Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Here you can share your experiences with substances that are ingested, inhaled, or otherwise consumed for the purpose of relieving RLS, other than prescription medications. For example, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, diet, kratom, and marijuana (for now) should be discussed here. Tell others of successes, failures, side effects, and any known research on these substances. [Posts on these subjects created prior to 2009 are in the Physical Treatments forum.]

Important: Posts and information in this section are based on personal experiences and recommendations; they should not be considered a substitute for the advice of a healthcare provider.
jul2873
Posts: 445
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:32 pm

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by jul2873 »

Beth, I never tried the whole Whals diet, but I have been almost dairy and gluten free for about eight months. I say almost because I occasionally have a little when we go out to eat, and there isn't an easy alternative.

Anyway, my WED is also doing better. I'm not sure if there is a correlation. It may be because I've figured out exactly when, and how much, kratom to take every day--what works for me. But I think there is a correlation. My symptoms have lessened and I rarely have a bad night now--although I did last week when I broke down and had a piece of French bread with real butter for dinner. It tasted sooo good. Maybe it was worth it.

Just gluten and dairy-free isn't that hard to do at home, so you might try just that. Good luck!

Polar Bear
Moderator
Posts: 8798
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by Polar Bear »

Well done, your efforts are paying off.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16570
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by ViewsAskew »

I dearly wish that being "free" of many foods - sugar, gluten, corn, dairy, nuts, eggs, and soy - had helped me. I was also caffeine free for at least 15 years, I'd guess, though I did sometimes have chocolate. I started an elimination diet in 2002 to deal with other issues and followed it through 2004. I was gluten, sugar, corn and dairy free for almost two years - nuts, eggs and soy didn't bother me, so I added them back in. It was during this time that I realized how bad my sleep was and went for help. Though, to be honest, I didn't have much WED at the time - it was always the PLMs that were my downfall. I did follow a diet similar to Beth's for awhile, too, as I thought that SIBO could be an issue.

I don't think I ever felt worse! That said, I am just about sure it was because of over 30 years of sleep deprivation, since I'd had the PLMs since I was a toddler. I do wonder what would happen now that I do have terrible WED to go along with the PLMs. Would it help the WED even if it didn't help the PLMs? I am doubtful, which is why I do not try...but I should to be sure.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

peanut1
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:06 am

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by peanut1 »

Cutting out gluten worked for a while and then that didn't work anymore. However, I still don't do any gluten or grain or the WED is extremely BAD.
I do have a lot of food allergies and many restaurant foods can keep me up all night (like last night) so I've almost completely eliminated any type of eating out including potlucks at work. Much of this is because people don't know all the ingredients that are in the ingredients and I end up suffering for it.

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by badnights »

I don't think the gluten and dairy avoidance by itself would have had this effect (the effect of being able to reduce my meds from 18 to 12 mg). I think it's the whole package. A key component is the 9 cups of vegetables a day (3 of sulfur-containing eg. garlic onion mushroom cabbage, 3 of brightly colored anti-oxidandant-rich, and 3 of leafy green). Another key is avoidance of sugar, grains, and starchy veggies, except the latter are allowed twice a week. A third key is avoidance of additives, preservatives, etc. i.e. eating foods as whole and unadulterated as possible. Avoiding foods you're allergic or sensitive to is also key, of course.

But I'll tell you, stress beats the snot out of every good thing I do. I have been under some keen stress lately and my symptoms returned worse than they've been in 2 or 3 years. I am still down at 12 mg hydromorphone but it's not really covering things off. I refuse to raise it again!!! I am searching for ways to deal with the stress.

One thing I have messed up, because I was traveling, was the 9 cups of veggies. I need to start measuring again, to be sure I'm getting enough, and also I need to watch my carbs to keep them low (but not too low - I'm not ready for nutritional ketosis yet). I really need some sleep, it's the only way to normalize, but I'm sure everyone has had this happen, when you get into this cycle of no sleep, so the WED gets worse so the sleep gets worse, and on and on it goes.

I have all the pills for my SIBO treatment (or should I say, SIMO - microbial instead of simply bacterial because apparently I have yeast as well as bacteria in my small intestine). I don't want to start until I am well-rested and over this cold, but maybe I should just plunge right in. I have all sorts of reservations about this treatment and the topic deserves a post of its own.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

peanut1
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:06 am

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by peanut1 »

qigong is good for stress--at least it has been for me!

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by badnights »

I can usually re-equilibrate by doing yoga, but I am having a hard time with this one. I am not actually doing much yoga. I have a number of tai chi discs (tai chi is based on qi gong) and one chi kung, which I think is another way of saying/writing qigong. Maybe I will do one of those instead of yoga today. And every day for 14 days.....
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16570
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by ViewsAskew »

I find tai chi/chi kung methods very effective. For me, more so than yoga. My best friend always has preferred yoga. Who knows. Whatever works, right?

maybe the movement/standing of the tai chi methods work better when you can keep the WED at bay.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

peanut1
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:06 am

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by peanut1 »

I find qigong more effective than tai chi and definitely more effective than yoga--at least that is true for me. But you are right in that tai chi is a part of qigong, they say qigong is the parent of tai chi.

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Wahls diet update; & SIBO treatment

Post by badnights »

An update. I plateaued at 12 mg, with some days only using 9 mg hydromorph contin. This was down from a high of 18 mg, some days 21, that I was on last February. I had steady improvement in symptoms over 7 months on the Wahls level 2 diet (low carb, high fat, veggie-rich, excludes processed food & added sugar), but I stalled at 12 mg last September and have not seen improvement since. In fact, coinciding with a period of heavy stress for all of December, I had the worst WED/RLS I've had in 2 years. That seems to be abating now, but only with conscious effort to spend time each day doing chi kung (qi gong) or flowing meditative yoga.

I began gaining weight, probably because I was eating so often. (Initially I was losing weight, so I got in the habit of eating voraciously.) I have re-adjusted my thinking so that I don't eat all the time. I go to bed around 2 or 3, and for the last 3 nights I have not permitted myself to eat after 11:30 (I was aiming for 11 but didn't quite make it). I think this restriction has helped my sleeping too. But three days is not long enough to draw any conclusions from.

On Jan 1 I began treatment for SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowths) - there are not supposed to be a lot of microorganisms n the small intestine, but apparently mine is loaded with bad guys that don't belong anywhere in a healthy body, good guys that migrated from the large intestine, and nasty yeast/fungi. This is bad because they eat my food, they damage the gut lining which makes it hard to absorb nutrients, and they create waste products (bacterial poop!) that get into my bloodstream and have toxic effects. The SIBO diagnosis comes from analyses of organic molecules in urine, a test that is not fully accepted in the medical community. But then, there is no test for SIBO that is without controversy. My medical doctor sent me to a naturopath to get the test, and is working with the naturopath to treat it.

I have pretty heavy reservations about intentionally messing with all my gut bugs, a delicate and important ecosystem, but apparently they are all messed up anyway, so I can hardly make it any worse by doing this treatment.

I am taking a biofilm breaker three times a day (enzymes that break down the film that protects colonies of the bad bacteria) then an hour later, I am taking antimicrobials made from plants. In between those three doses, I take probiotics. So I am trying to kill the bad guys, but necessarily will kill any remaining good guys too, and I am trying to re-populate with one good species (the probiotic), plus I suppose the hope is that I will get other good species from the food I eat, and that the good guys won't die off as fast as the bad guys do...

I was told I might feel flu-like symptoms, but I started the treatment while I had super-WED, including sick WED, and was getting over a cold, and felt like crap in general, so i haven't really noticed any change. Except, starting on the 6th day I began to get headachey and my poo got really soft. I know you don't care!! But this is all about gut things.

My doctor feels that the WED/RLS may actually have been caused by toxic bacterial by-products. The Wahls diet and the SIBO treament tie together because they're both about nutrition - if your body doesn't get the raw materials it needs, it can't carry out the chemistry of life. The diet is to ensure I'm putting the right stuff in my face, and the SIBO treatment is to ensure I will be able to absorb it, plus get rid of anything that's adding toxins to my innards.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Polar Bear
Moderator
Posts: 8798
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by Polar Bear »

Excellent informative post.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16570
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by ViewsAskew »

Looking forward to the next installment. Your post is extremely helpful to any who may want to try the same thing or who have the same diagnosis.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

peanut1
Posts: 363
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:06 am

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by peanut1 »

I think I am doing most of the Wahls diet already as I eat about 9 cups of veggies, no grain, gluten, caffeine, sugar or excitotoxins. However, this is an inspiring post and I might contact a naturopath to see about testing for SIBO--just to see where I am at. I know I don't have any of the bloating or any of those symptoms. THANK YOU Beth, for such an excellent thread and for sharing this experience with us!!!!!!

badnights
Moderator
Posts: 6259
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by badnights »

My intestinal problems mostly took the form of pain after or while eating. I realized I was actually planning my life to avoid doing certain things after eating, because I knew I would feel bad for a while. But that disappeared entirely after eliminating gluten and casein (dairy protein). Bloating I had but didn't really notice, and I almost think it has gotten worse on this diet, but maybe I just notice it more. So I don't have a lot of SIBO symptoms, but some. It's like WED, I suspect; the problems worsen so slowly that you forget what normal is like.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16570
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Wahls diet for WED? Trying it.

Post by ViewsAskew »

Hmmm- this reminds me of something my SIL is going through. She's had so many typical tests. She eats just about anything and it hurts. She can't wear the right size bra anymore because when she eats, the band is too tight because of the bloating and pain.

She would likely NEVER do what you are doing...and I'm am certain her doctor wouldn't believe it, either.

Her other symptoms are anxiety, and insomnia. Those could be anything...or could be related. Before the insomnia set it, she was tired all the time. But, that seems to have changed with the insomnia. She's also just gone through menopause, so who know how that is affecting everything.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Post Reply