FODMAP Diet - Yes or No? I Want Your Opinions

[swiftie09]

Hi everyone! I am new here! Found this website through NHS website. My question to everyone is, how has, if applicable, a low FODMAP diet helped? Did you find that reintroducing foods made your IBS worse?

Wondering whether to give it a go

[oldfog]

The nurse practitioner at my surgery suggested I try and low FODMAP diet in January 2020 and yes, following a strict low FODMAP, gluten and lactose free diet definitely seemed to stop my IBS pains and diarrhoea. I tried to come off the gluten free stuff because it is so expensive - but I did start getting stomach pains again. So I went back to lactose free milk and gluten free bread, pasta and biscuits etc. but I seem to be fine on true sourdough bread And I still don't add onions or garlic to my cooking - but I found I can tolerate garlic infused oil and Asafoetida And I have managed to re-introduce quite a few medium- to high FODMAP foods without any real problems - such as bananas and avocados The trick is to try a very small portion of something on the restricted list for a few days and only increase the amounts if you don't relapse.

[swiftie09 in reply to oldfog]

Thanks! This has really helped! I think I was scared about the idea of cutting lots of things out but it sounds positive that it helped you and you were able to introduce some things later on! I just find it hard to stick to these things but hopefully it'll get easier over time! Thanks so much for your reply!

[oldfog in reply to swiftie09]

You're very welcome. I found the FODMAP lists on this site more helpful than the Monash App - although I did edit them into an order that suited me better ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fo...

[swiftie09 in reply to oldfog]

Thanks so much! I will definitely check this out!

[Luisa22]

Hello swiftie,

I stuck to the low Fodmap elimination phase for around 6 weeks in 2020 with mixed results. During that, my symptoms were still up and down.

Many low Fodmap veggies were fine with me, and others certainly weren't and even caused me problems, as they still do (foods like carrots, green and yellow peppers, tomatoes and even the recommended fruits etc) Some things I eliminated, like gluten, and honey, I found out when I started re-introducing, that it had made no difference eliminating and that they were fine for me anyway.

But I still find the low Fodmap veggies that suit me are on my list of safe or safe-ish foods now generally. The reintroduction phase can be hard work I found. There is a big difference for me between three small florets of broccoli and four. Three are friendly to me, four tip the scales. We find our own tailor made limits I think.

I still can't eat some of the low Fodmap recommended foods but still find there is no problem for me with some of the high Fodmaps, like gluten, chocolate and even small amounts of alcohol, and apparently there never was.

And then there was another factor -that often I couldn't trace my flare ups to any foods I ate. I would be fine on those foods for maybe 3 weeks, then suddenly one day -not, then fine again and so on.

When at my worst I found that fibre bothered me more than "fodmaps". For instance I could just manage potatoes boiled, but daren't even look at potato skins.

I think it is definitely worth doing the low Fodmap diet and try to work out what could be some triggers for your IBS.

[swiftie09 in reply to Luisa22]

Thanks so much for your reply! I think I am definitely going to try the Low FODMAP lifestyle - I just hope I have the willpower to stick to it!

[xjrs]

It is one of the standard treatment options for IBS. However, after living with IBS for years and done lots of research around it, I would first try a good probiotic, since many food intolerances are caused by a gut bacterial imbalance. Alflorex, which has been scientifically studied for IBS worked best for me and has made me more tolerant to foods. There are others that have been tested to reach the gut such as Symprove. If this only helps to a certain extent, you could then ask to be referred to a fodmap trained dietitian. The reintroduction phase can trigger IBS, but that is the way to find out what is affecting you. In theory, things should settle within 3 or so days once the food has passed through your system. You keep a food diary so you have a record of what to avoid, but it would be better to see if you can make your system more tolerant to foods with a good probiotic otherwise you could end up eliminating foods from your diet that you could still be eating.

[swiftie09 in reply to xjrs]

I'll have a look into some probiotics - I never even thought of that. Can I get these in the supermarket?

[xjrs in reply to swiftie09]

Alflorex is probably best ordered from the manufacturer. They have a 3 month trial programme that can work out cheaper or you could try one packet and see how you get on with it:precisionbiotics.co.uk/alfl...

I know it is expensive, but I think Symprove, which has also been tested to reach the gut is more expensive. For me, it was worth the money due to the benefits I got from it.

[swiftie09 in reply to xjrs]

Thanks so much! I will have a look into these.

[oldfog in reply to xjrs]

I firmly believe that my IBS was caused by 2 back to back courses of antibiotics, which I believe killed off all the good bacteria in my gut, causing a gut bacterial imbalance. So I did try Alflorex but sadly, I didn't find it helped me at all

As for seeing or even just speaking to any kind of dietician, chance would be a fine thing

[xjrs in reply to oldfog]

Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately everyone's IBS is different. Hopefully, one day it will be broken down into a number of different syndromes, each with its own treatment.

[PurpleEllie]

I am the same as old fog. I did the FODMAP diet with the help of a dietician in 2018, and found it amazing after decades of suffering. Everyone is different and will react differently to foods even though we all come under the umbrella of IBS. I have no garlic, onion or leeks but can tolerate a small amount of chives. No cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale or anything from the brassica family. I am lactose and gluten free, but can tolerate true sourdough occasionally. I really would recommend trying it, and when supermarket shopping I found the FODMAP app invaluable. It allows you to scan food barcodes to find out what you might react to. Definitely worth a try.

[swiftie09 in reply to PurpleEllie]

I didn't realise there was an app! That makes things so much easier!

[ForViolet]

I don't follow it. I drink milky coffee, well cooked vegetables, fruit, eggs, meat.. I aim for a high metabolic diet that is low in polyunsaturated fats. Gluten and nightshade free.

The main thing that's helping me is slowing down when I eat and stopping before I get triggered with too much food at once.

[swiftie09 in reply to ForViolet]

Thanks for your reply! What is a high metabolic diet?

[ForViolet in reply to swiftie09]

It includes making sure you are eating enough to keep your energy going throughout the day. And not eating things that cause inflammation like seed oils. These guys in Simi Valley give info you might think helpful:functionalps.com/category/m...

[swiftie09 in reply to ForViolet]

Thanks so much! I'll look into it! I'd never heard of it before!

[winfong]

I have never been tempted to try it, as it just sounded too complicated & restricting. That said, my IBS is largely under control these days. I rely mostly on probiotics, docusate sodium & methylcellulose.

[swiftie09 in reply to winfong]

In terms of probiotics - is there a specific one that you use? Also how would I use the other things you mentioned - like do they come in a tablet form/food form etc? Sorry, I'm completely clueless when it comes to this stuff.

[winfong in reply to swiftie09]

I use Phillips ColonHealth. Not sure if it's available in the UK. Methylcellulose and docusate sodium are both osmotic laxatives. Not sure what the brand names would be.

[ValDee88]

FODMAP works for a lot of people, but not everyone. Its also not a diet as such, but is meant to be a challenge process, with foods being tried and restored or not-it really could do with being implemented with a dietician. This bit is often left out. You need to work through everything as new info is coming along. Its tiring and may be expensive, but everyones IBS is different and one size does not fit all and I do wish medical professionals would have that conversation with people who present with IBS.

[swiftie09 in reply to ValDee88]

This is really helpful! I found out as soon as I had a diagnosis of IBS, the GP seemed to hand me a piece of paper broadly explaining the FODMAP 'diet' and then I was left to my own devices. This was about 5 years ago now.

[Luisa22 in reply to swiftie09]

The same happened to me. I accepted it because this was all happening during lockdown 2020. I felt lucky to get to see a doctor at all, and get some testing done. Then I just worked on a lot of nutritional research and experimentation on my own. I did the reintroduction on my own too, which was incredibly frustrating and disheartening at times. I consider myself still in the reintroduction phase now. Sometimes I reintroduce a food, it's fine, I try a bit more, that's fine, I wait a few days and do it again -fine. Then suddenly not so a few days or a week or more later, so have to drop that food again, and re-start trying weeks later.

[JT1992]

I have made numerous attempts to try the low fodmap diet, but I just found it way too restrictive. I cut out dairy which seemed to help and I do know that there are some things classed as Low Fodmap that really affect me i.e coffee and spicy food. So i would be wary of stuff like this that they call safe but could still affect people with IBS