food diary & diet

[aprilj15]

Hi! I’ve just been referred for a laparoscopy but have also been advised there’s a few diets I could try to help lessen the symptoms in the mean time. My doctor recommended trying gluten free, meat free, dairy free, and a low FODMAP diet, but separately to see what works. Has anyone had any luck with any of these? And are there any apps you would recommend to help keep track of everything you’ve eaten / your symptoms? Thanks!

[Moon_maiden]

Hi

Always worth a try, sensible doctor. If you do a search there are loads of posts about diet and success. I’m trying goats milk and gluten free (mainly) trouble is soya gets used in dairy free instead so you need to be a bit careful.

You could try cutting out the main things for a few weeks and reintroduce one at a time. You have to be a bit careful and monitor reactions. It’s an individual thing, which isn’t much help.

Hope you don’t have to wait too long

[HelloJumpsuit]

Hi! I tried FODMAP and while I initially thought it worked, the pain came back just as bad as before. It's a really tough diet as there are so many things you can't eat during the elimination phase so I'd recommend giving it a miss until you've tried all others. My friend says that going red meat and dairy free helped her (I'm a vegan so can't help with that one). I try to avoid gluten when my symptoms are bad. It's also worth significantly reducing your sugar intake and avoiding soya. Remember though that while finding the right diet will definitely help to reduce your symptoms a little it won't get rid of them completely. I also have been trying to up my omega 3 intake and reduce my omega 6 intake as omega 3 oils are anti-inflammatory and omega 6 oils can increase inflammation. Have a look at this article for more info: healthline.com/nutrition/op...

Good luck!

[Goiaba]

I have had excellent results, however it won’t suddenly stop your pain for good. I am on an anti-inflammatory diet together with low fodmap and the intensity of my pain and the quantity of days I am in pain have both reduced considerably. I still have intense pain and need painkillers, the difference now is that painkillers work! And I don’t have to miss work days or anything like that just because I’m on my period 🥰 it was one of the best things I have ever tried. It’s not easy as it is very restrictive but brought me sooo many benefits I do not intend to stop, even after my lap! Good luck 😘

[lemon_mint]

hey aprilj15 I found this link very useful in terms of info / dietary planning slucare.edu/ob-gyn/center-f...

I did elimination diet to establish the "culprits" and also a low FODMAP diet several years ago and found it helpful. I was also taking Tibetan medicines at the time which seem to have helped with my IBS symptoms. I was a vegetarian for over 3 years but eventually started eating fish because I was low on iron and was too tired all the time - I could have paid more attention to eating more pulses, etc. All that was before my endo diagnosis so I can't quite say if these help with endo symptoms. Now I just eat healthy (no sugar, no processed foods, no meat or poultry, just fish, no bad carbs, no soya, try to have organic where I can; I love bread but never eat supermarket bread - just buy sourdough from a local bakery from time to time and have a moderate amount). I found that too much raw food does not work for me and causes bloating. Cooked food was the best. I try and eat fresh fruit in the first half of the day as it agrees with me better. It is worth experimenting a few things to see what works for you. If you try veggie / vegan I'd suggest to make sure you get enough iron and B12 - these are really important and I made a mistake of ignoring those at the time. Ideally those should come with food but supplements also work. I found iron tablets not too great for my stomach so switched to syrup with vitamin C to help absorption at the time - not taking supplements now. It is very important to eat a balanced diet and cooking at home from good fresh ingredients works best as that way you know there are no preservatives/additives. It is often hard to do when you have other things like work, looking after kids if you have any, etc. so keeping things in balance is good. Pain-management-wise I have recently found yoga working for me really well. iynaus.org/sites/iynaus_fil... - I read this article and then found some examples on youtube. youtube.com/results?search_...

[lakeside123]

I tried FODMAP about 4 years ago for endo related diarrhoea and constipation. I learnt a lot and now don’t eat meat and limit my dairy and gluten intake. This is completely anecdotal but I found the best thing for me when I have a flare is to eat boiled rice and vegetables for a day or two. It weirdly reset my digestive system.