What to eat during withdrawal

[[En...]]

I have been trying to figure out what to eat that won't flare up my symptoms. My family eats a lot of pizza pop and hot dogs and macaroni and cheese and pizza things like that. I have read that certain foods can flare up symptoms. I know I can tolerate whole wheat bread but I dont know anything else to eat.

I have been staying away from canned ready made foods like ravioli and pizza pops but that is what is in my house having kids. I am getting hungry and am afraid to flare my symptoms. My wife makes dinner and it smells good but I dont know if I can eat tomato sauce and cheese or anything I used to eat. I had some macaroni and cheese with baked beans last night and this morning I felt anxious. I am not sure if it is from the food. 

What does everyone eat? I ak curious to hear what works for everyone and what doesn't. 

[[Cr...]]

This is difficult to figure out because what is fine for you to eat may cause other people issues. Someone may come in here and tell you whole wheat bread set them off.

Keep in mind that it might not be so much what food you are eating, but just digestion itself that rattles your symptoms. Think of a member that says music causes nausea and headaches. It isn't so much the song choice as it is just music in general.

Another factor is the timing of your waves One night you may eat a pizza and have no issues. One week later you may eat the same pizza from the same restaurant and now all the sudden feel your symptoms have worsened. If you didn't have that first good experience with pizza you would probably have ruled pizza out as being bad for withdrawal.

Obviously when our nervous system is a mess and gaba receptors are recovering we also may have digestive issues. If withdrawal has made acid reflux worse, avoid tomatoes and acidic foods. Foods you could handle before withdrawal may now cause diarrhea or constipation. Eating those foods will not set back your recovery, you will just have to test your boundaries.

If you are unsure or in doubt, there should never be an issue with eating as healthy as possible, avoiding processed foods when capable.

Again just make sure you don't fall into what I call the 'Timing Trap'. Let's say that no matter what you do there is going to be a wave hitting you at 7:30 pm tomorrow. Let's say it is inevitable. Now what if you ate a whole grain tuna fish sandwich at 6:30pm tomorrow. What are the chances that when the wave comes at 7:30 you will associate it with what you ate and forever cross tuna and bread off your list out of fear?

I think of you avoid excess sugar/carbs, caffeine, etc.. and eat as healthy as you can you should be fine. Going through withdrawal can give people food anxiety, leading them to excluding foods that they don't need to.

[[En...]]

9 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

This is difficult to figure out because what is fine for you to eat may cause other people issues. Someone may come in here and tell you whole wheat bread set them off.

Keep in mind that it might not be so much what food you are eating, but just digestion itself that rattles your symptoms. Think of a member that says music causes nausea and headaches. It isn't so much the song choice as it is just music in general.

Another factor is the timing of your waves One night you may eat a pizza and have no issues. One week later you may eat the same pizza from the same restaurant and now all the sudden feel your symptoms have worsened. If you didn't have that first good experience with pizza you would probably have ruled pizza out as being bad for withdrawal.

Obviously when our nervous system is a mess and gaba receptors are recovering we also may have digestive issues. If withdrawal has made acid reflux worse, avoid tomatoes and acidic foods. Foods you could handle before withdrawal may now cause diarrhea or constipation. Eating those foods will not set back your recovery, you will just have to test your boundaries.

If you are unsure or in doubt, there should never be an issue with eating as healthy as possible, avoiding processed foods when capable.

Again just make sure you don't fall into what I call the 'Timing Trap'. Let's say that no matter what you do there is going to be a wave hitting you at 7:30 pm tomorrow. Let's say it is inevitable. Now what if you ate a whole grain tuna fish sandwich at 6:30pm tomorrow. What are the chances that when the wave comes at 7:30 you will associate it with what you ate and forever cross tuna and bread off your list out of fear?

I think of you avoid excess sugar/carbs, caffeine, etc.. and eat as healthy as you can you should be fine. Going through withdrawal can give people food anxiety, leading them to excluding foods that they don't need to.

Yes I am developing food anxiety. My stomach is messed up right now. The problem is I have kids in the house and the food is geared towards their likes. For example my wife said she is going to make a frozen pizza for dinner. I want to eat that I like pizza. Maybe i just have 2 slices instead of like 4. It is difficult to eat healthy in my house. 

I am curious to know what you ate. I am not looking for a comparison just what people found they could tolerate. 

[[Cr...]]

I tolerated whole grain bread like you and that in turn meant a lot of PBJ, Turkey, Lebanon bologne sandwhiches. Lots of protein from meats, nuts, and beans. 

I ate as healthy as I could, but if Pizza or fast food was brought home I still ate it and felt little to no effect on my symptoms. McDonald's will make even those not in withdrawal feel somewhat awful after eating.

Whenever a bad wave came my appetite went to zero though and I lived on water and Ensure drinks for weeks at a time.

I wish I knew a sure-fire benzo diet that worked for everyone. Hopefully others will pop in and share the tastiest foods they ate that caused no problems afterwards.

[[Cr...]]

11 minutes ago, [[E...] said:

Maybe i just have 2 slices instead of like 4. It is difficult to eat healthy in my house. 

That could help ease your anxiety. Eat 1 or 2 slices. If you do okay then heat up some leftover slices later.

Be mindful of anticipatory anxiety though. Sometimes when you expect to get a reaction from something your anxiety will create a reaction.

[[jo...]]

1 minute ago, [[C...] said:

I tolerated whole grain bread like you and that in turn meant a lot of PBJ, Turkey, Lebanon bologne sandwhiches. Lots of protein from meats, nuts, and beans. 

I ate as healthy as I could, but if Pizza or fast food was brought home I still ate it and felt little to no effect on my symptoms. McDonald's will make even those not in withdrawal feel somewhat awful after eating.

Whenever a bad wave came my appetite went to zero though and I lived on water and Ensure drinks for weeks at a time.

I wish I knew a sure-fire benzo diet that worked for everyone. Hopefully others will pop in and share the tastiest foods they ate that caused no problems afterwards.

been pretty much living on chicken, coleslaw and dark choholate for the last couple of months. Oh and a coke zero for a treat. I can tolorate most things but this is cheap and relatively healthy. I do eat other stuff sometimes but just gonna try and keep it low carb high fat/protien.

[[En...]]

1 minute ago, [[C...] said:

I tolerated whole grain bread like you and that in turn meant a lot of PBJ, Turkey, Lebanon bologne sandwhiches. Lots of protein from meats, nuts, and beans. 

I ate as healthy as I could, but if Pizza or fast food was brought home I still ate it and felt little to no effect on my symptoms. McDonald's will make even those not in withdrawal feel somewhat awful after eating.

Whenever a bad wave came my appetite went to zero though and I lived on water and Ensure drinks for weeks at a time.

I wish I knew a sure-fire benzo diet that worked for everyone. Hopefully others will pop in and share the tastiest foods they ate that caused no problems afterwards.

Yes you sound like you were in the same boat as me in withdrawal. I eat lots of toast and PB and whole wheat sandwiches. I eat lots of fruit like bananas and apples. I will snack on baby carrots instead of having a bag of chips. Like I said lots of junky type food I have been living on that I probably should stay away from. 2 weeks ago I was not interested in food either so I drank lots of water and ate apples and bananas. Maybe had a couple slices of toast. Had to force myself to eat. I made sure I drank water. Ensure is a good idea. I will ask my wife to buy that for bad days I don't feel like eating. My stomach is all bubbly and growly and I have acid reflux despite taking medication for it. Just another benzo kick in the ass. This drug affects every part of your life.

[[En...]]

2 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

been pretty much living on chicken, coleslaw and dark choholate for the last couple of months. Oh and a coke zero for a treat. I can tolorate most things but this is cheap and relatively healthy. I do eat other stuff sometimes but just gonna try and keep it low carb high fat/protien.

I used to love coffee and tea. I cut those out. Plus I do not use the sugar container anymore. I try to stay away from sugars. Like I said there is lots of ready to eat foods in my house I am reluctant to eat like pizza pops and corn dogs and frozen pizzas and canned soups I am not sure if I should eat that. Like Cronos said I dont want to develop food anxiety and start associating my next day symptoms to what I ate the day before. I will end up eating nothing but bread and water. 

[[Cr...]]

8 minutes ago, [[E...] said:

Like Cronos said I dont want to develop food anxiety and start associating my next day symptoms to what I ate the day before. I will end up eating nothing but bread and water. 

What if things get bad after bread and water are consumed? Just remember that food is not going to keep you in a wave and food will not bring you out of a wave.

If you consider 'alcohol' a food then that is probably one of the few things that can set you back and bring on waves.

Some people overthink things sometimes. I ate bananas a lot too but I remember a person asking if the sugar in bananas (especially ripe) is breaking down into alcohol and potentially causing setbacks. We tend to become superparanoid when in a wave to the point where we are hypervigilant over any change in our bodies after we ingest something.

That hypervigilance can easily cause anxiety which will make the appearance of symptoms a self-fulilling prophecy.

Edited May 30 by [Cr...]

[[jo...]]

10 minutes ago, [[E...] said:

I used to love coffee and tea. I cut those out. Plus I do not use the sugar container anymore. I try to stay away from sugars. Like I said there is lots of ready to eat foods in my house I am reluctant to eat like pizza pops and corn dogs and frozen pizzas and canned soups I am not sure if I should eat that. Like Cronos said I dont want to develop food anxiety and start associating my next day symptoms to what I ate the day before. I will end up eating nothing but bread and water. 

yeah I'm staying away from processed foods. thats just a good idea generally.

[[En...]]

2 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

What if things get bad after bread and water are consumed? Just remember that food is not going to keep you in a wave and food will not bring you out of a wave.

If you consider 'alcohol' a food then that is probably one of the few things that can set you back and bring on waves.

Some people overthink things sometimes. I ate bananas a lot too but I remember a person asking if the sugar in bananas (especially ripe) is breaking down into alcohol and potentially causing setbacks. We tend to become superparanoid when in a wave to the point where we are hypervigilant over any change in our bodies after we ingest something.

That hypervigilance can easily cause anxiety which will make the appearance of symptoms a self-fulilling prophecy.

Yes we manifest what we obsess.

I like the music analogy. I will eat the frozen pizza tonight and won't worry about the outcome. I eat fairly healthy and do not drink alcohol. I eat ripe bananas no problem. But yes if I only drank water one day and had bad anxiety thr next day I dont want to associate water with revving up symptoms. You are correct benzo withdrawal does create more hypochondria. I was like that before benzos and now it is worse.

[[Cr...]]

For many people, withdrawal is the catalyst for eating healthy, walking, and exercising.

I wonder how many members started out their journey with a big belly and had 6-pack abs when they finally recovered.

[[En...]]

2 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

For many people, withdrawal is the catalyst for eating healthy, walking, and exercising.

I wonder how many members started out their journey with a big belly and had 6-pack abs when they finally recovered.

Fear of withdrawal is a very good catalyst for anything healthy. Should be used in jails to keep inmates in line. 

[[Cr...]]

3 minutes ago, [[E...] said:

I will eat the frozen pizza tonight and won't worry about the outcome.

The sauce may aggravate acid reflux, but if you can handle that particular aftermath go for it.

Some people get AR so bad that even something as benign as celery will still cause it. If you are going to suffer no matter what you eat, you may as well enjoy what you eat.

[[Rh...]]

I have tried all the diets and WOE’s (ways of eating) and I can honestly said, I’m my opinion, eating unprocessed healthy foods is best.  I have had the most success with high protein low sugar, but each person has to find what works for them.

At one point I was so scared to eat I was making myself worse because I wasn’t eating enough.

I think meats, eggs, butter, fish, veggies, fruits, some dairy, whole grains and water is honestly the best, but I’m not an expert, just what has worked for me.  I do avoid processed foods, sugars, caffeine, alcohol and high histamine foods (as I just came off an antidepressant that directly affects histamine receptors).

BUT you will make yourself worse off by not eating enough and not nourishing your body.  Try not to make everything  super fearful or else you’ll make things worse.

[[Rh...]]

I don’t know if you follow Baylissa at all, but she says over and over that there is no evidence that eating a certain diet or not eating things will prevent you from healing.

Creating fear actually can make things so much worse, because no matter what, you will heal!!!

[[En...]]

4 minutes ago, [[R...] said:

I don’t know if you follow Baylissa at all, but she says over and over that there is no evidence that eating a certain diet or not eating things will prevent you from healing.

Creating fear actually can make things so much worse, because no matter what, you will heal!!!

Good to learn these opinions it goes a long way in my food consumption decisions 

[[En...]]

10 minutes ago, [[R...] said:

I have tried all the diets and WOE’s (ways of eating) and I can honestly said, I’m my opinion, eating unprocessed healthy foods is best.  I have had the most success with high protein low sugar, but each person has to find what works for them.

At one point I was so scared to eat I was making myself worse because I wasn’t eating enough.

I think meats, eggs, butter, fish, veggies, fruits, some dairy, whole grains and water is honestly the best, but I’m not an expert, just what has worked for me.  I do avoid processed foods, sugars, caffeine, alcohol and high histamine foods (as I just came off an antidepressant that directly affects histamine receptors).

BUT you will make yourself worse off by not eating enough and not nourishing your body.  Try not to make everything  super fearful or else you’ll make things worse.

I found this information on Canadas website:

 

Highly processed foods can include:

• sugary drinks
• syrups and jams
• chocolate and candies
• potato chips and pretzels
• sauces, dressings and gravies
• ice cream and frozen desserts
• bakery products like muffins and cakes
• fast foods like French fries and burgers
• frozen entrées like pasta dishes and pizzas
• processed meats like sausages and deli meats

Our food environment is changing. Highly processed foods are readily available and people are eating more of them. Eating highly processed foods increases your intake of sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Eating too much sodium, sugars or saturated fat can increase your risk of chronic disease.

Some good examples here. 

 

[[jo...]]

If you live in the uk there's a take away food called a donner kebab. High fat, low carb. Lashings of sliced meat cooked on a spit with fresh vegtables pita bread and chilli sauce. Thats my treat food! Never had any problems and feel great after eating.

[[En...]]

Just now, [[j...] said:

If you live in the uk there's a take away food called a donner kebab. High fat, low carb. Lashings of sliced meat cooked on a spit with fresh vegtables pita bread and chilli sauce. Thats my treat food! Never had any problems and feel great after eating.

I live in Canada its like the US with ready made processed foods for on the go people. 

[[jo...]]

If you ever visit the uk (or turkey where it originated) Give it a try. The very best of withdrawl food! I've always ate them regardless.

[[En...]]

Just now, [[j...] said:

If you ever visit the uk (or turkey where it originated) Give it a try. The very best of withdrawl food! I've always ate them regardless.

I love gyros. Love lamb and beef together in a pita. 

[[Cr...]]

15 minutes ago, [[E...] said:

I love gyros. Love lamb and beef together in a pita. 

Phonetically spell out how you pronounce "gyros". Be honest.

[[En...]]

14 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Phonetically spell out how you pronounce "gyros". Be honest.

Jiro lol

[[Cr...]]

1 minute ago, [[E...] said:

Jiro lol

Well close. "Yee-row" 

And yes I was someone who always pronounced it "Jie- row"

Now i am getting hungry