Low Carb for pain relief?

[MeanLaureen]

Hi everyone!

I thought maybe I could find out more info about this here since I heard you guys are the greatest!

I've heard through the grapevine that a low carb diet has been shown to give some relief to people in chronic pain. Has anyone experienced this or known someone who used this for pain relief?

I have chronic AOSD (kind of a marriage of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus) and am currently living on a mix of Neurontin and Vicodin 3 times a day to stay somewhat mobile. A lot of people in my condition aren't. (But I'm stubborn..lol)

I can't exercise because of the joint destruction I'm going through although I'm not a sedentary person and work 45 hours a week - mostly on my feet. I don't try to diet because my metabolism has been reduced to zero anyway with all the meds I'm taking so I'm really looking for pain relief. I figured once I get a handle on pain I can concentrate on a diet for the sake of dieting.

Also, can anyone give me an idea of what is okay to eat when you go low carb?

Thanks for your input

 

[Strings]

Laueen,
I know that there are some clinical trials out there with diet/pain relief at the core. I would talk with your doc before I did anything drastic with your diet. I would also suggest either picking up the South Beach or Atkins book. They both provide really good explanations of the diets, and sample menus/recipes.
Beth

 

[DoeWDW]

Lauri, it's great to see you on the WISH board, even if you're just WISHing for pain relief! Low carb diets have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body. I believe inflammation is part of what causes the pain in rheumatoid arthritis, so it couldn't hurt to try low-carb eating.

What you can and can't eat - that varies by low-carb plan (and there are plenty of those ). In a nutshell, minimize sugar and stuff made with white flour. Stay away from starchy veggies like corn, peas and potatoes. Just doing those things will probably help you a lot. Focus on eating your protein and non-starchy veggies every day.

You'll get various ideas about how much fat to include in your diet. Some plans advise low fat everything and others advise good fats and some plans say fats don't really matter as long as you're not eating carbs with them. If you're eating a meal with a lot of carbs, then limit the amount of fat at that meal. If you're eating a meal very low in carbs, then you don't have to worry as much about the fat content at that meal.

If you need to eat bread, make it whole wheat. If you want fruit, you may want to combine it with some protein and fat to slow how quickly the fruit's sugar is absorbed by your body. Apple slices with peanut butter on them are a good example. I wouldn't advise drinking fruit juice - eat the whole fruit.

Sorry to overload you with ideas - hope you can make some sense of all this! I also hope you can find a way to help moderate the pain you're living with.

Here's a gentle ,
Doreen

 

[nativetxn]

Welcome, Lauri. I don't know much about low carb and pain relief but I can tell you that I haven't had a cold or anything like that since I started low carbing on 1/9/03. That pleases me.

I hope that you can find pain relief by eschewing white flour and sugar.

 

[MeanLaureen]

I hope that you can find pain relief by eschewing white flour and sugar

eschewing flour? Doesn't that make an awful mess in your house??

 

[Baileymouse]

I've had virtually no pain since following a low-carb diet. I also try to follow the Atkins anti-yeast plan, where you give up foods that help breed yeast - vinegar, root beer, sugar (of course), etc.

I had bad joint and tissue pain - fibromyalgia (?) but it's gone now!

 

[Amor4Pooh]

I used to have constant swelling of the ankles ( I think it's called thrombosis), and was even prescibed a water pill by my doctor. I only took it once, (after I read all the side affects and warnings I shied away from it), but since I have started a low carb diet, have not had it again. I also had lots of knee pain, but that has really diminished as well. I am hoping that when I lose the wieght I need to, it may even go away for good. It has definitely made a difference for me.
Nichole

 

[nancyj_pa]

Since I began Protein Power last August, my chronic knee pain is gone. I had trouble walking up and down steps, hills, etc. I even had X-rays done.

The pain diminished completely after about 20 pounds were gone. It could just be the weight loss or a combination of both. I could not believe the difference. I lived with the knee pain for many years.

There are many web sites for low carbing. Pick one and give it a try.

I have extremely low metabolism due to thyroid disease (am on medication) and hate to exercise due to many factors (age, busy life style, laziness?, etc.) but try to walk outside a couple of times a week, weather permitting. I also bought the WATP tapes for bad weather. This is relatively easy to do and does not seem to be overdoing it for those with joint problems.

Good luck with whatever you choose. Why not join us here at WISH and try a healthy new lifestyle.

NancyJ

 

[sha_lyn]

I read that a high proiten low carb plan really hwlp with joint pain. I'v been on Atkins for about a month and I've noticed a big difference in my shoulder and knee pain.

Also nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers) can cause joint inflamation and pain.

 

[nativetxn]

Eschewing flour does <i>not<?i> make a mess, Lauri

How's it going? Still hanging in there?