I just received a call from a university wanting me to participate in a study this summer which is looking at the effects of diet (and I think supplements) on RSD pain. Has anyone ever found relief from any dietary adjustments? I can't imagine what this would involve. Could things such as caffeine or red meat affect pain levels? Heck, I would drink wheatgrass every day if I thought it might help with the pain!

Does nyone have any exerience or information on this?

I know that Dr. Hooshmand says The 4 F's are mandatory:

Fish
Fowl
Fresh Vegetables
Fruit


No Caffeine

http://www.rsdrx.com/four_f's_diet.htm

Wow.. Thats kool.. I'd go for it!

I think what we put in our bodys is very important, and I know some foods seem to almost make me more anxious.. like pumping up the sympathetic nervous system somehow the pain increases too. Likewise what we put into our bodys can decrease pain, antioxadents can decrease the inflamitory componant of RSD and lessen the pain, it seems to calm many of the symptoms down for me.

Do you know that they have found that vitimin C an antioxadent can stop RSD from happening if given after a break? It's the antioxadent property that speeds healing by targeting excess free radical scavengers (inflamation).
So many foods have the antioxadents our bodys can lack.

I would jump at a chance to be in a study like that.. non invasive and it will probibly help alot.I am one who finds cafine raises my pain levels. Antioxadents seem to lower them a bit but more so it staves back the effects and symptoms of RSD.. tones them down somehow, I eat alot of very dark vegies, drink Roibos (red bush) tea, and white tea, both these teas are higher in antioxadents than green tea.

I would be VERY interested in this study and its results.
And welcome CB.

Sandra

If you don't mind my asking which university is it?

Diet seems critical to me but everything keeps changing.

Certainly balance is good and it seems that greens are good, beyond that what seems forbidden at one time is almost necessary at another.

I have read that caffeine is a no-no with RSD. And so is added sugar (other than what's in your fruit naturally). Fresh is good. I actually had put myself for three months on a Dr. Lorraine Day diet after listening to her tell her story about how diet helped cure her cancer. I figured, if diet can help the body rid itself of cancer, why should it not aid in curing other things--and she was into barley greens along with lots of fresh squeezed carrot juice, no red meat. Also, her diet extended into life, including 1/2 hour outdoors every day, trying to do something nice for someone else every day--this is all I remember right now. I did end up losing 9 pounds from eating so healthy, but the progress was so slow it was hard to tell if it was helping. None of it hurt though--I didn't get worse from it. Every little bit helps...would love to know the results of the study.

I can't believe doc hoosh is still being cited, he ran a cash-up-front RSD business in which people had to pay thousands of dollars before he would see them, and, of course, he never cured anyone...his "Puzzles" jump from on topic to another so quickly that it's impossible to figure out what he actually said, and the only reason he refused to prescribe opiates to RSD patients was that he lost his DEA license...the guy is a fake.

Now, about diet: I developed RSD in 1995, and since then I have eaten foods from his "Avoid" list every day. I always have four different types of chocolate nearby; one of my favorite foods is home-made rolls and butter; I eat fried foods at least 5 times per week, and my only fluids are coffee and club soda (I haven't drunk plain water in years).

How has this affected my RSD pain? From 1996 until 2002, my feet burned constantly, relieved only by large doses of Neurontin and then Lamictal, and my allodynia was so severe I could only wear lamb-wool lined slippers (and only when I had to go outside). Since 2002, the burning pain subsided to the point where it is now completely gone...so is the allodynia. My feet don't burn and during a recent ice-storm they were covered by a doubled sheet and three blankets.

I am still hypersensitive to cold: If the room temp drops to 68 degrees, I suffer frostbite-like pain, so I'm certainly not in any kind of remission. The last time I bumped my toe, it felt like I hit it with a hammer (I almost felt I would pass out). and they still turn purple whenever they are dependent for more than ten minutes.

RSD is miserable enough, and I see no reason to make my life less happy by not eating stuff I like. I hope readers will listen to their bodies instead of the "experts": If you eat it and notice extra pain, don't eat it; if you miss eating it, try again and see if you still feel extra pain.

There is absolutely no evidence that food affects RSD pain; there isn't even a "threory" describing how food can affect our pain: Only doc Hoosh, and a few other "experts" say it, and they never explain how.

If food makes you feel better -- and if weight isn't a major issue in your life -- don't make your life even less comfortable just because a convicted fraud says you should...Vic

I think his diets makes alot of sense myself.. the four F's for example loaded down with antioxadents and omega3 fatty acids etc.
The 5 C's I am not so good at following lol I try but I am a slave to my ma's cooked puddings, however he does say to limit excess amounts of the 5 C's not all, and I do know that some of the 5 C's contribute to my headaches as well.

I believe his theory is explained in the link below, and I do believe it is all a good read, just weed out what you are not inclined to believe (I do always) and get what you want out of the rest same as with anything you read.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-j8...Aw3Y#PPA131,M1

I tend to think that this study coffiebean is probibly an antioxadent study to follow up the Vitimin C study that showed it could stop RSD from happening in a large percent of people with radial wrist breaks.

I'll elaborate a little on my earlier post.

At one point I seemed to be extremely sensitive to sodium nitrite. This is a deadly poison even in tiny quantities but even smaller quantities are used to keep meat red. A single piece of processed meat would send me into a minor flare and bacon or corned beef would be a couple days of agony. It went away after about a year and now I eat up to moderate quantities (two medium servings per day). Doctors have continually suggested quitting caffeine. So every six months or so I'd quit to see if it helped anything; it didn't. I love coffee and the control it gives me so I'd start drinking it again (4 cups/ day). The last time I tried to quit, I couldn't. I get a little panic attack about an hour after coffee time and it won't go away until I have coffee. Cod liver oil is great for my arthritis now but makes my ears itch so horribly it's incredible. Chocolate and sugar aggravate it but this wasn't apparent a year or two ago. Ghinko Biloba has been a big help as an analgesic right from the beginning.

Salt made things worse but then I cut back on salt too much and that was worse yet. For a while I had to try to keep my salt intake in a very narrow but variable range. Now the range is a little higher and much wider and easy to hit. Dairy was a no-no for a year once.

Most of these things seem to be stabilizing a little now after about ten years of this. Really I'm back to about the way things were with diet before this started. I do eat much more carefully now and try to watch for patterns. Balance is good and fresh food is good. It costs a lot more to eat now but it's healthier. I avoid processed foods and especially the very heavily processed foods but this is mainly because I don't trust them and hope it will keep me on a more even keel. I've added metamusil recently which seems to be a boon for the diverticulitis. I've tried it in the past with little effect though. I chew my food more thoroughly but this also is mostly for the diverticulosis. I used to eat just a couple meals per day and have found three meals and a sizable snack work better. For some reason my body has never much cared for food in the morning so I don't eat early. My diet is only about 1900/ 2000 calories now and it has been close to 5000 in the past.

I use more spices now but nothing very heavily. I've grown pretty fond of cumin though. I drink a lot more juice now and with meals.

I experience stress in my guts and if there is one thing RSD is good for it's stress so digestion problems were severe for me especially the first five or six years. It's still a big problem but not quite like it has been.

I have been seeing a homeopathic doctor for my RSD and it has changed EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!
I haven't been doing it long but have already noticed a considerable difference.
I recently met a women who was full body and through homeopathy she considers herself 40 % in remission .She is off all meds but neurontin.
I decided I had nothing to lose as Western medicine was getting me nowhere so I was going to give it a shot.
My best pain management tools were already of the alternative variety -meditation especially and acupuncture .
He treats me specifically so I can't transfer the treatment but one of the main things about all of us that can be addressed is inflammation.
He believes that nothing in me can be healed if he does not address the underlying issue of inflammation in my body .
That includes an anti inflammation diet .-I think inflammation is a universal theme with this condition.For this reason I will post my dietary guidelines Take from them what you will Believe in it or not.
They were part of my 4 hour initial treatment .Now how many western docs do that?
If these can help someone- anyone- you - use them - then pass them around- spread the love - isn't that what this is all about???

obviously you cannot follow them all to a T -or can you ??

I am taking this all very seriously as I want to get well !


These cost me big


NO
• cooking in aluminum pots, meat, spicy foods, fried foods, fatty foods, rich foods, salty foods, coffee, caffeine, sweet foods and sugar, cow’s milk and other dairy products, white bread, refined foods, processed foods.

Eat Fresh organic only raw or steamed vegetables. Fresh organic fruits.
Fish: Salmon, Sardines, No big fish (too many heavy metals), Temepe (soy product). Nuts and seeds, avocado and coconut for fats. Beans, legumes and brown rice. Nuts and seeds. Very small to no meat or dairy products, eggs are OK. No breads, cakes, pastries, pasta… anything with gluten in it. Lots of fiber rich foods. Soups and broths are good esp. Miso.


ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET

EAT ONLY THE FOLLOWING ORGANICALLY GROWN FOODS

Steamed vegetables:
• The primary reason for using steamed vegetables is that steaming improves the utilization or the availability of the food substances and it reduces the irritating residue in the gut, allowing it to restore itself.
• Eat a variety of any and all vegetables that you tolerate.
• Do not use aluminum cookware or a microwave.

Grains:
• Eat one to two cups of cooked grains per day of those you tolerate.
• Allowed grains are: millet, basmati or brown rice, quinoa, and amaranth.
• Other grain foods that may be eaten are rice crisps and wasa crackers

Fish:
• Deep sea fish is preferred - no shellfish.
• The fish should be poached, baked, steamed, or broiled.

Chicken:
• Eat only white meat and do not eat the skin.
• The chicken should be baked, broiled, or steamed.

Fruit:
• Eat 1 or 2 pieces of practically any fruit except citrus.

Sweeteners:
• Very small amounts of maple syrup, rice syrup, barley syrup and honey may be used.
• Absolutely no sugar, Nutrasweet, or any other sweetener is allowed.

Butter/Oils:
• For butter, mix together 1 pound of butter and 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil (from a new dark jar). Whip at room temperature and store in the refrigerator. Provides the benefits and taste of butter and essential fatty acids.
• Use extra virgin olive oil for all other situations requiring oil.

Herbal teas and good water to drink:
• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of filtered or reverse-osmosis filtered water every day.
• Drink 2 to 4 cups of herbal tea. Herbal teas are best taken in the evening, sipped slowly.

For the time-being, avoid the following foods:

• Milk • Cheese • Eggs • Citrus except for lemon
• Breads • White flour • Fried food • Peanuts and peanut butter
• Tea • Coffee • Alcohol
• Meat - red meat and especially pork and pork products
• Sugar, Nutrasweet, and all sweeteners (except maple syrup and honey)

This strict a diet is meant for the first 21 days to get a handle on the inflammation - I think I can loosen up a little bit afterwards or not
I am good.
I have a huge protein shake with cocounut oils and protein and makai and other essential oils and anti oxidants and other calories and good stuff flax seed - pure honeys etc.. I need to gain weight

Good Luck


Peace


GnP