Diet

[veggiemomma]

Has anyone found changing their diet has helped with their fibro?

I am considering going gluten free, I am already vegetarian.

[Starbys]

Hello,

do u find that foods with gluten in particularly aggravate your symptoms?

If you do then u could try excluding gluten gradually over 2 or 3 weeks and see if it helps ur symptoms.

if it doesn't help significantly then you should go back to your normal diet.

as a general rule fms doesn't cause gluten intolerance. but everyone's different and it's also possible to have coexisting conditions.

Do u have IBS?

is so, many people find the low FODMAPS diet helpful and research is beginning to corroborate this.

Best of luck,

Starbys

[veggiemomma in reply to Starbys]

Hi, yes I do have IBS, have not heard of " low fodmaps diet". Could you explain more, or point me in the right direction?

Thank you!

[wallflower_fairy]

Hi,

I've practically cut out diary (I have almond milk and soya) and for me it's made the world of difference. I generally find I'm better at regulating my mood, which in turn helps with stress and therefore Fibro. I also get a lot less of that uncomfortable bloated feeling in my stomach and feel less 'sluggish'. I think it's definitely worth a try and if you find it doesn't help or make things worse go back to your previous diet.

Hope this helps,

wanderingwallflower xx

[veggiemomma in reply to wallflower_fairy]

Hi Fay. As a vegetarian I have considered going vegan, but I adore cheese! Maybe I'll try to cut down. Thanks for the advice.

[wallflower_fairy in reply to veggiemomma]

No problem - I still have dairy occasionally as a treat. xx

[Starbys]

hI,

This should help u with the subject of IBS and how diet can help:

bda.uk.com/foodfacts/IBSfoo...

It mentions the low FODMAPS diet in this leaflet (as well as other suggestions) but it does recommend you get a dietician's advice before implementing low FODMAPS.

If you do a google search for 'low FODMAPS diet for IBS' you should find more info.

But i would say to you be careful about making any drastic changes to your diet without professional nutritional advice, because otherwise you could end up with nutritional deficiencies which could then cause you more problems.

Hope this helps.

Starbys

[TheAuthor in reply to Starbys]

Great link, thank you.

[Starbys in reply to TheAuthor]

Hi, yea i thought it was good, it gives a lot of clarity on what can be a complex and confusing subject!

[Hidden]

Hi, I mainly eat vegetarian but do have fish occasionally. When I tried a detox diet for a month in the summer, no dairy, wheat or sugar I did seem better, so I have started doing it again, good luck with whatever you try....x

[Betty67]

i fell much better on meat than when I was vegetarian. Went on stone age diet for years but found it very restrictive.

[rosewine]

I know my friend didn't have fibro but she used to have terrible cramps which I know some of us on this site get bady. She was diagnosed with coeliac disease so had to go gluten free and within a week all the cramps ceased and have never returned.

[Starbys in reply to rosewine]

yea, eliminating gluten will help resolve symptoms for coeliac disease. But having IBS doesn't mean you're gluten intolerant (although there's always the possibility as many people with ibs have various food intolerances. If you see an earlier link i shared about an IBS research study you will see that different people with IBS respond differently to foods. It also confirms low fodmaps diet helps, although in research terms this is early days, many people with IBS report finding the low FODMAPS diet helpful). Here's the link: tinyurl.com/IBSresearchstudy

If since developing your IBS symptoms you have never had any gastrointestinal tests or have never seen a consultant gastroenterologist then this would be worth exploring as other conditions that could be causing the same symptoms to IBS should be checked for and ruled out prior to making a diagnosis of IBS.

However I am aware that some GPs do 'diagnose' IBS without doing GI investigations or referring to gastroenterology, and this is where an alternative diagnosis could be missed. This is important because some other GI conditions will need treating differently.

So this is worth being aware of for anyone who has been given an IBS 'diagnosis' without the above being checked out first.

Once the above has been done, if you test negative for other diseases then you can be confident IBS is the cause of your GI symptoms (but if you develop any new different gastro symptoms always get these checked out by your doctor in their own right as having IBS doesn't mean you can't develop another condition so new different symptoms appearing down the line should still be checked out).

It's important not to restrict your diet unless it definitely really significantly helps your IBS symptoms, because you could end up not meeting your dietary requirements including micronutrients and end up with deficiencies that cause more problems as well as even less energy (and energy takes much more than just calories).

If you make major changes to your diet with cutting food groups out you are entitled to advice from a dietician and should seek this from your GP, as otherwise you could be at high risk of missing your nutritional requirements which are surprisingly complex.

Take care,

Starbys

[veggiemomma in reply to Starbys]

Thanks for the wealth of information Starbys!

I will do more research.

[Starbys in reply to veggiemomma]

That's ok, happy to help!

Hope u manage to find something that helps. Take care, Starbys x

[TheAuthor]

Hi veggiemomma

I wanted to wish you all the best of luck with this. I am lactose intolerant and also suffer with Herticaria M28 and so I cannot have red fruits, bananas or anything latex based on my body. So I understand exactly where you are coming from.

Good luck

Ken x

[Gramma]

If you google fodmaps it makes good reading. If you look for Chris Kresser, there's lots of free books to download. X.