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I guess this is a hard question to answer, and is probably different for everyone... but I moved onto list 2 a bit ago, and I'm just having a hard time figuring out when a reaction is related to food or not. I'm introducing food at MAX once a day like Dr. B said to do. I have been pretty stable, and most of my symptoms have reduced to a very bearable level (thank goodness!)... but I have begun having some old symptoms that had gone away come back since starting List 2.
The thing is, the symtpoms are soooo mild that I don't know whether or not it's the food or just where my body is at. And if it is the food, I don't know if I should stop eating it or if the symptoms aren't anything to worry about. Mostly what has resurfaced symptom wise is slight vaginal tingling and mild burning when I urinate SOMETIMES. These symptoms were pretty much gone on List 1 but would pop up occasionally. I know that my vaginal burning/itching was very much related to what I ate, so I wonder if this is a result of the new things in my diet...? I just don't know if I should ignore it as something that isn't serious... or take it as a warning sign that my body doesn't want asparagus and chard...
Has anyone had this type of discussion with Dr. B? Which symptoms mean stop and which are ok? I was thinking maybe just doing list two foods every couple of days as opposed to every day... but I don't know, if my body doesn't want it or tolerate it maybe I should just stop? My appointment isn't for another two weeks :/ so I'm stuck in limbo for this very non-urgent matter!
Would appreciate any feedback.
Love
Han
Hi Hanna,
Hi Hanna,
As I have been doing really well moving up the lists, even if I'm going slowly, (I'm on list 3 and have been doing diet since January) I decided to push the envelope just to see what a reaction would be. My daughter is starting to bake special foods for local cafes and, although I'm really not tempted by them because I have never had a real sweet tooth, I decided to try an apple turnover to see if I'd have a reaction. Well, 24 hours later I started having severe pain in my vaginal area and it hurt to go pee and have bowel movements. It lasted about a day for me and I learned what would happen if my body was reacting badly to food. As far as your tingling and such, I would definitely give it 48 hours so you can be sure what it is you're having a reaction to. That's generally what I have been doing just in case. I haven't had the same experience as you, but maybe others have.
Sue
Hi Hannah,
Hi Hannah,
I'd say that if the symptoms are something you are OK with to go ahead and keep trying new foods and if it feels like it's too much for you then to back off.Then again, it might also be worthwhile to NOT try new foods for, say, 5 days and see if your symptoms change. I think it's kind of a personal choice. If you're not in a lot of pain, I don't think you're really doing harm by trying new foods.
The longer you're in treatment the clearer it will be if it's a food or something else that's causing symptoms. In the beginning it's so hard to tell because you're triggered by so many other things as well.
I am a real wimp about trying new foods so I commend your brave spirit in forging ahead! I have the green light for list 4 but I'm sitting here eating steamed cauliflower and chicken for dinner.
A word of caution - I had been doing AMAZING for about 2 months and then I went to a party and ate farm-raised salmon. Dear lord what a frequency/swollen urethra nightmare that was! I feel like it was a silly mistake but we are still awfully sensitive even when we think we're near stable.
Good luck with your food experiments. There is no shame in taking it slow!
Claire
Hey ladies! Thanks so much
Hey ladies! Thanks so much for your advice. Gonna just back off a bit and see if I can really figure it out. I just know that as I add food in it will be more difficult to cut it out later... better to figure it out now.
Claire, do you always have a reaction with salmon? Or was there something about it being farm-raised that you think triggered a reaction?
I've been doing fine with salmon on list one, but I'm pretty sure that all the salmon I've eaten so far has been wild... so just curious.
Thanks again :)
Han
I have eaten wild salmon
I have eaten wild salmon since the beginning of treatment without a problem. I'm sure it was because it was farmed. Dr. B said in her email when I checked in about the flair "don't eat farm-raised fish!". I am assuming it has to do with their diet of gmo soy.