Possible family food intolerance - any ideas?

[Capri20]

I developed digestive problems (intense stomach pain, constipation and nausea) suddenly in December, after some tests I was told by a gp it was ‘probably ibs’. By this time I’d started the low FODMAP diet and it was helping quite a bit although not 100%.

The question I have is my teenage daughter has always suffered from digestive problems. When she was little I assumed this was due to not eating many vegetables or drinking much. However, since I’ve been having my problems we’ve both been eating lots of vegetables and very little gluten and dairy and she hasn’t seen any improvement. She doesn’t eat junk food and is very active, fit and healthy. I’ve had some wheat over the past week and seen symptoms get worse (pain and constipation). We’re now going gluten free and also trying not having nightshade vegetables to see if that helps. We drink lots of water. The fact that we’re both having the same issue makes me think it might be a genetic food intolerance. When I first developed my problems I’d suddenly increased high fibre intake, which I now realise wasn’t a good idea. My brother’s also told me he has problems when he eats high fibre food.

Can anyone suggest anything that may help? I’ve decided to try slightly increasing our soluble fibre and protein whilst keeping insoluble fibre low. I’ve also been looking into digestive enzymes although some of these like Digestisan are only suitable for over 18s. Senna and dulcalax works a bit but not great. Just started trying milk of magnesia. I’d like to stick to natural remedies as much as possible.

Unfortunately we obviously can’t go to the gp right now and all blood tests are done at our local hospital, so are having to manage this ourselves.

Sorry for the long post. Any ideas would be great.

[Linley]

'probably IBS' is not good enough a diagnois and depends on what elimination tests you have. Fodmap can help but needs supervision, email the IBS network for guidence. Your GP is still available probably by phone consultation. Keep safe

[xjrs]

I suffer from IBS-C (constipation dominant) plus intestinal nerve pain. I am on Linaclotide for both the constipation and pain and Alflorex probiotic which is available on a free 2 month trial on joining theibsnetwork.org. This has been scientifically studied to help people with IBS. In combination I have mostly pain free days. I have researched Linaclotide and health-wise it is a good drug. It acts locally in the gut and makes more of a natural chemical available in the intestines which helps calm intestinal nerves - this action also provides a protective effect against cancer. It doesn't help me with the constipation (though it does for others) but with the Alflorex I can tolerate far more foods including high fibre to help with my bowel movements - last year the most I could tolerate was white rice, protein and certain veg otherwise I'd be in intense pain. The probiotic has a number of actions 1) reducing intestinal inflammation 2) if you have a slight imbalance of bacteria i.e. a bit of an overgrowth of bad bugs, it can help fight these off and bring things back in balance 3) it can help reduce pain. These bad bugs can create pain and extra gas which can cause nausea. You can get a phone consultation with your GP. If your daughter needs testing she can be sent a stool sample in the post and you can kick it to one side for 72 hours and return it by leaving it outside your surgery and calling reception.

[xjrs]

By the way, IBS does tend to run in families:

theibsnetwork.org/does-ibs-...

I can recommend theibsbnetwork.org - it costs £24 annual subscription, but you can get free advice from experts and lots of hints, tips and recipes.