During the intervening years, I tried lots of different medicines and remedies, conventional and otherwise. Over time some of my symptoms got better, but the fibro was still very bad and affected every aspect of my life.

Doctors prescribed pain killers and told me to exercise. I tried Neurontin, Lyrica, Cymbalta and others, including antidepressants.
Herbal enthusiasts recommended supplements.
Alternative medicine practitioners tried acupuncture and massage.

Things seemed to help a little, but nothing made a major improvement.

I was denied insurance and experienced the disdain of doctors who either “didn’t believe in fibro” or who tried to counsel me that I was having panic attacks. My “panic attack” happened when I came out of a Pizza Hut after eating a thick crust pizza and a soda. Hint, Hint.

Then, in Dec. 2009, my husband and I began the South Beach Diet, a low-carb (not the Atkins no-carb) diet and so we had to get off carbs, sugar, fruit, etc. for a two-week crash course. Instead, we ate our own natural beef, other lean meats, and veggies.

I found out about the MSG after a couple of visits to a Chinese restaurant. It was pretty clear SOMETHING was wrong and yet all I’d eaten was some meat with sauce. Twelve hours later I was on the couch, wondering what was wrong. Then I had some sausage with MSG (I didn’t know it until after the fact) and ended up on the couch in PAIN. My muscles and joints were burning.

Check off MSG. Now I just check everything for MSG, even my spices. I can eat Chinese food as long as I ask for no MSG.

Now for the wheat. I don’t have a wheat allergy, it just makes me feel strange for some reason. I feel rather dizzy and light-headed, and my sinuses feel like they’re closing up, and I have a deep ache in my muscles that may last for hours or even over a day. That was the “panic attack” I had coming out of Pizza Hut. Right now I’m experimenting with different flours and grains to see what I can and can’t eat.

I’ve always know that I can’t eat a lot of sugar…my whole family has problems with low blood sugar and I’ve made myself very sick before eating a donut on an empty stomach. Getting rid of the sugar has helped a LOT to get rid of my anxiety, weakness, light-headedness, and frantic “I need to eat RIGHT NOW” feeling that I used to have very frequently.

I know that everyone’s fibromyalgia is different. Lots of times it’s connects to Lupus or some other chronic condition. I just wonder how many other people are like me, though. A few changes in their diet might not eliminate fibro, but it might help.

Since I’ve learned this, I’ve run into so many women that tell me that eating wheat or MSG or something makes them feel bad. Now, these aren’t people with food allergies that make their throats close up….eating these food just makes them feel bad so they quietly avoid them.

It makes me wonder WHY so many women have these problems.
Do men have them, too?
Is this something new, caused perhaps by a change in our foods, pesticides, etc?
Why don’t more doctors know about and tell their patients about it?

Changing my diet has helped me more than all the pills and other advice I’ve ever tried, and I feel that it’s getting to the root of the problem rather than just attacking the symptoms.