Healed with Dietary Intervention. You Must Try AIP!

[Overboardmate]

Hey everybody, I'd like to give an update. First of all, I am doing great. My diet has changed around quite a bit. After some extensive allergy testing (i know the science isnt quite there yet, but i noticed a huge diff when i cut out the reactive foods), I wanted to cut out a bunch of things i was eating on AIP. Being interested in medicine as a profession as I am, I was digging into the why and the how I reactive to foods that are revered as healthy. I was introduced to carnivore by doctor saladino whom I've grown very fond of in the ancestral diet space. Through him, I discovered the world of defense chemicals associated with animal foods. I went strict carnivore for about 8-9 months and experienced the greatest symptom relief I ever had before. Even more so then AIP. I've decided to add in the least toxic plant foods like sugary and non sugary fruits. I haven't eaten vegetables in a year. I love raw honey although that's a fringe food that doesn't necessary classify as animal or plant. My calories are sitting around 70% from animal foods alone minus eggs and dairy. I feel so great eating this way and my eyes are thankful for it as well.

However, all of that isn't the whole story... after getting my meibography, i had quite a bit of atrophy and scar tissue from when the root cause wasn't being treated. To solve this problem and regain function in those glands, I opted for a combination of meibomian gland probing and IPL. I was made aware that probing carried the risk of creating a lot of inflammation after the fact that could result in needing retreatment, but IPL as a post treatment anti inflammatory could alleviate the need for retreatment. In short, both treatments used in conjunction could solve the problem and allow me to maximize the amount of functional tissue. I got the idea from this study here... https://bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral....886-019-1219-6

Now, these treatment methods aren't without substantial cost and I'm lucky i had family to help. Private insurance companies need to get off their butts and cover these treatments because they work. Eating healthy however seems to be quite affordable. I no longer eat out and buy meat in bulk. The few plants I do eat don't break the bank. If you want to get in touch with me for more details, you can reach out to me through instagram @andrewcarrill130. I'm pretty laxed in terms of social media or checking my messages, so don't be surprised if it takes awhile for me to get back to you, but I still want to put it out there because I know how bad this ailment can be.

Good luck to everyone, I know your struggle
- Andrew

[ItsSteve]

interesting Post would be nice to hear back from the Writer, im thinking starting carnivore and seeing how that goes, if you are still on this site could you give us an update on your progress if its came back or not? cheers

[orange86]

david2404 i also thought carbs were causing my mgd inflammation hence i was on keto in december. Do you think u react to AIP compliant sweet pots, cassava ?

[david2404]

I'm only eating the occasional handful of wheat or potato or rice. It's not a full keto diet but it's pretty close. Oh, and some cassava. I ate a lot of cassava, yam and sweet potato when doing the AIP. I'm substituting now with cauliflower and broccoli and other non-starchy veg. I'm still experimenting.


I had a nutritionist guide me through the AIP diet and offal meats were definitely recommended so the liver etc sounds like a good plan.

[orange86]

Hi,

i was on a keto diet for a month but it caused gout in my toes and couple of fingers. I'm now on AIP eating turkey mince in the morning with cassava roti + 1x sweet potatoe with veg and olive oil, repeat this meal at 12noon and at 6pm i'll have turkey pork patties with sweet pot and veg with avocado oil.

I'm going to ask the butcher for organ meat like minced lamb heart , liver, etc. dont think i could fry that stuff lol. shape it into a burger and bake in oven.

I think i'm same as you with carbs, sugar causes toxic tears so other carbs must be doing this at a slower rate maybe? The only carbs im currently eating are sweet pots and cassava flour roti's + some green veggies.

I've only been on strict aip for 3 days, so will see how i get on but my eyes are on fire. IPL isnt helping me at all, i think the inflammation is too high in my body

Do you live in the UK ?
What carbs do you eat and what is your diet consist of ?

[david2404]

orange86 How are you getting on with the diet? I did the AIP diet for 4-5 months last year. I also did a Cyrex intolerance test beforehand which threw up so many reactive foods. And actually, the intolerance results were all compromised by my system's 'lack of oral tolerance', so they were not reliable, but I went off most of these foods anyway. Which is to say, my diet was very limited. And like you i am a slim guy. Well, I did lose a lot of weight. I'm not sure what you can do about this really. Maybe just consume more healthy fats. Either way i suspect you'll feel pretty good physically.

I was having a lot of MGD issues with my right eye and was taking a lot of drops and antibiotics. Now I can't say for sure that the diet saved me (because even 10 months later i'm still not in the clear) but i'm certain it didn't hurt matters. It did take months but things gradually got better.

At the moment I'm steering clear of carbs as i am fairly certain that i am reacting to these. I'm not totally carb free but i've cut down massively and this seems to be helping. I'm off sugar and (mostly) alcohol as well.

[orange86]

Overboardmate

How many weeks till you noticed your eyes (MGD) were getting better on AIP?
Have you identified what your trigger foods are such as wheat, eggs, oats, dairy?
I'm concerned i'll loose too much weight on AIP, are there particular foods you take that can maintain body weight?
If i combine with IF (16:8), i'll turn into skin and bones. I'm naturally a skinny guy. Probs look at AIP first.

I started a keto diet 10 days ago and my IBS has stopped! but don't know if the foods im eating are still causing systemic inflammation (chia seed porridge in soy milk, 4 egg omlette with veg and olive oil), a final meal of either lamb, chicken or fish with veg and avacado oil.

I've sent a blood sample off for food sensitivity test.

Thanks

Hi all!

After about 9 months of dealing with severe meibomian gland dysfunction accompanied by dry eye, I am happy to say things have gotten 95% better. For all intensive purposes, I am healed. I once was on 3 different medications for my eyes plus daily touch ups like warm compresses and lid scrubs. I am now on nothing but healthy food and lifestyle. This all sounds crazy I know, but after spending $600 on lipiflow and having no results, I knew I had to go a different path.

After tirelessly researching, I found a connection between our gut, immune system, and the eyes. I decided at that time to start messing around with diet. At that point I hadn't really found any success stories other then a no sugar, no alcohol one (I wasn't looking hard enough... trust me, although those who have success rarely come back to gloat about it). First I started intermittent fasting and consuming whole foods. I lost 25 pounds because I was only eating one large meal every 24 hours. There were days when there was a lot of inflammation don't get me wrong, but for the first time since it all started... there were days when my eyes were perfectly pink looking on the inside of my lids.

This motivated me to dig harder. I then found a youtuber who introduced me to the complexities of the human microbiome and its influence on overall health and immune cells. Around the same time I was also introduced to many success stories following the Autoimmune Protocol for many different kinds autoimmune issues including... you guessed it! EYES!!! This excited me so much. I started what I would call a hybrid AIP diet with non AIP focus on the microbiome (at that time I began fermenting my own raw milk in kefir grains to create Kefir). This is where things got dramatically better. The symptoms of dry eye besides some burning at night and the morning exponentially decreased.

The only time I even noticed my eyes dry is when I went through a substantial life stressor. Also around this time, I began working out 4 times a week which I think benefited me a lot, when I got back into the gym, I upgraded my fasting to two meals a day following a 16:8 protocol. I only recently (about a week ago) decided to drop the kefir to fend off the last of the inflammation and adopt a fully AIP diet. This I think will take me over the last bit of the summit in terms of healing to the point of no trace of past disease.

The reason I decided to post today is because I went from severe symptoms (eyes were bone dry, glands were all running completely dry, eyes were always bloodshot) to where I'm at today (not even thinking about my eyes). I decided to visit my old eye doctor after quitting all my medications months ago for a checkup. She was "very impressed" with how much oil was being produced by my glands. She wasn't worried about the small amounts of inflammation still lingering and said my tests for pressure came back normal. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! This is all because of a complete lifestyle change everyone.

Aside from abusing contacts, I also never got a full nights sleep before. I ate garbage until 2-3am every night such as cheezits, juices loaded with sugar, bagels on top of bagels with cream cheese. Once I made the switch to autoimmune paleo, the relief in symptoms was immediately noticeable. Dont get me wrong, it takes a ton of time before I considered myself healed (where I am now). Were talking 2-3 months at the least, but why not make the switch. I posted here to spread awareness. I have now hooked up with a naturopathic doctor who is recommending I eat at least 2 types of fermented foods a day, stick to aip, and focus on always going to bed at the same (or a reasonable) time at night.

In the modern world, we destroy our microbiome and set off a cascade of immune system related events that lead to stuff like dry eye. There is a reason why you're suffering, dont let anybody tell you its just otherwise. We have to spread awarness about AIP and diet in general as a healing pathway for dry eye and meibomian gland disease. I'm in the midst of being a premed student, but I'll probably check this every once in awhile (no promises). Please! upvote this so others can see. Dont let this fall through the cracks like all the success stories that motivated me to make a change. WE CAN ALL HEAL TOGETHER!

Check out this link for an introduction to aip and how our diet effects autoimmunity which is responsible for a large ass portion of the dry eye sufferers on this website in one way or another if not all: https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-he...mune-protocol/

Are you still feeling well? Are you still on AIP?

[LindaDawn]

White sugar is renown for causing inflammation.

[orange86]

I found refined white sugar is a MAJOR trigger for my dry eyes. I avoid it at all costs. I have not tried alcohol yet in 5 months but i suspect this might also be a trigger.

I'm not sure why white sugar causes so much inflammation in my eyes.

[alex123711]

Hi all!
After about 9 months of dealing with severe meibomian gland dysfunction accompanied by dry eye, I am happy to say things have gotten 95% better. For all intensive purposes, I am healed. I once was on 3 different medications for my eyes plus daily touch ups like warm compresses and lid scrubs. I am now on nothing but healthy food and lifestyle. This all sounds crazy I know, but after spending $600 on lipiflow and having no results, I knew I had to go a different path. After tirelessly researching, I found a connection between our gut, immune system, and the eyes. I decided at that time to start messing around with diet. At that point I hadn't really found any success stories other then a no sugar, no alcohol one (I wasn't looking hard enough... trust me, although those who have success rarely come back to gloat about it). First I started intermittent fasting and consuming whole foods. I lost 25 pounds because I was only eating one large meal every 24 hours. There were days when there was a lot of inflammation don't get me wrong, but for the first time since it all started... there were days when my eyes were perfectly pink looking on the inside of my lids. This motivated me to dig harder. I then found a youtuber who introduced me to the complexities of the human microbiome and its influence on overall health and immune cells. Around the same time I was also introduced to many success stories following the Autoimmune Protocol for many different kinds autoimmune issues including... you guessed it! EYES!!! This excited me so much. I started what I would call a hybrid AIP diet with non AIP focus on the microbiome (at that time I began fermenting my own raw milk in kefir grains to create Kefir). This is where things got dramatically better. The symptoms of dry eye besides some burning at night and the morning exponentially decreased. The only time I even noticed my eyes dry is when I went through a substantial life stressor. Also around this time, I began working out 4 times a week which I think benefited me a lot, when I got back into the gym, I upgraded my fasting to two meals a day following a 16:8 protocol. I only recently (about a week ago) decided to drop the kefir to fend off the last of the inflammation and adopt a fully AIP diet. This I think will take me over the last bit of the summit in terms of healing to the point of no trace of past disease. The reason I decided to post today is because I went from severe symptoms (eyes were bone dry, glands were all running completely dry, eyes were always bloodshot) to where I'm at today (not even thinking about my eyes). I decided to visit my old eye doctor after quitting all my medications months ago for a checkup. She was "very impressed" with how much oil was being produced by my glands. She wasn't worried about the small amounts of inflammation still lingering and said my tests for pressure came back normal. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! This is all because of a complete lifestyle change everyone. Aside from abusing contacts, I also never got a full nights sleep before. I ate garbage until 2-3am every night such as cheezits, juices loaded with sugar, bagels on top of bagels with cream cheese. Once I made the switch to autoimmune paleo, the relief in symptoms was immediately noticeable. Dont get me wrong, it takes a ton of time before I considered myself healed (where I am now). Were talking 2-3 months at the least, but why not make the switch. I posted here to spread awareness. I have now hooked up with a naturopathic doctor who is recommending I eat at least 2 types of fermented foods a day, stick to aip, and focus on always going to bed at the same (or a reasonable) time at night. In the modern world, we destroy our microbiome and set off a cascade of immune system related events that lead to stuff like dry eye. There is a reason why you're suffering, dont let anybody tell you its just otherwise. We have to spread awarness about AIP and diet in general as a healing pathway for dry eye and meibomian gland disease. I'm in the midst of being a premed student, but I'll probably check this every once in awhile (no promises). Please! upvote this so others can see. Dont let this fall through the cracks like all the success stories that motivated me to make a change. WE CAN ALL HEAL TOGETHER!

Check out this link for an introduction to aip and how our diet effects autoimmunity which is responsible for a large ass portion of the dry eye sufferers on this website in one way or another if not all: https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-he...mune-protocol/

It would be helpful/ a lot easier to read if you put this into paragraphs

[Amdavis]

I will! Thanks

[LindaDawn]

Amdavis. Thanks for posting. Please give us a regular update. Take care.

[Amdavis]

I just started this diet and I am hopeful it will yield results for me. It's been challenging to say the least as I'm trying to limit my bread and pasta intake due to sugar and I'm also pescatarian so that limits dishes for me. I'm still learning. I'm hoping to give it 6 months. Hopefully I'll see some results. Thank you for posting.

[orange86]

folks, how long did it take for aip to make an improvement to your eyes?
it's daunting to think you have to be on this diet life long to stop the inflammation !! no alcohol or junk food is so tough.