Has anyone tried an elimination diet?

[OnionPatch]

4. I've been tested for RA.

Thanks for the suggestion. You're right, it can be very serious. So I'm glad that I have osteo, not rheumatoid arthritis. The migraines I've had all my life and like you said, weather, stress, hormones, lights, odors, etc. are all triggers. I've learned to manage them pretty well with help from my good friend Mr. Rizatriptan.

It's the IBS/GERD that I'm desperate to figure out. I've been on a GERD diet for more than a year and I still have the symptoms 24/7. I've found a few foods that make it worse. Avoiding them hasn't cured me though. I do the whole routine for GERD: raising the bed, losing weight, not eating near bedtime, small, low fat meals, no drinking, smoking, no spicy foods, etc. etc. I'm also on very high doses of PPIs and even they only take the edge off of the problem, so I'm pretty frustrated. I've been tested for everything by my "real" (conventional) doctors for this and had second and third opinions, including a lot of misdiagnoses along the way so I take ALL doctor's advice with a healthy dose of skepticism. None are perfect, so I like the integrative approach. My naturopathic doctor went to real medical school and has been pretty helpful so far. For example, he recently ordered a test and found out I'm low on B12, something the gastroenterologist assured me wouldn't happen unless I was on PPIs "for years".

The diary idea is a good one, thanks. I'll start one right away.