Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

5

I've been struggling with some pretty bad fatigue and weakness for the past 5 months or so. It's completely interupted my life but no doctor I've seen has been able to find anything. No diagnosis means no treatment plan. Then my doctor brought up Paleo and said I should try it. At this point I'm open to try anything. I've been doing some research, collecting some easy recipes, and I'm planning on starting this week. My doctor said to give it a solid two weeks and see if I see a difference, but i was wondering if anyone else has used Paleo in dealing with chronic fatigue syndrome and how long it takes to see a difference in energy levels? I understand getting energy back is always a process but I'm just kind of overwhelmed starting this new adventure and would love to hear some other people's experience advise!

flag	asked May 29 at 23:11 Michelle 51●2

	Yup. "Paleo" is officially mainstream. Contrarians, abandon ship. – foreveryoung May 29 at 23:21
	I've been chillin on my life raft for the past month or so. – Kasra May 30 at 0:16
	Avoid goitrogens (mainly cruciferous vegetables) and eat lots of kelp. fatigue is often tied to the thyroid. also make sure to get enough carbs. – Thomy May 30 at 11:59

Marcy · Answer 1 · 2012-05-29 23:15:32Z UTC

6

First, your doctor is awesome. Second, try paleo. Just try it. Give it 30 days. Don't cheat. Ride out the rough spots. Come back here if it doesn't work.

answered May 29 at 23:15

Marcy
4,226●6●18

	I second the 30 days! :) Two weeks for some people just isn't long enough to tell whether or not you really love it and want to stick with it. – Brooke May 30 at 16:38
	I agree with the 30 days as well. It took me about 19 days to really start to feel GREAT! I don't mean a little better but GREAT! I have found that sugar is the key for me. The less sugar and processed foods (which are usually laden with high fructose corn syrup: a sugar) are what really zap my energy. I have been Paleo a few months now and love it! The first 2 weeks were hard though but it is worth the effort! – HDC-TX May 30 at 16:59

MathGirl72 · Answer 2 · 2012-05-29 23:19:21Z UTC

6

Be prepared to feel worse before you feel better. You may experience the "low-carb flu" from cutting out grains and sugars, but you have to ride it out and get past that addiction.

answered May 29 at 23:19

MathGirl72
10.6k●1●4●19

Thanks for the heads up! I definitely eat a lot of carbs now so that will probably happen. – Michelle May 29 at 23:22

2

sigh paleo is not necessarily low carb. – Wisper May 30 at 1:00

3

You still withdraw from the opiates in grains. And paleo tends to be lower carb. The low carb flu is not all about carbs. – matt H May 30 at 1:06

1

There's always a storm before the rainbow! – mzrdnan May 30 at 16:38

David Moss · Answer 3 · 2012-05-30 11:46:56Z UTC

Seems reasonable advice and worth trying, but I'd give it a bit more than 2 weeks. Long term nutrient deficiency can take a long time to correct. Similarly a damaged gut could take a long time to heal. Eschewing gluten grains, dairy, vegetable oil and sugar isn't really expensive or risky, so why not try it longer?

A couple of other things I would suggest to increase your mileage from this:

Definitely eat some offal (liver or kidneys). These contain masses more nutrients than almost any other food and will ensure that your diet is actually giving everything you need.
Definitely get some vitamin D and correct your o3:o6 balance (again, this could take a while if you've been consuming much more o6 than o3 for years.
Consider supplementing with magnesium (not magnesium oxide)- an easy nutrient to miss on an diet.
Experiment with carbohydrates. Lots of people with a variety of symptoms find ketogenic (very low carb) diets are the only thing that helps them. Lots of people find that low carb diets make them feel rubbish, at least in the short term, so it's worth giving both options a try.

Divrgurl13 · Answer 4 · 2012-05-30 00:11:32Z UTC

I have Lyme Disease and one of the symptoms is extreme fatigue. Since going strict pale 4 weeks ago, ALL of my Lyme symptoms have disappeared. It's awesome! I definitely had a few bad weeks if carb withdrawl but now don't even miss it! I highly recommend.

VB · Answer 5 · 2012-05-30 11:13:52Z UTC

1

I had extreme fatigue due to gluten intolerance + celiac. Paleo and herbs helped.

answered May 30 at 11:13

VB
12.4k●1●7●40

	Any particular herbs? – David Moss May 30 at 11:30
	I had a herbal doctor prescribed a specific combination to me. I am still not 100% energizer bunny on some days, but it is WAY better from what it used to be. I know I still have a long road ahead of me to completely recover. – VB May 30 at 17:50
	K, I use a lot of herbs, but pretty much throw them on at random. – David Moss May 30 at 18:45
	You cannot do random. I am against self-medicating because even herbs have side effects. You have to have a professional licensed herbal doctor who can tell you how to combat that. I take three different herbal formulas that were prescribed to me. – VB May 30 at 19:09

Nanoo · Answer 6 · 2012-05-30 04:52:42Z UTC

I just started eating this way for numerous reasons. Fatigue is one of them. Candida is another, so, I am eating really low carb. Therefore, I am quite fatigued still even though I am over the acute phase of junk food withdrawal. However, I have a sense that I'm onto something good, because while I am craving carbs like sweet potatos and fruit (not sugar! that alone is amazing!), I'm not obsessing about it, my appetite is satisfied. A lot of people on here say they have more energy than ever. I am really hoping my energy level will come up once my body adjusts. It's only been about a week solid for me...I was paleo for a week initially, then ate a piece of cake at a party and it was yard out for a week. Then on the 24th, I had a paleo breakfast and been doing good since. This forum is my only support for changing this aspect of my lifestyle, really, and I read it all the time. There is a lot of information to sift through, so grab a cup of bone broth and put up your feet awhile.

Yepi · Answer 7 · 2012-10-08 04:54:36Z UTC

0

Maybe because your testosterone levels decline. Try to read testosterone article in this website.

http://www.bio-identical-testosterone.com/bio-identical-testosterone-content/what-is-testosterone-women/

answered Oct 8 at 4:54

Yepi
1

westroxel · Answer 8 · 2012-10-08 06:30:17Z UTC

Fatigue was one of my symptoms with primary sclerosing cholangitis. I felt the fatigue lessen after about 90 days. Now 8 months later it is almost never present. When I do feel it (rarely) it is maybe 5-10% of a bad day a year ago.

Chronic Fatigue

8 Answers