Have I made my ibs worse?

[Spiralmist]

Hi, just wondering, I have been eating gluten free for a while now, but had a slip up a few days ago, last night I had horrible diahroea and have felt ill all day today, nauseated and very tired. This also happened when I had gluten before. By not eating it, have I made myself even more intolerant?

[Hidden]

I have just posted about not having gluten for the whole day then ate something with gluten and how it made me feel was horrible I would say yes you have but in my opinion it’s not a bad thing I’m learning that your body knows what shouldn’t be in it and if you’ve gone for so long without gluten then I’m guessing your body has just fully rejected it doesn’t want it back inside, hope your feeling better

[Edgar77 in reply to Hidden]

Before you look into all this talk about gut bacteria and fodmap ect ect please get yourself tested for coeliac disease. I suffered 12 years before I was diagnosed. It is believed by the coeliac society that for every 1 coeliac there are 4 IBS sufferers not tested. It is only a blood test but if you stop eating gluten you will stop making anti body's and get a false negative result. Then when you go back to eating it your reaction will be worse.

[Carrjan in reply to Edgar77]

My consultant gastroenterologist says the coeliac blood test will still react for 6 months after stopping eating gluten. I was tested after having stopped gluten for about 10 days and worried that it therefore might not show. I was negative. I don’t think gluten is my problem so have resumed it.

[Edgar77 in reply to Carrjan]

Obviously things have moved on since I was testes 20 years ago. Glad to hear it is more accurate now.

[xjrs]

Normally it's the fructans (which are FODMAPs) in wheat that can cause problems for some people with IBS. By avoiding gluten you are also avoiding wheat and hence the fructans. Your microbiome does get crafted by the foods that you eat on a regular basis. When eating something you haven't had for a while you may get symptoms until your body gets used to it again or it's still not happy with it.

If you have a gut bacterial imbalance, this can make you more intolerant to some FODMAPs in foods. Which FODMAPs affect which person is different from person to person. There is an interesting infographic on this here:

gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/...

It might be worth your while trying a probiotic such as Aflorex, which has been studied for IBS. This helps to shift the balance towards the good bugs and might make you more tolerant to foods.

To put your mind at rest, I was wheat free/low FODMAP for years. Since being on Alflorex I have been able to consume whole wheat bread daily. The trick is to try to get your bad bugs under control with a good probiotic, then try reintroducing foods back into your diet starting very slowly (1/4 to 1/3 of a normal portion size) of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms for longer and then try to increment again . I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced very slowly and your bad bugs are under control with a good probiotic. Ideally you want to eat as many FODMAPs as you can since they are good for your health.

[Batteria]

Who knows? If it causes so much misery for you I think you should cut it out altogether. It will do no harm to avoid gluten. Your body does not need it. Con amore Bx

[Edgar77 in reply to Batteria]

Before you look into all this talk of gut bacteria and fodmaps ect please get yourself tested for coeliac disease. I suffered 12 years before I was diagnosed. It is believed by coeliac society that for every 1coeliac there are another 4 told they have IBS. It is oy a blood test but if you stop eating gluten you will stop making anti body's and get a false negative result. Also if you then go back to eating it your reaction will be worse!

[Batteria in reply to Edgar77]

I don’t think your message was meant for me. Anyway, for what it’s worth, I was tested for coeliac disease 39 years ago and told I was non coeliac gluten sensitive. I was told I was intolerant of gliadin which is a component of gluten. They don’t separate the gliadin from the gluten so I had to stop eating anything containing gluten. I was told not to worry that I would be ok abstaining from gluten. It did not stop the diarrhoea but I’ve managed to stay well following the clever guts diet instead. Con amore Bx

[Edgar77 in reply to Batteria]

Oops sorry it was ment for Sshhh22.

[Carrjan]

I am seeing a consultant dietician for my IBS who says she specialises on people who are post FODMAP and I am. I tried a low FODMAP diet (incl no gluten or lactose) for several months and still was getting IBS. She says cutting gluten out altogether can make you intolerant of it when you reintroduce it, so try only having small amounts for a while.

[2littlecats]

Hi I have been low fodmap for a few months now and I have struggled to reintroduce anything as I have had such severe reactions