My dietitian at Winchester has just sent me some very comprehensive, fresh-off-the-printing-press literature on the low FODMAP diet. These booklets (3 in total) will make it so much easier for we fodmappers than having to try and find our way around lists of Australian and American foodstuffs. So, if you haven't already received yours, start banging on some doors as it's out there and available.
Happy Easter everybody especially as chocolate is included on the 'safe' list!
Roz
Thanks Roz1485, I'll ask my GP about it. Not doing too well on low Fodmaps myself, very up and down, a bit better over all I think but not wildly successful.
Hi Jazzyjoan, I must admit that I'm still finding things on the 'safe' FODMAPs lists which are anything but safe for me - most notably rice and oats - but there are a few others as well. I guess it's horses for courses. I'm having a SIBO test on April 11th, so results of that will be interesting.
Happy Easter!
Roz
What's a SIBO test Roz?
It's a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth test which Inndie on this network put me wise to a few weeks ago. If you test positive, the condition can be treated with antibiotics and diet to prevent it recurring. If you're really fortunate, it can be the end of IBS symptoms, so well worth getting done. Problems are, my GP had never heard of it and I had to be referred back to my gastro and not many hospitals are geared up to do it either, but I got there in the end. There's a book by Mark Pimentel called 'A New IBS Solution' which explains the rationale behind it. Worth thinking about getting the test done.
Hi. Been on fodmap diet for about 6 weeks. at first thought it was really working butt as weeks have gone on ive got bad again. i have alot more energy probably due to eating healthier food but im still having terrible pain and diarrhorra.
Hi crimbo, you say that at first you thought the diet was working so, do you think you've added other foods in recently (even if they're low FODMAP) that could be causing the problems? I ask as I've found several triggers within the low FODMAP group that don't suit me at all. Also, is your information about the diet really good as there is some pretty contradictory stuff out there on the web, some of it is even just plain wrong?
Thanks Roz, it definitely sounds worth doing, do let us all know your results won't you? Happy Easter.
Good news, I shall be back at the GP to ask for this leaflets. Thanks for posting this info Roz, it is much appreciated.
im on the low fodmap diet under an nhs dietician. im just eating what is said but i wonder if im eating something that obviously doesnt agree with me. its so hard to work it out. i am eating diff things as trying to get a varied diet as much as poss. im eating alot of oatcakes. wonder if they are a prob?
Much to my surprise, I discovered that oats and rice caused me a lot of probs - oats in particular. I stopped eating all grains apart from corn (maize) and symptoms went. Worth a go I think.
Hi Crimbo, I have had great results on the FODMAPS diet, but I do very badly with high fibre, and if I eat a lot of oatcakes which are high in fibre, I get diarrhoea. Also just taken a look at the FODMAPS iPhone app and it says that we need to limit oats to a small amount as too much contains a moderate amount of oligo-fructans and GOS. 
Hi Roz, so glad you found some useful booklets. I hope they make them available online. You are not going to believe this but I finally had my Hospital appointment. The doctor claimed she knew about FODMAPS when I asked her, but then proceeded to call it Foodmaps - further discussion revealed she didn't have a clue! She thinks I have some form of colitis, and wants me to have a sigmoidoscopy. When I asked what she thought about bacterial overgrowth causing IBS, she said no, that was not the problem, even though I said cutting out the sugars had got rid of the symptoms. She was taking no argument on the matter, and dismissed it completely. Now I have to go back for a test which I know will be a waste of time
Judging by what you've said, Inndie, I'm now counting myself very fortunate to have actually got an appointment for the test! Sometimes it's like banging your head against a brick wall. I read recently that if a dietitian recommends a SIBO test, it can make it easier to get one done, but I've no idea if that's true. Do you think your GP would be open to referring you to an IBS specialist instead of a mainstream gastro?
Just found some more information on FODMAPS:katescarlata.com/the-comple...
Roz, who has produced the booklets you mention? I will ask my GP if they will be willing to send off for them! 
I think we posted at the same time! I might ask my GP who else I can see - I feel inclined to cancel going back to the same gastro. She was not particularly friendly.....
I did find the Kate Scarlata stuff some time ago, but abandoned it in favour of Patsy Catsos after you put me on to her book. The booklets are produced for the NHS by The Dept of Gastroenterology & Dept of Nutrition & Dietetics Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. All dietitians have access to these now apparently. No, some of these doctors need to learn a few bedside manners, don't they? My gastro wasn't sure if she could get the test done in our healthcare area and was preparing to send me to see a Dr Anton Emmanuel in London if she couldn't, I believe he specialises in IBS.
Great, thanks Roz!
Hi Inndie, have a peek at what ibsr (bottom of this thread) has to say about Dr Emmanuel.
Roz
Thax roz. going to cut out too many oats. ive been also eating these wheat and dairy free oat bars. full of seeds. i just wanted something to replace cake. im only small and trying not to lose any weight x
I also have difficulty keeping my weight up. Have you tried the supermarket 'Free From' ranges - I think Sainsbury's have the biggest selection of cakes and biscuits? There are also 2 very good websites, Real Foods and Goodness Direct that have big ranges. Orgran Muffin Mix and Sponge Cake Mix are pretty good.
If you aren't overly sensitive to lactose, you can eat chocolate in moderation as the lactose in it is pretty low.
If cutting out oats still leaves you with a bit of a problem, try missing out rice as well and see how you go - keep posting and let us know, it may help somebody else.
Roz
Hey all
Thanks Roz for FODMAP update. I went to see Dr Emmanuel and he told me my pain was not diet related. I then came across FODMAP and thought it worth a go and noticed an immediate relief. So then asked him if he had heard of it and to refer me to a dietician...still waiting to see someone 2 months on. No idea why the gastro team had not told me about FODMAP when the celiac tests 6 months ago proved negative!!
Do your new lists give info on what to look out for on labels?
I have to avoid all sugars. Tried making a gluten free cake that was Fodmap friendly but I was in agony so cut out all sugars since and been better.
Crimbo you might want to try avoiding all sugars..esp those seed bars
Hi ibsr, interesting what you have to say about Dr Emmanuel and his failure to point you in the direction of low FODMAPs. I was under the impression he was God!
Frankly, I don't think anybody really gets what IBS is all about unless they've had it themselves.
No, the booklets don't give a full list of label additives, they mention a few, but it's nothing like comprehensive enough. I actually found more info about them in Patsy Catsos's book than anywhere else. It's such a minefield going through ingredients lists AND you need bionic eyesight as well!
Roz, you're so right. Textbook theory takes precedence over our real life experiences.
Hopefully Crimbo will have good luck with Dr E as you say he is god in terms of IBS in London.
Thank goodness for FODMAP.
Very interesting reading all and thank you Roz1485 to starting the thread. I am under a dietician and she is going to contact me soon to start me on the FODMAP diet. Just goes to show though by reading through everyone's comments that it's the IBS sufferers themselves who are aware of the FODMAP diet and not the so called specialists! Just goes to show that we know what we are talking about when it comes to IBS. Best of luck to you all
Hi Roz,
Thanks for the tip would you drop the title of the booklets here please? Just wondering if they are on line as PDF anywhere?
Thanks,
J
Hi J,
No, they're not available online unfortunately, but the titles are:
i) Suitable products for the low FODMAP diet
ii) Reducing fermentable carbohydrates the lowFODMAP way
iii) Reintroducing FODMAPs
I would imagine that, as the proceeds of sales of these go directly to fund further FODMAP research, it's doubtful whether they'll be made available outside the NHS. All dietitians who have done the course have copies available to distribute, so best bet would be to get a referral to one if you can.
Thanks!
Thanks for the info about the new booklets Roz. I shall make point of asking my doctor about them and if no joy there seeing a dietician who should know about them.
I know I have definitely been helped by the FODMAP diet but sometimes I'm a bit careless and I pay for it with severe bloating and painful spasms. The quantities that Patsy Catsos suggests for the elimination diet are small e.g no more than 3 to 4 ozs of chicken or pork etc for dinner along with 8oz allowed veg and a med potato. Do you think that some people are perhaps taking too large portions and so are not finding the diet helpful ?
Thanks again
Hi,
Yes, I think you could be right about some peolple having portion sizes which are too large - I know, I've done it myself (and still do!). Personally, I can eat as much meat, fish and potato as I like with no probs, but have issues with most other veg and fruit, even the safe ones. I also have other triggers on the safe list, i.e. rice and oats both of which give me pain, wind and d.
Also, it seems to me from what I read on this site, that there are definitely some types of IBS that aren't helped by the diet at all. One size most certainly doesn't fit all, does it?
I'm so glad it's helping you at any rate.
Roz
Thanks Roz will give this a try have had IBS for twenty years.
Hi Carol,
I have a cousin who, like you and Inndie, has had IBS for over 20 years and thought she'd tried everything - as I'm sure you do too. Consequently, she almost strangled me when I suggested yet another dietary regime (FODMAPs) as it was working so well for me. However, having bullied her into giving it a go, I've now been reprieved as she's regained about 75% control of her life so far and she's only been doing it for just under 4 weeks.
Hope it helps you too.
Roz
Hi Carol, I've had IBS for 20 years too, and the fodmaps diet is the first thing that has ever helped me! Hope it works for you too...
Hi Roz,
Do you know where it would be possible to get the lists from as everything I am reading says no to chocolate... Also I found that the different lists say different things which is adding to the confusion...
Hi Milly68,
If you look at your original blog, you'll see that I've replied to it with info you might find helpful and should answer your questions. If you're still not clear, come back to me again.
Chocolate in moderation is fine on FODMAPs as it contains very little lactose.
Roz
I’m sorry to rehash an old thread but I was just wondering if any of the NHS literature people have been given says that sweet potato is low Fodmap?
I recently realised that sweet potato isn’t on the list of allowed foods that my dietician gave me, but I have been eating 80g of it almost every day. (I think I must have got confused and read it was OK to eat somewhere else). My dietician did say that there is a difference in the vegetables that are low fodmap in Australia and the UK due to their different growing conditions and I was wondering if this was the case with sweet potato?
Thanks.
Hi Everyone, just joined up and hoping FODMAP may help me get my life back! Just found this link - for the mentioned literature.
kcl.ac.uk/medicine/research...
It doesn't state they are only available to GP's / Dieticians??
Take that back unfortunately - on the order form a dieticians registration number is needed !!!
Please let me know who he/she is! SF
Help is on the Horizon at last.
Have been looking at FODMAP diet books on the internet but none seem to be from uk
Has anyone had any relief from doing the FODMAP diet. 
Does anyone else find that the low FODMAP diet is more successful for IBS-D than IBS-C?Started the low FODMAP diet yesterday and my symptoms are worse than ever! Do I try and eat something or should I wait? 
