# What to do when you're eating "healthy" and still in pain?



## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

Basically, I have some sort of muscular and/or joint pain. I've changed my diet (and supplement intake) to support a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Basically, lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and protein (both nut, chicken and fish) with a lower intake of some dairy products. 

At any rate, I'm still waking up every few days in inordinate amounts of pain. Is it time for me to see a specialist?


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## Laney (Feb 20, 2012)

One vote for 'yes'.


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## Library_Cat (Apr 5, 2012)

koalaroo said:


> Basically, I have some sort of muscular and/or joint pain. I've changed my diet (and supplement intake) to support a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Basically, lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and protein (both nut, chicken and fish) with a lower intake of some dairy products.
> 
> At any rate, I'm still waking up every few days in inordinate amounts of pain. Is it time for me to see a specialist?


Something you may want to try is going gluten free. My mom gets painful swollen joints when she eats gluten, especially if she has also been eating a lot of salt, and has stopped exercising as much as she would like, due to her busy schedule.

With my own experience going dairy free because of allergies, and then going vegan, I can tell you that with any particular diet you choose, your body will be in a state of transition for about three weeks before it stabilizes enough that you can evaluate how the diet makes you feel. Have you been on this new diet for long? Maybe if you stick to it for about three weeks, you either start feeling much better, or you can then decide to try something new.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

@Library_Cat - 

I've tried gluten free before, and it really does nothing for me. I have no swelling, only arthromyalgia (joint & muscle pain) probably related to muscle pain. My reduction of dairy is basically down to yogurts (I sometimes cover meats and whole grain rices or pasta in a garlic & yogurt sauce) and cheese in moderation.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

koalaroo said:


> Basically, I have some sort of muscular and/or joint pain. I've changed my diet (and supplement intake) to support a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Basically, lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and protein (both nut, chicken and fish) with a lower intake of some dairy products.
> 
> At any rate, I'm still waking up every few days in inordinate amounts of pain. Is it time for me to see a specialist?


Have you had blood work done lately? You might want to ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level, your rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, etc, and check for Lyme disease.

It could be lupus, perhaps, or rheumatoid arthritis. 

You may want to see your doctor, or a rheumatologist.

I'm learning quite a bit about all of this lately because I've been having strange neurological symptoms for quite some time (vertigo, migraine with aura, occasional trigeminal neuralgia, brief loss of control of my right leg, etc). I believe that I have MS, but we are still sorting things out. My biological mother (I have not talked to her in years) has Lupus. Last week, I tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, which COULD mean that I have Lupus...or, I may have the antibodies because my biological mother does, or I have another autoimmune disorder...hopefully we will figure it out soon.

Anyway, sorry for the little digression...maybe start with blood tests and go from there. 

I hope you figure it out soon. Being in pain sucks.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

double post...forum issues?


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

@Snakecharmer - I get some bloodwork done at the endocrinologist every three months for hypothyroidism, but it's only a basic thyroid panel and the woman is worthless as tits on a turtle anyway. I asked her to do the thyroid antibody test, and she refused to do it because it costs too much. I told her I could pay for testing out of one of my trust funds, and she still refused to do the testing. Long story short, this nitwit of a doctor is going to be out of the picture. I'm probably getting a larger thyroid panel done through my GP and having it faxed to an endocrinologist at Duke to see if he'd be interested in looking into my case. 

As for the fibromalgia and joint pain, I'm looking at rheumatologists around where my parents live. I'm back on medication for bipolar disorder, which has helped a little bit with the fibromyalgia pain, but the pain still returns intermittently. My psychiatrist attempted to put me on Cymbalta (it's for both depression and fibromyalgia), but I refused because SSRIs and SNRIs tend to make me do one of two things: gain weight at an alarming rate or sweat profusely from my palms and feet. The mood stabilizer and antidepressant/antipsychotic I'm on seem (like I said) to be relieving some of the fibromyalgia symptoms, but I do still have some flare ups like I had this morning when I had to stay in bed for two extra hours because the pain in my hands, feet and legs was debilitating. 

And btw, I've been accidentally double posting a lot lately as well. Still a lot of lag.


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

koalaroo said:


> [MENTION=14631]
> I'm probably getting a larger thyroid panel done through my GP and having it faxed to an endocrinologist at Duke to see if he'd be interested in looking into my case.
> 
> As for the fibromalgia and joint pain, I'm looking at rheumatologists around where my parents live. I'm back on medication for bipolar disorder, which has helped a little bit with the fibromyalgia pain, but the pain still returns intermittently. My psychiatrist attempted to put me on Cymbalta (it's for both depression and fibromyalgia), but I refused because SSRIs and SNRIs tend to make me do one of two things: gain weight at an alarming rate or sweat profusely from my palms and feet. The mood stabilizer and antidepressant/antipsychotic I'm on seem (like I said) to be relieving some of the fibromyalgia symptoms, but I do still have some flare ups like I had this morning when I had to stay in bed for two extra hours because the pain in my hands, feet and legs was debilitating.
> ...


It sounds like seeing another doctor is a great idea. Some of them are so stubborn...sometimes I want to shake them and say _listen to ME - it is MY body - who else is going to know it better?_

It has taken me a long time to find a doctor who takes me seriously. I hope you find the same and get some relief.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

Snakecharmer said:


> It sounds like seeing another doctor is a great idea. Some of them are so stubborn...sometimes I want to shake them and say _listen to ME - it is MY body - who else is going to know it better?_
> 
> It has taken me a long time to find a doctor who takes me seriously. I hope you find the same and get some relief.


I swear some physicians don't bother reading medical journals once they've graduated, and some simply put have absolutely no common sense (and aren't actually all that smart either.) Thank you for wishing me well on what I'm sure will be an interesting trip through the services provided by these specialists. The rheumatologist I'm thinking of seeing comes highly rated and is attached to a nearby medical school, so he has to stay up-to-date with current literature. That is really all I ask for in my specialists, at the very least -- keeping up with current literature and being able to listen to your patient.


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## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

I'm sure you already know this and have taken in account for it, but when you change diets, your body also needs time to adjust. It is used to knowing which foods you will be putting in, and when you neglect them--replacing with something else--it freaks out. 

Also, "It get's worse before it gets better" is usually a good quote. Usually when you stuff your body with goodness, it has to force all the bad somewhere.

But, as I re-read your OP, I don't think joint pain falls into this? I would say be safe and see a specialist: just don't let them siphon your money :tongue:


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

I go to a huge medical practice @ Eastern VA Medical School now for those reasons. They stay very current and there are usually interns around to talk to as well. The interns are great listeners - and when one is shadowing a doctor, the doc seems to do a more thorough job.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

Crono91 said:


> I would say be safe and see a specialist: just don't let them siphon your money :tongue:


Hah, yeah. They won't be siphoning too much of my money if I can help it, but I do have a trust available at the moment for things like medical expenses and expenses for professional certificates (other trusts actually aren't available until I'm 30.) I basically know most of the tests that need to be run, but the endocrinologist I was seeing was all kinds of worthless. I'll accept my psychiatrist doing the chokehold check on my thyroid (he thought it was abnormally small), but the endocrinologist? No. She sees patients who have had partial thyroidectomies. I'm pretty sure she shouldn't need to check my thyroid via the chokehold method.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

Snakecharmer said:


> I go to a huge medical practice @ Eastern VA Medical School now for those reasons. They stay very current and there are usually interns around to talk to as well. The interns are great listeners - and when one is shadowing a doctor, the doc seems to do a more thorough job.


Thanks for the advice! I wasn't sure if I wanted interns in during the appointments or not, but I think I might write that down into the "pros" column of a pros/cons list.


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## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

koalaroo said:


> Hah, yeah. They won't be siphoning too much of my money if I can help it, but I do have a trust available at the moment for things like medical expenses and expenses for professional certificates (other trusts actually aren't available until I'm 30.) I basically know most of the tests that need to be run, but the endocrinologist I was seeing was all kinds of worthless. I'll accept my psychiatrist doing the chokehold check on my thyroid (he thought it was abnormally small), but the endocrinologist? No. She sees patients who have had partial thyroidectomies. I'm pretty sure she shouldn't need to check my thyroid via the chokehold method.


 I'll try to pretend to be smart and act like I know all those health-terms xDD I'm sure your insurance would cover most of that, right? No need to dip into your trust?


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

Crono91 said:


> I'll try to pretend to be smart and act like I know all those health-terms xDD I'm sure your insurance would cover most of that, right? No need to dip into your trust?


It should cover most of it, but I'm COBRAing off of my parents' insurance at the moment. I really don't mind dipping a little bit into the trust if need be.


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## Splash Shin (Apr 7, 2011)

Well your body may be getting used to the new diet. If it was a drastic change, you gotta give it time to build up reserves and figure out what it's doing.

right now your body is like "holy shit! look at all this good stuff! quick store it all up and ration it for later! We don't know when we will see more!!"


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

Splash Shin said:


> Well your body may be getting used to the new diet. If it was a drastic change, you gotta give it time to build up reserves and figure out what it's doing.
> 
> right now your body is like "holy shit! look at all this good stuff! quick store it all up and ration it for later! We don't know when we will see more!!"


I don't really think that's it. I've only modified my diet slightly.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

As a note, I went to the chiropractor today for a consult and my back at least feels better. We'll see what if any plan they find for me to manage pain while I try to get an appointment with the rheumatologist.


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## Library_Cat (Apr 5, 2012)

I'm glad you've narrowed it down a bit. Good luck!


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## Snakecharmer (Oct 26, 2010)

koalaroo said:


> As a note, I went to the chiropractor today for a consult and my back at least feels better. We'll see what if any plan they find for me to manage pain while I try to get an appointment with the rheumatologist.


My ex-husband is a chiropractor. I ran his office for 8 years, and I remember patients with conditions like fibromyalgia seeing significant improvement. That might be the long-term answer for you.


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