the RSD pain in my left foot is so fickle and weird that this may be a coincidence, but i thought i'd post about it anyway:
On the recommendation of somebody on the message board (I forget who, sorry!), i tried the RSD diet that cuts out certain antiinflammatory foods--no gluten, no added sugar (i still ate tons of fresh fruit), no processed foods (I eat almost nothing processed anyway), and no caffeine or alcohol. i tried it for three weeks in advance of a vacation where i knew i'd be doing more walking than usual. well, i stuck to the diet, my pain was noticeably reduced, and the vacation went so, so well. i walked everywhere, and my pain, mostly mild, was mainly limited to the evening, after a long day of being far more active than i'm used to, and only on the second to last day (of five days) did i feel enough "foot fatigue" to make me cut down on the walking. at one point i remember wondering if i was actually getting better--an insane thought for someone who has had RSD for seven years.
But i went back to eating gluten, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol), hoping the reduction in pain was in answer to vitamins and the desensitization exercises i've been doing. well, after about two weeks of my regular diet, my pain has gone right back up. it had gotten to where it only hurt when i was walking--my pain when not weight-bearing was miraculously low--but now i'm back to having pain when sitting.
Bottom line: i'm not prescribing this diet to other sufferers, and it may or may not have to do with my reduction in pain, but i'm going back on it. I thought it might be food for thought for other RSDers. (Not an intentional pun, I swear.)

I'm really happy to hear it has made a difference for you too. I think diet is so important and especially as it relates to the inflamation process.

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Mimi.

MsL

I think I'd starve to death. That being said, I think I'll try the no alcohol and no gluten thing. I'll die without coffee though. Thanks for the advice, glad to hear your pain is lowered by the diet change, anything that cuts it is a good thing.

It would be truly life alertering for me to switch my diet. I ate several candy bars yesterday afternoon for lunch so I threw my sandwich out (after all, I didn't want to look like a pig!). And for breakfast, my dog and I usually share Pop-Tarts, we prefer brown sugar cinnamon (he eats the crust). If my kids eat the last package of them I've been known to throw a temper tantrum to rival any toddler's. I am addicted to caffeine and drink about 20-30 ounces before noontime. When I get to work I often buy a homemade muffin from an awesome bakery down the street from my office.

I don't drink much alcohol, though, and my husband usually makes us a healthy dinner. I take a lot of vitimins also.

I try keep my weight in line by walking a lot. And I blame any weight gain on my meds....

Diet can help with pain and inflammation.

Too much sugar releases insulin (also very large meals) and when insulin is high, then inflammatory cytokines are made
more by the body.

Dr. Barry Sears has several books about this.
If you Google him you'll find them. Also other authors are coming out with similar tomes.

here's an interesting article on gluten and inflammation:
http://www.gluten-free-guide.com/glu...lammation.html

i should say that i'm not entirely giving up pizza and baked goods, just eating them very sparingly. even if it doesn't help the pain, i'll end up staying in better shape--RSD keeps me from every cardio activity but swimming, so i can't just run off a slab of cake.

really helps to know,,,how are you doing with rsd..im having a hard time at the monent ,,but trust that jesus will deliver...........bobber