Veganism Helps My Fibromyalgia

by Diane

I have learned through much pain and suffering that food can be your worst enemy, especially if it is the wrong food for you. I have been sick with fibromyalgia for 15 years. I have tried every product, every vitamin, anything anyone said would help. But it was only after I started taking a close look at what I was eating that I realized I was harming my own well-being with what I ingested into my body.

I kept food journals, went for food sensitivity tests, had some blood work done, and paid a lot to get a personal list of bad foods. I would get so hungry for meat that I would sneak out and go and get some fast food, only to end up in the bed for days. I would say to myself, "If I can just get over this, this time, I won't eat any more meat." I would not tell my family I had eaten the meat, but after awhile I didn't have to tell them; my pain told them.

After being in so much pain and suffering over and over, there was a day when I had to just have a little talk with Diane. I decided the pain and the swelling of tissues was not worth the feeling of eating meat. Now I am not going to say that I don't miss meat, but we learn obedience through the things we suffer. If I thought I would not end up back in bed, I would go out right now and get a barbeque sandwich. My memory serves me too well, and the pain is still so real. I have gotten off of all meat because I cannot digest any kind of meat. I am having very little dairy, except for a little natural cheddar cheese. I will drop this as soon as I find a good protein drink that agrees with my body.

I don't know the exact date that I came off meat, but I can assure you my body could tell you the day. I don't have nearly as much pain, and hardly any swelling of lymph glands. I used to have migraine headaches and had to go get a knock out shot, go to bed and sleep it off. In 2004 I was in the hospital 9 times, always throwing up a clear slime. I'm not proud of it, but as you can see from reading this, I have been through the mill.

If you will eat vegan for at least 13 days, you will start to see your problems diminish. I was told when I was studying for my hyperactive son in 1980, reading Dr. Feingold's book that it takes at least 13 days for anything to get out of your body. Can you see how someone can have weeks of suffering?

The only regret that I have is that I did not pay attention to what my body was trying to tell me sooner: "don't eat meat of any kind." It takes courage at Thanksgiving, but I remember the days in bed with pain, and I would say to myself, "Is it worth the suffering? No, it is not worth the suffering." May God Bless you to see as I did what is better for your situation. There's a lot of life out there to enjoy, we just must make a sacrifice on behalf of our well being.