What Works For Others Might Not Work For You

Taking better care of yourself does not have to be a daunting task. It is a game of experimentation. Baby steps of trying out one thing and then the next. There will be setbacks and disappointments when a hoped for treatment or self-care regimen does not work for you, but with experience, this just becomes part of the process. A journey in learning your particular body in a very intimate way.

Since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis four years ago, I have tried a number of diets to get my body to its optimum functioning. Many started off as promising and then, sometimes suddenly, no longer seemed to work for my body. Recently I was all fired up about the Wahls Protocol. I was not seeing the results I wanted being on the second stage of the diet, so after several months I modeled the diet Dr. Wahls is on herself, Wahls Paleo Plus. And then I felt relapse symptoms coming and I developed this crazy chronic migraine. The migraine has lasted a month now. I experienced some vision disturbance and a loss in sensation on much of the right side of my body. But my vision is back and the rest seems to be clearing. My hunch is that the large amount of coconut prescribed on this diet, a common migraine trigger, may not react well with my body. So I have dropped back down to Wahls Paleo and am experimenting with a possible food sensitivity by cutting out coconut (I tapered off of it over two weeks.)

This has been my biggest disappointment to date. There is so much positive talk about the Wahls Protocol. Dr. Wahls has improved so much herself. And so many other people with MS have too. But, like with everything, and particularly with MS, I have found that one size does not fit all. Where I have found solace in my disappointment is with the acknowledgement that Dr. Wahls crafted her diet by experimenting for years with what her own body responded well to. There is a science to what foods to eat and why but as far as what one body needs that another may reject, that is individual to the person. And I have also found that if there is an exception to the rule, I will be that exception!

I was tempted to go off the diet altogether and binge eat corn chips, rice cookies and grapes but the reality is that I cannot be bitter or resentful towards Dr. Wahls or my own body. My body is telling me something and I may not like what it has to say because it is “ruining” my plans, but it is yet another reminder to honor my body and honor my journey. This diet of eating 9 cups of vegetables a day is bringing me health and vitality I have never experienced before. I wished I felt better currently but I fed my body junk for so many years, I cannot expect that I can revamp it in just a few months. This will be a process just like it all is.

Maybe my body can’t handle coconut right now but will be able to after a year on Wahls Paleo. Maybe it is not coconut at all and was some other undiscovered trigger. Little by little I will chip away at what works best for me. I’d love for your support on my journey and I would love to offer you the same! Please leave comments below if you have experienced anything similar or have advice for others like me.

Blessings!

Emily Royce

#wahlsdiet 
#wahlspaleodiet 
#wahlspaleoplus 
#multiplesclerosis 
#MS

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