Advice really appreciated

Hello, I have IBS and a hiatus hernia. I am very sad because I have a very unhealthy and restricted diet. I am a vegetarian and intolerant to gluten so that is limiting in itself. My issue is I cannot tolerate any vegetables, fruit, oats, eggs, beans or pulses. I live off gluten free pasta, gluten free bread, rice and cheddar cheese. I went to my GP and he just said avoid trigger foods. Despite avoiding them I still have bowel and bladder symptoms as well as stomach cramps and bloating every single day. Is there any way I can ever eat 'healthy food'? I am so bored of my diet not to mention worried about how unhealthy it is. Thank you for any replies.

[cath_mor]

Hi Autumnday

Just wanted to say that's a tough place to be, I know how it feels, so hang in there. I am going back to a restrictive diet again, but I only work part-time so I have time to research and really work hard to make meals interesting. And it is hard work with the type of restriction you describe.

If your GP can get you to a NHS dietitian that will also make a huge difference. I have seen one and they can surprise with some of their inventiveness - they seem to have recipe sheets for many people with the type of sensitivities you describe.

Hope it all goes well!

[Hidden in reply to cath_mor]

Thank you very much. I am going to see a GP to discuss this.

[Iesgobdafydd]

Hi, I've been there too and it's really hard. I was on a severely restricted diet for around a year I think, I did my best to balance it as far as I could and keep hitting the multivitamin and mineral tablets and it didn't do me any obvious harm. Like you, I couldn't get rid of my IBS symptoms no matter what I ate, it just seemed to stay the same or get slowly worse over time. I'm vegetarian too, I'm not gluten intolerant but I was avoiding gluten as well as so many other things to try and help my gut. It's amazing how much pleasure it takes out of life not being able to eat anything very nice. Keep your hopes up! I kept trying different things and finally I found something that worked for me - I am back to eating whatever I want now. It can happen to you too. There are so many different ideas out there for treating or alleviating IBS, and I don't think there is one cure that works for everyone because there isn't one cause for everyone. In my case the cause was TMJ, I'm pretty sure, taking a long course of Atrantil helped my symptoms a bit but I think what got rid of them was working on fixing the TMJ. I think if you keep getting symptoms no matter what you eat, like I was, then trigger foods aren't your primary problem, you have something else going on. But some people also say they react to rice, so if you're eating a lot of that then you also need to consider whether that could be a trigger for you. Answers to other peoples' questions in here are a great way of finding new ideas for possible causes and treatments. Good luck!!

[Hidden in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

Thank you for your help. It was very interesting. It is wonderful you can not eat what you like. I really hope I can one day too.

[Skypony]

Hi Autumnday, sorry to hear about your sadness over the food issues - understandable that you’d feel that way. I strongly agree with the suggestion that a dietician’s overview is needed, so do ask for a referral. It’s easy to get confused about what exactly is causing our symptoms and end up with an ever-narrowing diet. Professional support could make all the difference. Best wishes.

[Hidden in reply to Skypony]

Thank you very much. I have an appointment with a doctor next week so I am hoping she will agree to seeing a dietitian.