Chronic Pain and Fatigue – More of My Story and a Healthy Diet for Me

Before I even fell ill early this year I knew there was something wrong with me.

My whole life I have suffered from asthma and eczema, and whenever I fell sick it went to my chest and lasted longer than it should. I’ve often been told that even as a young child I had massive bags under my eyes and was always saying I was tired.

In mid 2011, I started reacting badly to the contraceptive pill I was on. It was causing constant breast pain, nausea and dizziness. By late 2011 I had stopped taking the pill and was starting to feel better. I had more energy and less pain, dizziness and nausea.

Then late last year I had a whole month when I was constantly dizzy which made me slightly nauseous. Nothing the doctors suggested worked and it wasn’t until I undertook a challenge at the gym that followed a paleo diet.

I noticed that my asthma, the dizziness and nausea lessened (almost stopped), my eczema vanished and I had more energy than ever before.

When the challenge ended I went back to my doctor, explained what had happened and got a referral to an allergist. Through the testing the allergist did and the elimination diet I undertook with his supervision it was determined that I probably had an allergy to yeast and definitely had an intolerance to gluten and diary.

Photo (c) Megan S, January 2013
Photo (c) Megan S, January 2013

Through experimentation we have determined it is pretty much possible to avoid yeast completely, so I just try to limit it as much as possible. Gluten and dairy are now completely off the menu for me.

If I accidentally eat either gluten or dairy (like I think I did on Wednesday) my rashes flare up, my stomach bloats terribly and my energy and pain levels increase three fold.

I still need to determine if there are any other food items that I react to, E says I’m allergic to everything :-), but at this moment this is enough for me to deal with.

I tend to focus on fresh fruit, veg, nuts, pulses and meat with almond and coconut milk, eggs, rice and the occasional (or not so occasional) gluten and dairy free treat. See below for some examples of the foods I eat.

Photo (c) Megan S, August 2013
Fresh from my garden Photo (c) Megan S, August 2013
My Usual Breakfast Photo (c) Megan S, November 2013
My Usual Breakfast
Photo (c) Megan S, November 2013
Photo (c) Megan S, June 2013
Experimental Apple Cakes
Photo (c) Megan S, June 2013
Banana Pancakes (recipe to follow) Photo (c) Megan S, November 2013
Banana Pancakes (recipe to follow)
Photo (c) Megan S, November 2013

What is your diet like?

Have you found that certain food groups affect your symptoms?