Lots of great information here! I didn't realize soy could be a problem. I make a matcha green tea soy smoothie every morning (to replace my very much missed coffee). I'll have to stop that for a bit and see if I notice any change. I did a detox diet back in December. I read it in a book called Reversing Fibromyalgia. I really did go through my symptoms backwards as stated in the above post. I mean, I felt worse then ever and was having pains I hadn't had in a long time. But after about 2 months, I felt better than I had in a long time and finally felt more in control over my body. Part of the detox diet, was after the initial period, you could start to incoporate things back slowly and keep track of how you felt each day. For me sugar is my downfall. I have found that when I eat too much refined sugar, afterwards for days I have that really "foggy" feeling. Extremely irritable, very hard to concentrate, tons of soreness all over. I can't control my sweet tooth (even when I realize the consequences of the Ben and Jerry's chubby hubby). What I try to do is replace my refined sugar favorites with things sweetened with fruit juice or honey. Now I know there are a lot of articles out there that say, sugar is sugar. But my personal experience is that the raw sugars, and natural sweetners do not have the same effect on me as the refined bleached sugars. I also try to eat as little red meat as possible. We're coming up on hamburg and hotdog season and it's hard when you're invited to friends and family for cookouts, to refuse all the things you know you shouldn't be eating. Sometimes I worry that my friends and family will get tired of my constant, "oh, I can't eat that", or "oh, I only eat organic this or natural that". I feel sort of like a food snob but it really boils down to food can equal pain for me depending on what it is. It's very hard to get people to understand this though. Especially the older generation who I feel think I'm being ridiculous. If someone has heart disease or diabetes, the diet modifications are well accepted. Yet with fibromyalgia this is just one more part of the disease that can make you feel like an outsider .We just got back from a weekend at Lake Erie with Elaine's family. The food consisted of donuts for breakfast with coffee, sugar pop, hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips etc. Now I did bring apples, some cereal and a salad, but I feel like the outcast. They know I have this condition, but I don't think they fully understand the food/pain connection.. I struggle with watching them enjoying all this junkfood, and then continue about their day just fine, where as if I were to indulge, I would face probably the whole next week in a haze with headaches and back pain. My diet change has come just recently so I'm still coping with all that comes with that. We live in a culture where food is love and family is surrounded by food. It's hard to suddenly eat radically different and try to make everybody understand and respect why you are choosing to do that. You know what I mean?

sadly most doctors have no clue...especially GPs...then you factor in the specialists...they usually send us to neurologists and rheumatologists... they dont' know either....

Heck, most doctors don't even recognize or diagnose fibromyalgia. I suffered in pain for nine years and went to more doctors and specialists than I can count, including neurology, rheumatology and pain management. I had all the tests - blood work, CT, MRI, EMG, etc, etc. I was not officially diagnosed until last month when I saw that a local rheumatology center is doing a drug study on FM. I went in and had another round of blood work and a thorough physical exam and finally the MD told me that, yes, she would categorize it as FM.

Nine years! It's amazing when you think about it. I'm sure most of us have had the experience of seeing doctors and medical staff who don't understand, who assume you're a drug seeker or lazy and trying to get disability or whatever. It's just so sad.