I kept going back and forth on how I should approach her until I realized what I really wanted to know was how she felt about the ediet so before I said anything else that is exactly what I asked her. She gave a very interesting answer, but she always backs up what she says with her reasons and also keeps an open mind.
She scrunched her face a little and indicated that she is not a fan of the ediet. She thinks we may not find the right triggers and that it might be better to notice a food from each time we eat it. She said it's tough because we can run into other triggers along the way or eat like gluten one day and not the next and it could get tricky when adding back in one class at a time.
I started off by telling her that I never would have found some of the food triggers I did if I didn't go on my first elimination diet. I told her I found soy almost immediately and I don't believe I would have found it any other way. Soy is in so many different foods. I also said that my basic diet does include gluten and I have some other foods that are not high on the food trigger list, but anything can be a food trigger for anyone and I am aware of what my basic foods are and can adjust them as needed. She nodded in agreement.
I explained that I understand there are other triggers that may hinder the introductions of new foods. Like the first four weeks I started on the diet this time and if that happens after I start adding back in, I may need to reintroduce that new food again, but at least I am aware of some of these other triggers. I definitely understand how tricky the ediet is, how there are so many factors to consider and other obstacles that can interfere with what we are trying to accomplish and I will do what I can to make it as accurate as I can. Migraines are not easy on any front, but we have to do what we can to help them. Not everyone has food triggers, but I believe the elimination diet is the best way to find out if we do have food triggers. I know it is the best way for me.
My doctor told me she hopes this works for me and that she hopes I can turn her opinion around. I'm pretty sure I turned around one of my previous doctor's opinions on the ediet after I brought out my charts and explained everything I had done. This was the first and only time this old doctor was interested in anything I brought with me. This doctor actually sat next to me as I went over everything! I never went back after I gave the doctor this lesson.
I'd like to show you one reason why I believe in the elimination diet as much as I do. Please mind you that I did not have this graph when I visited my doctor this week, but I can promise you that I will make a believer of her during my next visit. This is a graph of the first five weeks from both of my elimination diets - I need to point a few things out after:
The dark brown line is from my first ediet while the gold line is from the ediet I am currently on. The graph would probably show a better difference if I could show it as monthly, but it is too soon for that now. This time, the number of Migraines I started with is lower than where they were the first time. I believe a big reason is because I have been avoiding the food triggers I found from that first diet.
If you look at the first ediet, the number of Migraines started to reduce dramatically after two weeks. You will also notice that they increased significantly during the fifth week. For various reasons, this was the week I had to start adding back new foods. As you can see and to my surprise, I did not have a good reaction to this particular first food.
During my second ediet, I really didn't have much of a drop in the number of Migraines until week five. The first four weeks were surrounded by unavoidable triggers. There were no unavoidable triggers during week five and so far, it's been a fairly good week six. As you can see, it would not have been good to start adding back new foods after four weeks this time. I feel I am ready to start adding back now!
During my visit, my doctor asked me what I was supposed to add back first. I told her anything I wanted. I will be as methodical as I was the first time and more cognizant of other triggers this time as I have learned so much more about Migraines and triggers since I first did the elimination diet.
I really am ready to start adding back now. I am ready for more variety in my diet, but I want to find more true food triggers if I have them.
Do you have food triggers? How did you go about finding your food triggers if you have them? Have you done the elimination diet? How did you go about doing your elimination diet?
2 comments:
Never did an elimination diet, but definitely knew when I hit a dietary trigger. however I never had migraines at your frequency either!
I think some food triggers can be found after eating them, but then I like to use soy as an example. I could trigger on mayonnaise or peanut butter, but if I chose a brand that did not have soy in it, I can have those foods safely. Knowing soy is a trigger has allowed me to keep having some of the foods I would have triggered on otherwise.
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