Any IBS D Sufferers who’s done FODMAP and calorie counting ?
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Posts: 1,370 Member
Hi I have had IBS D 23 years it started when I was 6 months pregnant with my eldest daughter I tried 8 years for her and when I was 6 months pregnant my father in law died and my nan in 10 days of each other.
It progressed badly but over the years it’s discovered twice and came back sadly.
I had a hospital consultant tell me I’ve an irritable bowel after examinations and I had to live with it even though it impacts my life cruely.
I’ve been researching FODMAP I havent done it as I know I had to cut out most food groups but in the last 6 months I have done this as tried keto sadly keto was okay at first but now my ibs is back I’ve lost 55 lbs I’ve 45 lbs to go .
My mum has an allergy to dairy chronic stomach pains inflammation of joints and an upset stomach.
Does anyone do FODMAP with calories counting and some exercise as need to lose weight find a life plan and sort digestive problems ?
If so any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
It progressed badly but over the years it’s discovered twice and came back sadly.
I had a hospital consultant tell me I’ve an irritable bowel after examinations and I had to live with it even though it impacts my life cruely.
I’ve been researching FODMAP I havent done it as I know I had to cut out most food groups but in the last 6 months I have done this as tried keto sadly keto was okay at first but now my ibs is back I’ve lost 55 lbs I’ve 45 lbs to go .
My mum has an allergy to dairy chronic stomach pains inflammation of joints and an upset stomach.
Does anyone do FODMAP with calories counting and some exercise as need to lose weight find a life plan and sort digestive problems ?
If so any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
3
Replies
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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.5
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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.
Thankyou I do agree my life has been very stressful atm we have loads so maybe that’s the issue stress2 -
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.10 -
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.
Thankyou my GP just gives me an anxiety leaflet when I went to him last year but I think I will go see another GP and explain how bad it’s making my life I can’t travel anywhere and sometimes can’t go out
I will ask about tests and a dietitian referral as I think there’s some underlying problem
I don’t eat much atm
Chicken eggs bacon etc gave up most sugar and carbs but stress is huge
Thankyou for your help it’s appreciated
0 -
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.
^^^This0 -
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.
Thankyou my GP just gives me an anxiety leaflet when I went to him last year but I think I will go see another GP and explain how bad it’s making my life I can’t travel anywhere and sometimes can’t go out
I will ask about tests and a dietitian referral as I think there’s some underlying problem
I don’t eat much atm
Chicken eggs bacon etc gave up most sugar and carbs but stress is huge
Thankyou for your help it’s appreciated
My husband got a referral for CBT for his anxiety, it really helped him2 -
I have done a fodmap elimination and I did not count calories at the same time. I found the amount of restriction to difficult to also try and restrict calories. I can say that the fodmap diet has really helped me. Even though it's not perfect it really helped me discover the problem foods in my diet. I still have issues at times of great stress but that is an ongoing learning process. Hope you are able to find help and relief.4
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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.
2 -
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.2
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Oh! I never counted calories and I lost 133 lbs. Didn't need to count. I was so interested in tracking foods/symptoms and learning to listen to my body. The weight just fell off.3
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TavistockToad 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.
Thankyou my GP just gives me an anxiety leaflet when I went to him last year but I think I will go see another GP and explain how bad it’s making my life I can’t travel anywhere and sometimes can’t go out
I will ask about tests and a dietitian referral as I think there’s some underlying problem
I don’t eat much atm
Chicken eggs bacon etc gave up most sugar and carbs but stress is huge
Thankyou for your help it’s appreciated
My husband got a referral for CBT for his anxiety, it really helped him
My anxiety is linked to ibs d needing the toilet I’ve had CBT HYPNOTHERAPY REGRESSION COUNSELLING
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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.
Wow sounds amazing you are so much better. I’m in the uk they don’t help much here and I went 15 years to my doctor saying how chronic I had the symptoms they just gave me counselling and she was awful over the years I had more therapy along with CBT and hypnotherapy so I think I need to try what you have Doctor won’t give me any scratch tests or blood tests and I can’t find out how to have it done here I live on a small island in the uk and it’s very far behind times
I will go see a different doctor and ask about that as it’s unbeatable atm
Thankyou again appreciate your help
0 -
sexymamadraeger wrote: »Oh! I never counted calories and I lost 133 lbs. Didn't need to count. I was so interested in tracking foods/symptoms and learning to listen to my body. The weight just fell off.
I’m going to have to do what you have my life is so controlled by my ibs Thankyou
0 -
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.
Thankyou I have down loaded it already1 -
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.2 -
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.
Thankyou for a nice reply
I do find at my time of the month my problems are 100% more worse and I do wonder if it’s hormone related as it kicked off in pregnancy but my pregnancy was stressful 8 years fertility treatment a miscarriage then my nan and father in law died whilst I was 6 months pregnant I was told it’s stress.
I do feel it’s more than stress like you I’ve had no help no one in the UK medical profession cares and I haven’t lots money to get lots private help.
I have just looked into dietitians and nutricionlists and have emailed them
I have bad upset stomachs on antibiotics so I’m unsure if they’d help.
I will copy and paste your post so I can ask about all those things today I have terrible pains just below my stomach it’s so exhausting
Many Thanks:)
1 -
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.1
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Allergy scratch tests are very common. But I am sure living in a remote area makes it very difficult You could try eliminating allergens like I did, journal every day your symptoms and figure it out. That's how j figured out sulfate intolerance. If nothing else, drink apple cider vinegar. The days I was in so much pain I couldn't stand it ACV took it away. Nothing else did. It is high potassium and heals the gut. I sooooo understand the pain of IBS and food allergies for that matter. It is misery. I still struggle with it but not nearly as much.2
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ACV should be diluted with water. Its a good idea because it helps maintain stomach acid but lack of this acid is not a problem for some. According to the "trust me " team ACV has an additonal enzime to other vinigars. It is high in salilcylate though. (AVC is controvercial on here)
Additional thoughts to above. If you can filter your drinking water this might help. There was one jug system which claims to take out most impurities and things which are added to tap water to keep it "safe" in the water system.
sexymamadr..., adding digestive microbes can be helpful to those with IBS symptoms and the like. Sulphites can be releated to salicylate and oxalates its all so very complicated. All the best2 -
Thankyou both I do struggle drinking acv I do dilute as tooth enamel but it’s awful I hate cider and it’s like that lol
I am seeing a professional about elimination and FODMAP so hope to get some relief
Thankyou again0
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