I've had IBS-D for 40 years. Tried every tablet, every exclusion diet, had every test, taken every supplement, without much success. BUT a couple of years ago I went on the 'Dukan Diet' to lose some weight. This starts off by only having protein foods for a few days, then alternating one day only protein, next day protein with veggies. No fruit, fat or sugar. Miracles occurred! I believe that the problem causing IBS-D is the wrong type of bacteria in the gut. If you avoid the foods they thrive on for a while, (Starches and sugars) they die and leave you with the good guys. My IBS was miles better for two years but then started to slowly get worse again. So, this summer I've gone back to the Dukan Diet for two months and Lo and Behold, my IBS is much, much better again. I REALLY recommend trying this, it can change your life.
Really helpful for IBS-D: I've had IBS-D for 4... - IBS Network
Really helpful for IBS-D
Are you the Susan Williams who has written several diet books including one on the Dukan Diet?
lol i hope not. Nothing like a spot of self promotion!
No! Just a regular Susan Williams 
Where is a good source of information about the Dukan Diet?
The website is: dukandiet.co.uk/ But there are several books and you can get a lot of info from just searching the internet. Just by the way, one thing Dukan does that I really do not agree with is substituting sugar with Aspartame. In my opinion Aspartame is a poison and should be avoided at all costs. (See: aspartame.mercola.com/ )
Thanks Sue - I'll look into it.
Your experience overlaps mine. I have been diagnosed with fructose malabsorption as a cause for my IBSD. The NHS isn't much use in dealing with it but it seems to make sense to reduce fructose in all its forms - table sugar, fruit, many vegetables, etc but also add extra glucose into the diet. This effectively puts me on a high protein, low sugar diet which sounds similar to yours?
The difference is that the fructose that I cannot absorb is getting through to the good bacteria and they are having the mother-of-all parties on it & their over-activity is what causes IBSD. By reducing fructose I remove their food and consequently they subside. Hey presto - the IBS subsides too.
I don't know whether you have had a fructose malabsorption test but if you haven't, it may be worth looking into?
FYI Sue Shepherd has written some really useful stuff on IBS & fructose.
Can you get a fructose test on the NHS?
Yes you can. I got mine on the NHS but I had to ask my GP to refer me for the test as she hadn't heard about it (I heard about it elsewhere). Mine was done by Guys & St Thomas' in London.
It was a bit tricky as they wanted me to go in at 9am and as I have bad IBSD I couldn't make it in so they sent me a kit to do it at home - I did a lactose and fructose test.
I highly recommend it as I now know that fructose is my major problem and it has given me something to focus on (fructose is in table sugar, onions & garlic, etc as well as fruit) and I am feeling so much better.
A word of warning - if you take the tests it may upset your IBS for quite a while as they give you a lot of fructose to consume as part of the test. It is well worth it though.
Hi Sue.
I left you another reply a short while ago. I have now taken a look at the Dukan diet - curiously it virtually eliminates fructose apart from some of the veggies so you may have a fructose problem? With regards the Dukan diet, fructose is in onions, garlic & mushrooms so maybe you should be wary of them?
BTW if you decide to go for the fructose breath test it may upset your IBS. Mine took weeks to stabilise again and I wish someone had warned me.
Good luck, and thanks for the tip.
Many people have no idea how bad anything made from GRAIN can be for you... especially wheat... Going 'gluten free' is not all that helpful to me... When a person says to stay away from starches...sometimes they don't realize this means ANY product with grain flour of any kind in it...again, especially wheat. This Dukan Diet you are talking about sounds very similar to the Paleo Diet... I am so glad you have found something that helps you! That is always so encouraging to hear!
Staying away from grains helps me the most. Some people don't realize that they have flours made from nuts (almond, pecan, etc) that work very well for baking... The ingredients in nut flours are not at all like the starch from grain flours.
I think what we really all need is for the practice of feacal transplants to become mainstream. At the moment it seems that doctors will do it only if your life is in danger, for instance if you have Clostridium difficile, but it is obvious that this works for anyone with a gut bacteria inbalance... and that is most of us with IBS.
Hi Sue, I had a similar wow moment when I suddenly realised my IBS C/D symptoms had virtually disappeared after I found out I had a 'higher than average' number of food intolerances and cut those food items out of my diet (FYI I'm intolerant to eggs, milk, wheat, gluten, millet, yeast, crustaceans and coffee!) People should read the post on York Test to see if you recognise any of the symptoms that led me to that test.
Paleo diet has really helped me. I have had ibsd for years and there are certain things, I just can’t do. Going out to lunch with friends..can’t do. If I want to get together with friends for dinner, it has to be my house, or I have to take my own car so I can meet them at the restaurant. The need to escape if I feel a problem coming on. I think a lot of it is mental, even though I get the big “d” every day. Yuck.
Hi, I am becoming a long term IBS D sufferer and it was great to read about the Dukan diet workong for you! I have read other people mentioning about cutting out certain foods and their stomach basically having a reset and all the bad bacteria etc being replaced with the good!
I am going to look in to the Dukan diet! The fact I live in China and eat my breakfast and lunch at school may make it harder but if I think I can give it a worthy attempt I really will! How long can you do it before you see some results? And I wonder, when my IBS is bad all I can eat is plain foods like rice and eggs and potatoes so I would worry that initially only eating protein and veggies my stomach might be awful! But I suppose I won't know until I try and maybe that is what imodium is for lol. I wondered what your experience was with the initial diet change?
Hi, I really think sugar is so bad for IBS, recently my IBS is much worse if I have consumed too much sugar. I try very hard to limit it (as it is in so many things), but it's so hard when you're a chocolate lover!!
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