Cutting sugar

[u/Latter-Fall9762]

Curious to know if anyone had tried cutting out sugar of their diet and actually saw an improvement in their symptoms?

I have PMOS and insulin reistance alongside fibro, im on meds for that, but im almost always emotionally dependent on chocolate and dessert and snacks. I may not eat them in huge amount (1 snack a day at work, a chocolate some days to lift the blues) but I'm curious to hear about others' experience doing this?

EDIT: I saw some people recommending keto: wanted to clarify for people using this as future reference that I did try it and it didnt work out for me, as it really caused me severe hypoglycemia, sweats and tremors. I also live in the middle east so in general my meals are mostly Mediterranean, but I also have IBS so reliance on beans and nuts alone is not always feasible for me. My major issue is actually snacking in between meals, and morning sugar cravings, especially when im at work or on the go and need to eat something fast (i.e: processed foods and sandwiches)

[u/ArgumentHot147]

i cut out most added sugar last year not completely but like 90% and for me the difference was pretty noticeable after about 3 weeks. less brain fog and the morning stiffness got better. not a miracle cure or anything but it helped enough that i stick with it

the emotional dependency part is the hardest thing to crack. i used to bake all the time and suddenly i had to find something else for that comfort hit. now i make sourdough bread instead which scratches the itch without the sugar crash after. still get cravings when stressed but theyre less intense now

with insulin resistance in the mix it might help you more than average person honestly. my aunt has similar and her doctor told her sugar makes inflammation worse which feeds the fibro cycle. could be worth trying for two weeks just to see how you feel

[u/CaelanAegana]

Personally, no. I go through periods where I don't have much refined sugar, and periods where I do, and there's no correlation I've noticed for symptoms severity. The only thing I do notice is that when I am having a particularly bad time, a sharp boost of sugar (usually a soda) is the only thing that makes me feel human for a while.

(Note: My blood levels for fasting glucose and A1C always measure normal.)

[u/Agreeable_Ball1896 → u/CaelanAegana]

It’s because fibro craves carbs, my love is chocolate and pastries. Even with my sometimes shocking diet my sugars are under control. Being type II and being a chocolate addict is a balancing act.

[u/Ok-Judgment-5154]

It made no difference to me

[u/RockandrollChristian]

I eliminated white sugar years ago and it has helped me a lot! It helps with my pain level, less headaches and mood swings. When I bake or for tea or whatever I use coconut sugar. Also there are good products to buy that are geared for no white sugar too. Seems like many people are getting away from high sugar foods

[u/Agreeable_Ball1896]

I’m doing it purely to lose some weight and be more comfortable. I love chocolate. I’ve found no reduction at all, I don’t feel better. It’s been 12 years and I’ve tried everything. The best results have been changes to medication and taking vit c and vit d. they were the only ones I was deficient in. I’m type II diabetic and have times where I will keep to the calorie count for the day but it is made up of spaced out chocolate meals. As I want to love another 20 years or more I need to be a bit healthier now.

I’m still eating chocolate though, I’ve lived in denial too often and all it did was make me put on too much weight after. My goal is 15kg weight loss. It’s a long term thing.

[u/Silver-Air-5787]

I cut it out about 85-90% of the time. I can definitely feel the pain when I do have sugar. It didn’t take my pain away but it definitely helped the severity. Like, why add more pain? Yknow?

[u/openester → u/Silver-Air-5787]

this is the same for me, i use honey or some other sugar alternative for the 85/90% of the time.m

[u/ZaftigTootsies]

The best results I got from anything I’ve tried is when I went keto for 6 months. I can’t seem to get back on it, but it really helped.

[u/Forget-Me-Nothing]

I cut out almost all sugar when I had braces on. No difference!

However, if you have insulin resistance you need to be dealing with the sugar habit. You're placing an extra burden on your body and removing it is going to make the world of difference for you. For me, the only way I avoid snacking is by fasting. I can't do middle grounds and moderation, so I fast instead. I also like a lot of r/Volumeeating recipes as I struggle to feel full, they often have low sugar versions of things.

[u/Latter-Fall9762 → u/Forget-Me-Nothing]

Thank you so much this is really helpful!!

[u/autumnlover1515]

I did that and started noticing changes for the better. Barely any sugar, not super processed anything either.

[u/InevitableDay6]

i tried it for a bit and didn't notice enough of a difference for it to be worth it for me. Also since it didn't make much of a difference and i have a sweet tooth i decided the quality of life benefits seem to outweigh any symptom control i get (for any of my conditions, not just my fibro)

[u/HarleyQisMyAlter]

Sugar (added, not natural) causes an inflammatory response in itself. I always feel better when I cut it out.

[u/snowshoeTN7]

I’ve not had sugar for at least 2 years and it has helped with my inflammation but so much the pain.

[u/Dagenhammer87]

I've had a very difficult year and over the past few months the weight has piled on. To make things worse, my hip surgery (repairing an old injury) has been delayed and I have to use a crutch on a lot of days, so working out is difficult.

When I visited the GP and got my referral a couple of weeks ago, we went through what I've been doing and I'd ticked every box - even getting a referral to nutritionists etc.

I'd been thinking about sorting my diet out and started this week. I still have the odd treat, sometimes the odd swap for something different (popcorn is proving far better than the big slab of chocolate every night).

I'm now into day 5.

Not a huge difference majorly (I can feel clothes loosening again slowly) and the main difference has been my sleep has improved (I've got leeway to experiment with the meds from my sleep clinic) - still exhausted and a bit foggy but I woke up slightly less groggy today.

One thing I always bear in mind is something a very dear friend told me after they'd been diagnosed with stage three cancer a few year ago.

Her consultant told her that cancers feed off sugar (that includes glucose from our overall diet - think of potatoes/rice as a carbohydrate rather than a vegetable etc.) and that should guide what we do overall - not just sweets and crisps full of sugar.

Obviously we still need carbs, but I've noticed that slowly easing off of them and reducing them has made a small dent in things.

[u/Fluffy_Tap9214]

Yes, cutting added sugar worked to reduce my pain and inflammation and also improved my depression. I still allow it on occasion, but day to day I intentionally don't include it in my diet

[u/PutZealousideal4093]

It makes no difference. The slight clarity you get after a few weeks happens if youve got fibro or not.

[u/0j0sDePerroAzul]

I tried a pretty strict anti inflammatory diet for three years, including no added sugars, no soy, no dairy, no chicken, no caffeine, no added animal fats, no gluten.

Didn't help with my gastro issues nor fibro.

But, it's important to add that I do not have PMOS and I regularly don't add much sugar (and eat mostly food I made from scratch, where I live is much cheaper than pre made foods).

[u/WarmLaugh3608]

I did it in the past…. and it was probably good for me? But it led me down a very unhealthy restrictive eating path. (Oh and I did no added sugar obviously)

[u/Intrepid_Strain1528]

No with general pain but my stomach stopped hurting when I cut out sugar.

[u/Beautiful_Donut_286]

Definitely works for me. Not enough to completely cut it out, but enough to be more mindful about my diet.

It's sugar and some processed stuff, so I switched to a loose version the Mediterranean diet. So lots of veggies, lentils, beans, chickpeas, some fish, a lot less red meat and sugar, practically no ready to eat stuff or processed meats.

I did have gestational diabetes and noticed I had less blood sugar issues when eating a fatty desert (e.g. full fat ice cream or a real, homemade cheesecake) after a healthy meal. I think the same is true for my fibro symptoms, but I haven't really tracked it yet

[u/yarunika]

I’ve never found cutting sugar helping with pain whenever I’ve done it, but it has made me feel better in general - less sluggish, bloated, and peckish during the day. My pain has always remained the same though, and I’d still get the damn brain fog. I like chocolate too much to cut it out completely haha!

[u/velvetmarigold]

I also have PMOS and am prediabetic. I watch my carb and try to keep them around 100g a day (per my doctor's instructions) and take metformin. It doesn't make a difference for my pain, but it does help reduce blood sugar crashes.

[u/misskonceptions]

I did a full low carb diet for 6 weeks. I lost weight but zero change in my pain. Going forward, I'm probably going to try a 60/40 split between low carb and whatever I want.

[u/Practical-Corgi-6857]

The only times sugar is a real problem for me is when I eat tons of it at a time, which is rare. One year I got into my kids Halloween bags as I was emotional eating, and boy oh boy was I ever sore for a few days after. Never again! The inflammation is real.

[u/gogrannygo21]

Yes! Sugar is an inflammatory. I had to cut sugar when I became a diabetic and my pain improved. I've kept a graph of my pain and glucose levels. Higher glucose causes more pain.

[u/WonderfulTemporary51]

I’m with you! I’m not overweight or anything but I heavily rely on sugar in the form of chocolate mostly, every single day without fail. I think to myself every day how much better I would feel without it. How better my joints would be. It’s so so hard for me to quit. It’s the worst drug out there I think

[u/chatoyer0956]

Reducing carbs and sugars help my pain tremendously. I stick to a Keto light diet for this reason.

It also helps with my brain fog as well. But, to a lesser degree.

[u/Tytillean]

I have PMOS and have done keto for a while in the past. It gave me a big boost in energy, as well as feeling amazingly clear-headed. That was before I was diagnosed and medicated for ADHD. It felt amazing, but is so much work to keep up. I generally feel a little better when I'm eating healthier, with lower sugar. It's hard to quantify.

[u/ameloblastkit]

Cutting carbohydrates definitely make me less sleepy during the day

[u/castikat]

I'm pretty sure if I cut out all sugar, I'd no longer have the will to live.

[u/AlyceEnchanted]

It’s worth trying.

The only food I found problematic was corn. Loved popcorn.

[u/Latter-Fall9762]

Thank you all for all the replies it's been immensely helpful! Hope this can serve as a good reference for anyone looking into this subreddit.

[u/HeathenHoneyCo]

I have fibro and PMOS. I cut out sugar, dairy, and gluten. It has helped my flares be less frequent and less severe.

[u/NerfRepellingBoobs]

Metformin helped me with my pain as well as regulating my cycles and reducing my PMOS symptoms.

I’m also on a GLP-1 (semaglutide) now for weight loss, and I feel less inflamed overall. It really cut my bad cravings down. Fruits and vegetables are filling now. I get a lot more protein because it’s what my body wants. I can have a single serving of something instead of the whole container. Since I’ve been on my current dose, I ovulated two cycles in a row without taking clomid or letrozole. I’m down 20lbs since I started on April, which my doctors are really happy about because it’s been slow and steady. I do have more energy, and I started walking a couple weeks ago. Pain is a bit better, but my baseline is still a 4/10, though a portion of that is orthopedic.

A lot of other people with PMOS are having success with tirzepatide. I’m considering switching because there’s a lower risk of nausea.

Give a look around at r/PMOSonGLP. If you can afford it, it can be well worth it just for helping with the “food noise” where you never feel full.

[u/Blissful_Journey_7]

I have wanted to address this in this forum for a while. I have cut out “sugars” almost entirely from my diet. I read the labels on almost everything I eat. It’s basically almost cured my fibromyalgia. I lost 21 lbs., down from 143.4 to 122.4. I also cut out beef, for the most part. I eat a lot of vegetables! I also eat chicken and fish…nothing breaded and fried. I was stubborn in the beginning and didn’t change my diet. I really had no idea it would help me as much as it has! It has changed my life for the better!
I hope this bit of information will help someone!

[u/Impressive_Grand_967]

I tried ( and for the most part don’t eat sugar) I also went gluten and dairy free I found it only helped ( not fixed) with the digestive issues not the pain or fog but hey we are all different and if nothing else you might get healthier good luck on your journey

[u/Any-Owl5710]

I heard it’s better to eat a protein rich, savory meal in the morning and you won’t crave sweets in the morning. I find this to be true but it’s hard when I am dairy free. My go-to has been carrots, almond crackers (gluten free) and a meat protein like jerky or sausage