Food intolerance and TMS

I get allergies when I eat gluten, and sinus problems with dairy. I also have episodes of sciatica. However all of them go away every time I go on holidays (so I take a lot of long ones , lol). So in my case, yes, gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance are definitely TMS.

 

I went out to eat lunch at a local restaurant today. I maintained my gluten/dairy free diet but I ate a variety of other things that are not typically in my diet. Nothing unhealthy--just vegetables and spices that I don't use at home (I ate at a food co-op where all of the ingredients are listed on each buffet item). Afterwards, I noticed that many of my typical symptoms were worse, including: left temple ache, itching on my neck and fatigue. I also noticed a stomach ache.

My question is this: should I continue to eat like I did today (less restrictive) or should I stay with my regular diet? Maybe some of the reaction occurred because my body simply isn't used to eating some of these foods--but I'm not sure. This is where the fear comes in for me. Some practitioners suggest a very restrictive diet for as long as it takes to heal a leaky gut. But if the cause is TMS, putting so much time and energy into a restrictive diet may be missing the mark. Any thoughts?

 

Your stomach may just not have liked something you ate off your regular diet.
I'm no dietician or doctor but maybe try eating the same meal again and see if the symptoms return.
If so, stay away from what you added.

 

Hiawatha,
I think you would be well served by seeking out the help of a TMS doctor to assist you with making a decision about whether or not your symptoms are due to a leaky gut or to TMS. The placebo effect is very real and very strong, and most of us with TMS have had experiences where we received relief from our symptoms due to some medical/dietary/alternative health intervention, etc.--for awhile. I spent a lot of time and money chasing those cures only to find that after awhile I was right back where I was before, only poorer. Now I have made lasting progress in resolving my TMS while only buying a few books.

One of my personal "rule-of-thumbs" about deciding if something I am experiencing is TMS or not (after having all medical tests come back negative, of course) is to ask myself this question: Is this symptom or reaction to something environmental or something I ate, etc. a problem for most other people? If the answer is "no", then that is a big clue for me that what I'm experiencing is very likely to be TMS. Some of the examples in my personal life have been food; food additives; supplements; chemicals in cosmetics; new carpets; mild amounts of noise/light at night when trying to sleep; too hot or too cold rooms; too hard or too soft beds/pillows, etc.--the list goes on. I call this the "goldilocks syndrome", as in "this bed is too hard....", and I had it bad before I discovered TMS theory. I now know that my perceived sensitivity to all these things is just that--a perception, and not some external reality. I am not physically a "sensitive, hot-house flower" as I once perceived myself to be. I do, however, have all the TMS personality traits and am, therefore, very susceptible to repressing my emotions and having that turn into physical symptoms. Now that I have accepted this I am well on my way to health and well-being. It was a long, difficult road to getting here, but I'm so glad I've arrived.

 

Thank you for your comments, Ellen. I appreciate your feedback!

To me, TMS makes a lot of sense. I have called Dr. Hoffman in Minnesota--but I probably won't be able to see him until later in August. I'd really like to see someone before then. I was incredibly frustrated yesterday after I had such a strong reaction to the meal. It would be nice to get some clarity around this diet issue.

To answer the question you posed above, the reactions and physical symptoms that I experience are not common for most other people. And I have not received a diagnosis of any kind (other than gluten sensitivity via a testing process that is still being debated). I am also aware that I have experienced some pretty significant emotional issues that weigh(ed) heavily on my daily life.

 

Hi, Hiawatha, while waiting to see Dr. Hoffman in August, you could discuss your symptoms with a TMS practitioner by submitting your question using the following form:

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/forms/ask-a-tms-therapist.1/respond

 

Thank you, Walt. I submitted a question about whether or not allergies (environmental and food) are TMS equivalents.

 

did i EVER go through this! i am convinced my digestive issues are tms now, but until i discovered this, i went through such deprivation with foods. i was miserable...never could figure out what i could eat, especially eating out! oh no! then....i discovered a new "syndrome"...this is before my current tms journey, but it was very helpful. it's called orthorexia. there is even a book about it. check it out on amazon. it is actually a real thing that is going on b/c of all the guru diets and warnings and fear mongering about foods that make those folks a lot of money...crazy making. that concept put me on the road to looking deeply into my perception of food rather than the food itself. i realized i was NEVER ENJOYING eating...i was carefully chewing each morsel wondering if it was going to hurt me. no pleasure in food, just fear and pain. now...i am so much better...i enjoy eating, it feel good to treat myself occasionally to something (like a piece of cheesecake! lol) and hey, nothing bad happens. in fact, the joy in eating the cheesecake i believe is actually stress reducing. that's my justification anyway, but doesn't matter...the treat still isn't a problem. still on the mend...but am a whole lot better and improving every day. the tms work which is finally resonating stronger than fixing any body issues. that is the key.

 

check out my earlier post (a few minutes ago and an above response to similar post). look into orthorexia - it's a THING! helped me recognize what i was doing and then was much easier to accept and stick to a tms diagnosis for myself. life-changing for sure.

 

Thanks for resurrecting this thread! You remind me that I also never derived any pleasure from eating... and after I got past my digestive issues, I was amazed to discover of it could actually be a pleasure. In my case, it wasn't an overnight switch-- I had to ease into the less restrictive diet. But it was only a matter of a few months, which was nothing after years and years of stomach torture =)

 

well thank you for responding to it. i always wonder when i post something on an old thread if it is seen by anyone. i think this is an important thread to keep going right now as it seems everybody i know has some kind of digestive issues. of course, it does depend somewhat on choosing a healthy lifestyle, but that's just the conscious stuff. the unconscious is what we re exploring here and it's a deep rabbit hole! tms is the light at the bottom.

 

@TrustIt, you've made a great series of posts on this essential topic within the realm of TMS equivalents, so thank you for that!

Of course, I had to look up the definition: "Orthorexia is the term for a condition that includes symptoms of obsessive behavior in pursuit of a healthy diet."

Great information here: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/orthorexia (Orthorexia)

It will be a useful educational tool to know that we can point new members to this information.