Well…it’s time to face the facts. When 3 out of 3 medical professionals agree it must be right. When all 3 medical professionals are from different areas then you probably shouldn’t ignore the advice. I’m not sure yet if I should be thankful that my GI doctor, nutritionist, and acupuncture are all in agreement. Most people with Gastroparesis would be thrilled to have 3 medical professionals agree. Although, I think most GPers will agree with me on this one. No one wants to hear the four things these professionals agree on.
They ALL have recommended that I give up gluten, dairy, sugar, and caffeine! OH NO!! What will I do?! I will feel better! That is what I will do! I have known for a long time that this is inevitable, but this time I am ready to accept it. I am ready to face the long road ahead to cutting these items out of my diet and my life. My eye is on the prize and the prize is feeling better.
I’m viewing this food elimination process like I view running a half marathon. You know the journey will be difficult but you know what an amazing accomplishment it will be. When I run a race I run it in 4 sections. Oddly enough, 4 sections of 3 miles. (I am a numbers nerd, so seeing 4 & 3 pop up must mean something!) This means that I will run the food elimination marathon in 4 sections. I plan to chose one item per month to focus on.
Considering that I have already eliminated most gluten, I will focus the month of April on eliminating gluten. I will miss my occasional bread and occasional pasta but it will be worth it to have more good days. I also know that I cannot start with caffeine. I will need my lovely cup of coffee and my delectable mochas to get me through the first part of this journey.
Who knows which section will be next. We shall wait and see what feels the most natural to give up.
Does anyone have gluten free recipes that they would like to share?
I’m excited for this new portion of my Gastroparesis Adventure and am hopeful that it will lead to more relief. Staying positive is the key!
~Millie
Adventures with Gastroparesis 
I’d havea really tough time giving up caffeine! good luck with it all!
Thanks Amanda!
Caffeine DEFINITELY can’t be first! I am hooked even though I went caffeine free about 10 years ago and felt amazing. Then one fall afternoon…I had a mocha…and I was hooked.
~Millie
Hi Millie,
I think that I need another allergy test just to put my mind at ease (had one as a child and wasn’t allergic to anything, but they say as an adult you can get allergies to anything, anytime)!
I don’t think I have a gluten allergy, but I suspect dairy… I’ve tried to experiment this month with that. I never was a coffee drinker, so caffeine isn’t a issue.. I feel sorry for you guys!
Keep us posted how it goes with eliminating the diet triggers! All the best!
Thanks Jen!
You can definitely expect some posts regarding the process of trying out new foods. I’m sure it will be an adventure!
I had a food sensitivity test (MRT Test) done which is different than the allergy test. It shows how sensitive you are to certain foods and is really quite eye opening.
Here is the link that describes the testing: http://acupuncturenutrition.com/mediator-release-testing-mrt-faq/
This is not my nutritionist, but this site has a comprehensive explanation of the test.
~Millie
Millie,
That link you provided is very interesting, especially the part listing the lymphocytes. Have you ever had low readings? Sometimes over the years my WBC count was little low, but the doctors never seemed concerned (and at that time I didn’t know that I had GP). I’ve always been susceptible to colds and bronchitis (I’ve never smoked) since I was kid, so I always thought my body is going into overtime working to keep me healthy!
My latest lab work said that my lymphocytes were a little low again (just 4 points below the norm), so she wasn’t concerned, but I still wonder if that is from a reaction against a possible allergy that I have?
Well, when I go back in a few months to be rechecked for the Vitamin D, I will discuss those allergy testing options with her (I should have this week, but I was just overwhelmed with so many other things going on… I am lucky I didn’t have a flare up)! GP really makes you slow down, however I was never a “Type A” personality to begin with.
Did you start out with having a regular allergy test and then did your specialist recommended the MRT? Or did you already know about it before you were tested?
Hi Jen,
A coworker of mine who has digestive issues as well (not GP, but definitely not fun) was going to a nutritionist that specialized in this type of test. Based off her feedback, I dived right in! I did it on my own.
However, I did share the results with my GI doctor (who seemed to think I had stepped on his toes) and my acupuncturist. My acupuncturist thought it was spot on with the “reading” he was getting from my pulse.
I would definitely recommend that you check with your doctor before trying anything because I am DEF not a trained medical professional.
~Millie
I can’t have caffeine either 😦 but I haven’t missed it too much – still love the smell though. Check out my page if you’re looking for some gluten-free/dairy-free/sugar-free recipes. Most of the ones I post fall into these categories. Hopefully they will give you some ideas 🙂
Where is the UBER-Like button for this!
I just checked out your blog & am DEFINITELY going to try some recipes. 🙂
As I get further along in my food elimination experiment, I’m sure that I will be linking to your blog!
Thanks for sharing with me!
~Millie
Sounds great!! Thanks! 😉
I haven’t totally eliminated the caffiene yet, but have cut wayyyyyyy back. I now only have 2 cups of coffee in the morning instead of my usual pot full. I have cut back on chocolate consumption also. Have seen a difference. Now when I have too much caffiene I know it and pay dearly for it.
Millie, I’m totally with you on this!!! We should start some kind of support group, maybe on FB? I ran a group program for those with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) last fall and the diet is pretty similar to help rid of that, sort of like candida overgrowth. With GP it makes it quite challenging though. Coffee is like my sunshine in the morning, even if it’s just 1/2 cup, such a guilty pleasure. I have a number of recipes that are gluten and dairy free on my blog.
It always helps to have someone to motivate you when going on a dietary challenge so I look forward to following your journey 🙂
Thank you so much Stephanie!
Yes, it is much more motivating when you have someone to help motivate you. I also feel that blogging about this will help me feel accountable and even more determined to succeed!
Please send me the link to your blog so that I can check out your recipes! I just made a delicious gluten-free turkey meatloaf. 🙂
~Millie
Can’t wait to have another resource for recipes! Here is the link to my blog…www.journeywithgp.com
Not all of the recipes are under the “recipe” tab on top but if you click on recipe in the word cloud on the side, they should come up. I also have a Pinterest page with recipe ideas for GP, most gluten free: http://pinterest.com/journeywithgp/
Can you tolerate eggs? A favorite breakfast of mine is an egg with corn tortilla and maybe a slice of avocado if stomach is happy. Also, the paleo pumpkin pancakes are delicious from my blog. I try to stick to small servings of “real” food like homemade soups, smoothies, nut butters, hot cereal (buckwheat, quinoa flakes), fish, poultry, potatoes, zucchini, sweet potatoes, white rice, etc.
Thank you so much Stephanie!
I can’t do much corn or avocado, but will definitely check out the recipes.
~Millie
I ran a marathon nine days into an elimination diet (no gluten, corn, dairy, refined sugar, coffee). I was a little concerned about my nutritional needs for the race, but I ended up not hitting a wall and finished the race feeling great. I was also able to walk normally to my car without limping.
I attribute all of those positives to the lack of inflammation that would normally cause considerable fatigue in the last miles.
Four months later, after reintroducing corn and sugar, but still free of gluten and dairy, I ran my fastest marathon by 18 minutes (and qualified for Boston). I trained for that race, but I also attribute some of my success, again, to being gluten and dairy free.
After my successful marathon I succumbed to the food demons and started consuming large quantities of pizza and ice cream. After two months of eating “normal” again I ran another marathon and was more than 30 minutes slower than the prior marathon. I experienced serious fatigue in my legs and feet. I was gluten and dairy free again the very next day. It’s easy for me now that I have a tangible personal example of symptoms.
I’ve learned to love buckwheat pancakes, rice, and good gf pasta. It isn’t so hard once you get used to it.
Thanks David!
This is great motivation to keep moving forward with the eating plan.
The saying “You are what you eat” is 150% true!
Hope that you do well on any future marathons that you have coming up!
~Millie
Pingback: No Gluten, No Dairy, No Sugar, No Caffeine, OH MY! | Adventures ...