Any IBS D Sufferers who’s done FODMAP and calorie counting ?

klr1981 wrote: »

I haven’t done FODMAP but I’ve learned what my “trigger” foods are and try to stay away from them. I have personally found that stress and anxiety management (relaxation techniques, taking “me” time, knitting, quitting Facebook, avoiding toxic people, cleaning the house, counseling) have lessened my IBS symptoms significantly. Good luck and be kind to your tummy and to yourself. I hope you find something that works for you.

iamvick wrote: »

Hi there. I’m not an IBS sufferer myself but I’m a qualified dietitian and so I see quite a few patients with similar cases to yours.

If you’re in the UK you should be able to go your GP and ask for a dietitian referral where you can see a specialist gastro dietitian who deals with FODMAPs on a daily basis. I’m not sure how systems work outside of the UK so I can’t comment on them.

To be honest I think trying to manage FODMAP diet AND weight loss both at once is a major stressor! The FODMAP diet is a particularly vigarous exclusion diet where many foods will be ‘off limits’. After six weeks you go back to a reintroduction phase introducing back 1 food at a time to find your particular triggers. You potentially could still calorie count whilst doing the diet but it would need a lot of careful logging and checking of foods for both if they’re a high or low FODMAP and then the calories and fats as well, which a dietitian could aid with and help you come up with a meal plan.

As someone said above stress is also a massive trigger for some people. Also just getting in to a good eating pattern helps. Also if you have IBS D-type then monitor your sugar free/sweetener, alcohol and high fat food intake as high amounts of these have been shown to worsen D-type symptoms.

I think a food and symptom diary may be helpful for you to keep for a week or two just noting down everything you eat and times and also what symptoms you develop and at what time. You can see if there’s any correlations and particular foods that stand out.

I recommend Monash University’s resources for more info as they were the founding fathers of FODMAP and all there info is fact based. They also have an app which could be of particular help to you.

Good luck with everything though! I wish you all the best.

sexymamadraeger wrote: »

Hey there! I have similar issues and I basically did FODMAPS and a very strict elimination diet and I started losing weight that way. 133 lbs later I am sooooo much healthier and my IBS is way better. It is so worth it! I discovered I have food allergies btw. Have you done a scratch test for allergies? I discovered I was allergic to cinnamon. Never would have figured that one out and it has changed my way of eating drastically. A lot of my IBS was due to allergies. But it's also stress and anxiety and hormones. I still deal with it during anxious times. I would strongly encourage you to check for allergies. The scratch test checks for environmental and food. While I was waiting for my allergy appt I started elimination diet on my own. I eliminated all the allergens and ate bananas, eggs, chicken, rice, blueberries, carrots, yogurt, turkey or fish. That's pretty much it for 3 months in the beginning. It only took2 days of the diet for my pain to go away and I felt soooooo much better. Drs give medicine and it makes me feel yucky (allergic to sulfates) so I healed my gut naturally. Water, bananas and apple cider vinegar every day, probiotics. It took a good year to 2 years to figure out how to eat. I still eat a very narrow diet. Lots of foods bother me. But I am healthy! I feel awesome and I am thin which is a great bonus! I do carry Immodium with me everywhere I go. When I get really anxious I take 1. My GI dr have me an anti-spasm medicine. That helps tremendously with the cramping. If you haven't gone to a GI dr I would. They know IBS well.

Orphia wrote: »

size102b wrote: »

I don’t eat much atm

Not eating much will also increase stress.

In addition to iamvick's great advice, here is the website for Monash University's Low FODMAP Diet:

https://www.monashfodmap.com/

This is their page on starting the diet:

https://www.monashfodmap.com/i-have-ibs/starting-the-low-fodmap-diet/

This might help you too, from that page:




"What are FODMAPs?
Put simply, FODMAPs are a collection of short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that aren’t absorbed properly in the gut, which can trigger symptoms in people with IBS. FODMAPs are found naturally in many foods and food additives."



Good luck, and please try to eat.

Fuzzipeg wrote: »

I'm so sorry, help is so hit an miss over here. All I ever heard for my issues were "live with it", so I have an idea of where you are coming from. My issues, histamine and salicylate intolerances, fodmap, could do nothing for me, too many things were fine in one section but knocked out by either histamine or salicylate reactions.

You could look into BANT registered nutritionists. They use blood tests and things as doctors do. I had a raft of tests to identify any allergies or intolerances and they really helped. You can read about this qualification and registered persons on line. It can take a while to an appointment but probably worth the wait.

Something which came up from my consultations was being advised to use digestive microbes. Finding ones without additives was difficult. Trying for best outcome for you, Opti Bac, make a combination to take with or after antibiotics. If you have ever taken antibiotics it could be worth giving these a try anyway. This specific product uses varieties of microbes which do not increase histamine levels, which is why I named the product. They have a wide range available different situations. Some people with IBS are microbe deficient or their biome is out of balance.

You say your mother has dairy problems. May I also suggest, if you are not already, you try a period of total dairy exclusion. This could be helpful, using rice milk I felt much relieved within 48 hours. Anyone avoiding glutein probably needs a good 6 months though others need much longer in avoidance and recontamination even once seems to reset so the process starts again.

From my recent reading, oestrogen dominance can link in with dietary issues. Your initial onset makes it unlikely, the baby puts out high levels of progesterone. If you now have cyclical issues this could be indicative. Vito-oestragens from the environment can also have an impact.

There are good sites on Histamine Intolerance, Salicylate Intolerance, you could try these as independent searches should get you to the best. Avoid unscientific rants. If you can find a medical practioner who is of the functional persuasion this could also be very helpful, most likely this would be a private practioner, they look to the science behind reactions and join the dots back to a root cause.

After a conversation with Allergy UK, I was told some find relief through Immunology. Getting there, past the GP can be difficult. Its so hard when you do not fit the boxes the NHS provides.

I'm sorry there is so much in this, I hope something in it helps you. Too often we are out on our own in things like this. It can feel as if no one official gives a hoot. My doctors only seemed to want to give me treatment for depression and the one thing I was not, was depressed. Anxious, to be rid of all my symptoms, yes, they just could not see this.

klr1981 wrote: »

OP im sorry you’re going through this. Life can be just miserable with stomach issues. I hope you can figure out a way to alleviate your symptoms and live a more comfortable life.