Just wondered if my gp would be able to refer me to someone trained in fodmap diet in Scotland?

[claire6]

I know fodmap diet is available in England but unsure if I could get any help or support with it in Scotland. My diet is already very restricted after food poisoning 3 years ago and suffered ibs ever since. Thinking of going back to gp as although I have symptoms under control I keep losing weight. Fodmap diet sounds like I would eat a lot more than I do now!

[Hidden]

Hi claire6,

I've been doing my best to promote the low FODMAP diet on here for several months as it works so well for me and many others, however, several Scots have come back saying that dietitians in Scotland are not being trained in it, so it doesn't sound too hopeful at the moment.

The following is my standard response to anybody who's about to look into the low FODMAP diet, sorry it's a bit lengthy, but there's so much bad and outdated info out there on the web and, if you get it wrong, it won't work, so take a deep breath and read on:

The diet was (and is still being) developed at Monash University in Australia, so its website is the best place to start at monash.edu.au – just put FODMAP into the search box on its homepage and you'll get there. If you have an iPhone there’s an app you can download from there, which will also be available for android in September, and a booklet you can send for.

An American dietitian called Patsy Catsos has written an excellent book about FODMAPs called 'IBS - Free At Last' (available from Amazon) which follows the Australian model very closely and contains all the info you need to get going. She also has advice on which food additives to avoid which is really useful.

I didn't find the NHS guidelines for the diet either as strict or as good as Monash's so stuck with what Monash said along with Patsy's book which became my bible.

When you first read about FODMAPs, you'll wonder what on earth you're actually left with to eat, but you do get used to it. The diet isn't meant to be a life sentence; what it does is to cut out all the food groups which contain the most likely suspects, making it easier to work out what suits you and what doesn't. I found that there were several 'safe' FODMAP foods which weren't safe for me at all, but these were easily identifiable as my menu was so small.

Once you get a real improvement in your symptoms, you then start to reintroduce the different food groups back into your diet one at a time to see which affects you and in which way. After 8 months, I can now eat from all the food groups with very few problems and have identified all my triggers.

I was amazed when I got a result from FODMAPs within 4 days although it can take several weeks for other people, so don't give up if you don't have an immediate result.

I wish you well with this,

Pagan

[claire6 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Pagan

Maybe if all of us Scots with ibs pesters our docs we can have fodmap trained dietitians up here too!

[krusty]

Hi: Kings College have a list of FODMAP trained dietitians here kcl.ac.uk/medicine/research... Tell your GP you want a referral to one of them in Scotland. Had to do the same with my GP here in England: the consultant and the surgery didn't have a clue what I was on about!

[claire6 in reply to krusty]

Thank you so much. There's one in there that's not too far for me - can't believe it!