Anyone had any success with FODMAP diet??

[Flecmac]

My GP told me to try a FODMAP diet, but has not referred me to a specialist which it clearly advises online. I don’t know where to start and I don’t want to make myself more sick than I already am. Thanks for any advice. 😊

[suggi]

Hi - my doc told me also. I tried following it but I know that some of th foods on there bother me so you have to be careful. I kind of mix and match so make up my own diet. I seem to be worse off if I have loose bM rather thanon the constipated side. For me if constipated I eat Gerbers 2nd food sweet potatoes, have a cup of coffee, and if necessary Gerbers prunes work almost too well. Thing is I have IBS and take Librium and Librax, low dose which keeps my Crohns at bay. Sometimes we know our own body better than the docs.

[Flecmac in reply to suggi]

Thank you x

[DotLeeds]

The idea of FODMAP diet is to provide a list of foods which may cause IBS. You have a very restricted diet for about a week, made up of low FODMAP foods. Then you start to add one food at a time every 2 or 3 days, making a list of which ones are ok and which give symptoms. Important to keep a food and symptoms diary. You can ask to be referred to an NHS nutritionist for support, but there might be a few months waiting list. I found I have problems with fructose and polyols. Who’d have thought apples and pears were causing such problems!

[Fifteen in reply to DotLeeds]

Dot, your explanation makes a lot of sense. FODMAP is an excellent guide and helped me become more aware of my reaction to certain foods. Now I choose what I eat much more thoughtfully.

[Flecmac in reply to Fifteen]

Thanks, any pointers please? xx

[Flecmac in reply to DotLeeds]

Thanks. Doc won’t refer as NHS have stopped it. I have to find someone myself!!!!! Fed up with no help from NHS, they are trying to kill me!!! xx

[cwill]

FODMAP organises foods into groups as described so for some of us all in the group are off the menu and in others groups some can be eaten not others. There is a free app that gives a traffic light system for low or high FODMAP. There is also an app to buy, not expensive, but the free one will give you the idea. The elimination phase should be a month, not 8 years as it was for me.

Also consider looking at the Autoimmune Protocol. Same principle as outlined by Dr Sarah Ballentyne, the Paleo Mum, who divided foods into 4 groups according to research on allergies and intolerances. Again exclusion diet for 4 weeks then gradually work through each item in group 1 to judge the effect, moving through groups 2-4 at your own pace. This has been way more successful for me and getting stuck in exclusion, rotating intolerance reactions, not being able to tolerate any food at all for weeks has resulted in a diagnosis of mast cell activation disorder. The clues were there when stuck on exclusion of both diets but few listen including dietitians.

As someone that lived on electrolytes only for 2 weeks, the body is pretty resilient, so although the exclusion diet may sound extreme it should only be for 4 weeks afterwhich you add something in about a week at a time. Obviously make your own judgement based on your health.

[Flecmac in reply to cwill]

Thanks xx

[dolphin5]

I used it very successfully while I was under-medicated, because I had IBS symptoms.

I didn’t bother with the exclusion diet. I just used the lists of foods with particular types of sugar to look out for which foods were associated with problems.

So, if you have digestive problems of the IBS type, I can highly recommend FODMAP.

[Flecmac in reply to dolphin5]

Thanks. Could you send the list you used please? xx

[dolphin5 in reply to Flecmac]

If you just type “fodmap” into a search engine, you’ll easily find lots of versions of the list.

Also, there’s a handy little book that I used, called “IBS - free at last” by Patsy Catsos. It explains what it’s all about.

It’s not complicated or dangerous, and there’s no need for a specialist to guide you.

Good luck!

[Kes8]

I'm sure the guidance for GPs is that if they recommend something like low FODMAP then they should be also referring to a dietician/nutritionist.

Your GP sounds dangerous! Ask for a referral.

[Flecmac in reply to Kes8]

Thanks, I will try another Dr, although she is the best of the lot!!! x