of your intestines is under so much inflammation that it does not do its job properly. Normally it is only supposed to let nutrients from your food through but in this case undigested food proteins make it through. Your immune system and detox organs become overwhelmed and foods begin to be targeted as a threat. Leaky gut syndrome is primarily caused by an imbalance in gut flora. Good bacteria is far outnumbered by a natural yeast called candida.
I had to take an aggressive diet approach to not only avoid foods that were inflammatory for me, but I also had to avoid foods that were feeding the candida. I pretty much adopted the Paleo diet. No grains except rice, no dairy, no soy, no sugars (artificial or natural), no vinegars, no alcohol, no nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant) etc. I pretty much ate meat, fish, veggies, fruits, and rice. It was pretty strict for about 6 months while I healed. I took some L-Glutamine supplements to help speed the healing process up for the intestines. I took a supplement called Interface Plus to help speed up the die off of candida. In the last few months I took lots of probiotics to repopulate the good bacteria. Around 8 or 9 months in I began working foods slowly back in to my rotation. I was able to resume eating nightshade vegetables, limited sugars, alcohol, and a few other things. Unfortunately I still had negative reactions to dairy, soy, and wheat/gluten. Fortunately I was going to see holistic doctors that had an array of awesome tools and techniques at their disposal including an acupressure based allergy elimination technique. I thought it sounded too good to be true at first, but they had already won my trust with all of the amazing results we had achieved. I was willing to go out on a limb and trust them. Sure enough it worked. After a few treatments I was able to eat gluten, dairy, soy, and a few other foods without having headaches, twitching, or other weird symptoms.
Even though I could eat these foods I ate them in much more moderation than ever before. I had come to appreciate a simpler healthier diet that was avoiding a lot of processed foods and I felt wonderful. I felt better in my 30's than I did in my 20's, even before BFS started for me. I don't doubt that diet was part of it. I didn't consider myself to eat unhealthy either. I ate what society had taught me was healthy. I trusted the FDA certification for what we should or should not eat. Food in the freezer section of the grocery store that comes in a box that you microwave and is called 'healthy choice' for example, I had learned was not really healthy at all.
Today I no longer have BFS. I consider myself fully recovered. I was fortunate to find the cause for my condition, the triggers that made the symptoms flare up, and the solution. Not everyone here may have leaky gut or food sensitivities driving their symptoms. It is worth exploring, but even if you do have it you may have different trigger foods than I did. You may have different side issues going on. My holistic doctors were able to help me treat far more than just the food stuff. I'm giving the 20,000 foot view here. I don't know what I would have done if not for finding those awesome doctors that helped me along the way. Whatever you do, I recommend finding good help because it is a journey to recover and heal and good guides know the short cuts. This condition did not develop over night and there is no magic bullet or instant cure. Recovery for me required some changes in lifestyle and a commitment to do so. It is not easy to give up certain foods. I think I know how smokers feel who try to quit and then suffer when they sit and watch their friends smile and enjoy a smoke. It's hard to walk past a Cinnabon and smell all that sugary delicious gluten and not be able to eat one.
What really helped me get through it was 3 things I think. First, I just had to remind myself how much better I felt when I was staying away from those trigger foods. Second, my wife was very supportive and ate a lot of the foods I did. She did her best to not eat things I missed in front of me. Third was that I got creative with new recipes and foods that I could eat, which helped keep me distracted from missing old foods. It is amazing the difference that your perspective makes. Instead of being negative about what I couldn't eat, I stayed positive and focused on exploring new things. Remember your perspective.
Anyway, I hope this answered your question and then some. Let me know if you have more. Good luck.
If your mind is your own worst enemy, why not make friends with it and turn it into your greatest ally? Mental discipline is achievable and there is help available. Learn what works for you, practice, and change your life for the better.