one sugar or two?

What I wouldn’t give for a nice cup of tea. I am British after all, and as a nation, we believe in our very souls that there is very little that a nice cup of tea can’t fix. Unfortunately, not only does it not fix fibro, it also makes it much, much worse. Tea is high in oxalates. Black tea, green tea, ice tea, even (I’ve found) rooibosh tea, it’s all bad.

My husband and I used to hire a little cottage in the beautiful British countryside (pre-kids…) and after a long ramble used to reward ourselves with a pot of tea, loose leaves, splash of milk, ideally a slab of carrot cake too! Later that evening, pins and needles all over my face, burning tongue, irritable bladder, joint pain, poor sleep. But I simply didn’t make the association. Sometimes I dabble with the idea, thinking that my recovery has come so far I might be able to have a cup here or there. 1 day seems ok, but as soon as I have 2-3 consecutive days of it, the symptoms return. So as much as I miss it, it’s camomile for me.

Herbal teas? Not many options. Fennel/licorice is out, so are fruit teas (berry based), ginger too. As mentioned above camomile is fine (yes, sorry, dull), peppermint too.