# FODMAP diet possible?



## Amberthemoviefreak100 (Sep 25, 2017)

Ok..my doctor keeps bringing up this diet and I've looked into it too. It just seems so difficult. I know everyone's situation is different but has anyone had success with the diet? I really want to try it, but I just think it sounds too difficult. I just have a feeling it will help..I have all the symptoms of needing a low fodmap diet. The bloating, gas, constipation.. I just feel so helpless. I was given that amitiza, but I didn't think it helped. Maybe I should have given it more of a shot. I just thought I'd join this thread and see what others say. Thanks.


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## jza (Oct 4, 2016)

Amberthemoviefreak100 said:


> Ok..my doctor keeps bringing up this diet and I've looked into it too. It just seems so difficult. I know everyone's situation is different but has anyone had success with the diet? I really want to try it, but I just think it sounds too difficult. I just have a feeling it will help..I have all the symptoms of needing a low fodmap diet. The bloating, gas, constipation.. I just feel so helpless. I was given that amitiza, but I didn't think it helped. Maybe I should have given it more of a shot. I just thought I'd join this thread and see what others say. Thanks.


I did it several times and it helped somewhat, but only to a certain degree. My doctor told me I have such a bad case of SIBO-C (extremely high methane levels) that my diet was unlikely to have a major effect on my symptoms. I think it's worth a try though.


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## Amberthemoviefreak100 (Sep 25, 2017)

Ok..yeah. I'll try it , but I know I won't be able to avoid everything.. I can't believe chamomile tea is supposed to be avoided. That sucks...but I like green tea.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

in my experience, a low fodmap diet does reduce bloating and gas but no, it does not help with constipation per se. a lot of fodmaps have compounds in them that in addition to being gassy also tend to draw water into the stool and so tend to loosen stools. these are the foods one often finds in diets recommended to help relieve constipation.

and you don't have to eat strict low fodmap forever, either. what i've read is that it's suggested to follow the FODMAP diet strictly for approximately four weeks. after that, what you are typically supposed to do is challenge each group--one food at a time. Wait a few days and then if nothing happens try another food from that group.. and then go on to challenging another FODMAP group, food by food, etc.

that's what i've done. i eat a moderate FODMAP diet since i've found that only certain foods bother me, which is good.

everyone is different. some people can't have any FODMAPs at all. others find that it might only be one group that bothers them. the FODMAP diet is meant to be a 4-6 week diet to determine your sensitivities. essentially the diet reduces fermentable carbohydrates which provides symptom relief to many, but starves our good (and even bad) bacteria of the prebiotics they use for growth. That is why it is recommended to challenge food groups later on, so that you can have as many prebiotics in your diet as possible.

another thing that is important with FODMAP is quantity. many people --myself included--find they can eat a small amount of a high FODMAP food without problems. take broccoli for example. i can eat a half cup of it without problems but a whole cup of it gives me gas. i've seen lists like this too--which show some foods as being considered low FODMAP in small amounts but high FODMAP in large amounts

so when you do introduce a food, start with a small amount and see first how you do with that. then increase it a bit and see how that goes.

hopefully you'll find there are more foods that you can tolerate so that you have can eat a more nutritionally sound diet. good luck.


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## Amberthemoviefreak100 (Sep 25, 2017)

Thank you! Yeah..I'm seeing my gastro doc this Friday.. I will talk to her more about the diet. Yeah, I see you're supposed to try it for a couple weeks then start incorporating other foods.. I hope I can do it..I'd like to get rid of the bloating..the constipation is getting better, but I get so gassy and bloated. ughh


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes, it's miserable being all gassy and bloated. hope the fodmap diet helps you.

if it doesn't seem to help much and you still are gassy and bloated, you might want to ask your gastro doc if you can get tested for SIBO--small intestine bacterial overgrowth. bloating, gas and even constipation are symptoms of sibo.

http://www.siboinfo.com/


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## KrayHart (Oct 23, 2017)

Has anyone else noticed that depending on what site you go to, there seems to be different opinions on what is considered low FODMAP and what isn't? For example, on one list potato is okay to eat as low FODMAP, but on another list it is listed as high FODMAP. How am I to know what to eat?? I'm really frustrated in trying to figure out my trigger foods. One day something will bother me, but not the next, and vice versa. Frustrating! Any thoughts? And yes I am keeping a food diary with how foods affect me, but there is no consistency to how foods are affecting me.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

monash university is your best source of info on the low fopmap diet since they developed it. i hear they have a great phone app for it as well as informational booklets.

https://www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/gastroenterology/fodmap


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## steenie (Sep 23, 2012)

KrayHart said:


> Has anyone else noticed that depending on what site you go to, there seems to be different opinions on what is considered low FODMAP and what isn't? For example, on one list potato is okay to eat as low FODMAP, but on another list it is listed as high FODMAP. How am I to know what to eat?? I'm really frustrated in trying to figure out my trigger foods. One day something will bother me, but not the next, and vice versa. Frustrating! Any thoughts? And yes I am keeping a food diary with how foods affect me, but there is no consistency to how foods are affecting me.


Also remember, different people react to different food. I can eat cauliflower no props but can't touch apples. some an eat apples. Its a matter of working whats right for you


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## ccoleman (Apr 10, 2017)

The idea is that you follow the low- fodmap diet initially, as an elimination process. Once you realise what your triggers actually are, then you remove them from your diet, or at least reduce them significantly.


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## richgel999 (Oct 25, 2015)

Low FODMAP definitely helped me when I had SIBO. (Which you may have from your short description.) It was critical to me, both before and after the antibiotics.

It's not a long term solution though. It starves your gut microbiota, and starves you, which is unhealthy. Long term, say more than a few months, you need to figure out how to rebalance your gut flora, so you can eat FODMAP's without discomfort or pain.

Also, be sure to keep your gut motility up. Don't let yourself stay constipated. Constipation is SIBO's best friend. (For me, I consider constipation dangerous, because I don't think I could go through SIBO again and survive.) There are pharmaceutical gut motility agents available, and you can try things like low-dose 5-HTP (5-20mg) after every meal, exercise, etc.


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## Maudlin (Mar 20, 2017)

I tried FODMAP and (unfortunately) the diet made me lose a few pounds.

Losing weight is bad for me because my BMI is already around 18-19. I had to rightfully quit FODMAP where I began to eat whatever I wanted to eat because of my gradual weight loss. Now I have to put up with IBS flares nearly everyday. But oh well, at least I'm not losing weight and looking like gaunt. FODMAP was doing that to me. Since I'm gaining weight just a bit again and starting to look 'normal', these horrible IBS symptoms seem to be "worth" it.

As the saying goes, "There is no rose without a thorn*".*


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## ccoleman (Apr 10, 2017)

Sticking strictly to a FODMAP diet if you need to after the initial 2-week phase isn't all that easy but it can be done (been doing it a few weeks myself). The hard part is figuring out what you're "supposed" to avoid and what you can eat (some sites differ a bit), then figuring out what *you* like within those foods and brands of them (and combinations you like, and how to substitute certain snacks/etc at the time you need them). That's pretty much the same drill on any major diet though.


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