# Variety of low FodMap diet questions



## birdie87 (Mar 14, 2017)

Hi everyone

Please ignore the pre-amble below if you don't like your time being wasted and just go straight to the questions (starts at ANYWAY&#8230.

Went to the drs just before I left for the holiday I'm currently on. Difficult to do any kind of diet here so I'm no preparing ready for when I get back. Dr has recommended that I follow a low FodMap diet.

I'm actually very cynical about whether this will work. I'm concerned I have some kind of underlying condition. My drs have been terrible thus far. Thought my issue was H Pylori before, got blood tested for that and something else. They mixed up the bloog samples and gave me all clear. Chased them down for a second test and that time it came up positive. I really don't' trust them at the moment. IBS just seems to be something they resort to to give people a sense that they know what the hell is going on.

They prescribed me Mebeverine, although I don't get sharp and painful spasms at all. My main issue is bloating and it's just underlying discomfort all the time. Also, even if it does help with bloating and discomfort for a while, I don't want to rely on pills if possible.

I've has a distended, heavily bloated stomach since at least my mid-teens. It's just got a hell of a lot worse this past year and as it's got worse other worrying symptoms have arisen. I don't get bursts of pain but it's just generally uncomfortable all over. I must have got so used to it over the years and I don't even realise it! I am not exaggerating though when I say I cannot remember a time when I didn't have a swollen, heavily bloated pregnant looking stomach (I'm a bloke). It is actually scary when I look at it.

When I registered on this forum it asked me a bunch of questions about what type of ibs I have. I'm not entirely sure to be honest. Although I looked at the other IBS related symptoms and I get a lot of them!!! I get acid reflux and heartburn a lot also, but that's probably from the bloating.

ANYWAY&#8230;

I want to follow a really strict FODMAP diet when I get home for two weeks. I'm genuinely worried at the moment for a number of reasons. If Low Fodmap doesn't help, I want to go back to the Dr knowing a gave it a REALLY good shot with little doubt and that I gave it enough time. So I have a few questions if you guys could be kind enough to answer:


Low Fodmap meal replacement drinks/bars? I'd happily eat dogfood for two weeks if it meant I knew confidently that I did or didn't have IBS. I'm happy with repetitiveness providing all my required nutrients are received and I'm still healthy. I'll still eat meals when I have the time to make them but it would make things simpler for me if I had a second resort. I run two businesses and I'm often out of the house all day with no notice. I'll also have to eat out a fair bit too.
What's the safest FodMap diet? I want to know what all the possible triggers are and try to eliminate them all if possible. From the little research I have done in different places tend to contradict each other. Like with coffee. Or oats. Or cream. As well as some vegetables as well.
How long will it take to see relief from my symptoms (primarily bloating). I've never not been bloated. What's the most amount of time I should wait following the diet strictly. I did a three day water fast a few months ago and I was still bloated at the end of that so I imagine it at the least needs more than 3 days.
Any known issues with certain supplements? I take L theanine at some point on most days. As well as sometimes taking herbal Nytol (hops, valerian and passion flower) at night and supplemental Melatonin and camomile tea to help me sleep. I also take fish oil supplements sometimes and BCAA's when working out or doing a half day fast.
Coffee, is this a yay or a nay? Should I leave it out just to be safe? I drink lots of different tea's, anybody have issues with different type sof tea (matcha, Pu-erh, Green, Yerba-mate and others).
Alcohol. I'm a big big big fan of gin. Have about 30 different bottles in my house. Should I leave this out of my diet as well as wine, beer and whisky etc?
If number 1 is a no - can I make my own meal replacements? If I can use whey protein isolate, any recommendations on what I can add to that to make a smoothy or meal replacement drink?
Should I start taking Mebeverine when I get back along with a low FodMap diet? Or should I keep them seperate to make sure I'm isolating whether or not it's a food issue?
Anybody ever done a hydrogen breathe test before? Are they worth asking the docs for? 

That is all for now. Would really appreciate any feedback you guys can all offer. Really want to make sure I do this perfectly so I can be sure whether or not it's a lifestyle to adopt perfectly or not.

Thanks,

David


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## birdie87 (Mar 14, 2017)

Something else to add here I should have mentioned before.

I've cut out certain things in the past like wheat/gluten, lactose, casein, alcohol and refined sugars. Just never done it all at the same time with a bunch of additions.


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## jza (Oct 4, 2016)

I would suggest asking your doctor for a breath test to test for SIBO first.

As far as the low FODMAP diet for SIBO, the diet works differently for each individual. You'll notice many of the lists of foods contradict each other, because people react differently to different foods. There are some high FODMAP foods that I do okay with and some low FODMAP foods that I can't touch. I have issues with many dairy products even though the low FODMAP diet doesn't rule them out. Coffee tends to be fine in moderation. Alcohol is fine in low amounts (think a one drink equivalent of gin) but no beer or dark liquors.


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## birdie87 (Mar 14, 2017)

Good call on breath test for SIBO. I looked into it and have a lot of the symptoms. Thanks.

Any thoughts on any of the other questions I asked?


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## Rboe (Mar 26, 2017)

http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/ Here is the website for the place that actually came up with the low FODMAP diet. They have a great app you can download with the different foods and if they are safe.

personally, I would avoid most processed food, including meal replacement and protein bars. Go natural. It will give you a better idea if the diet will help.

I did FODMAP for awhile. It reduced my symptoms for awhile but then they came back the same. I think it was because one of my main issues is Candida overgrowth. I needed to eliminate all forms of sugar to find batter help.


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## Helena (Apr 13, 2017)

I began the fodmap diet through a dietician. She gave me a list of foods I could eat on a low fodmap diet and. Did that, which was the elimination part of the diet for 6 weeks. Then went back to the dietician and I had to put foods back in, trying them one at a time. I couldn't figure out what was causing the final group of problems until I realised that having more than one piece of fruit at the same time wasn't helping even though they were low fodmap. Also I was having my dried fruit again and this didn't help. I can tolerate some wheat but too much I get problems. This year I ate some asparagus and got quite uncomfortable bloating and my abdomen was swelled up. Tried some chemist stuff called de-gas but it didn' help much and I had gurgling all night. I should have just stayed in the lying position and gone to bed to sleep it off as it was bedtime.


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## Nat_London (Apr 26, 2017)

With low Fodmap I think you have to be pretty strict in the beginning to let your gut heal, and then you can try and see which foods really do trigger you. I find I can eat trigger foods occasionally, but not in a row or frequently. For me it became very clear which foods bug me, and I never before could pinpoint the cause of what I felt sick all the time (for example, I never thought specific fruits and nuts would be an issue). The diet is crazy restrictive if you follow it exactly, so I doubt anyone really does for a long period of time. You figure out what works. I have coffee every morning! My advice would be to cut out the high fodmap fruits and veggies, lay off the beans, and go gluten-free. Also dairy/lactose free if you can. Also I think onions and garlic are a huge trigger for many people. Sadly chocolate as well.

The meal bar issue is tricky - I generally have one for breakfast during the week and all my past choices are out, mainly because of sugar alcohols and that dang chicory fiber/inulin that is in EVERYTHING. But I have found that the NoGii bars are good (though higher in sugar, and it depends how you tolerate chocolate) as well as the Go Macro Macrobar in the Peanut Butter flavor. Avoiding splenda, chocolate, most nuts, and dried fruit makes things hard.

Whey protein powder is ok for me as long as it doesn't have any of the aforementioned ingredients. Designer Whey is a good brand. Egg white protein has no flavor but is super "clean" (literally one ingredient) and works well in smoothies.

I've done the hydrogen breath test before (negative, of course - I almost wanted it to be positive to have something to fix) but a word to the wise - make sure your insurance does not bill it as an outpatient procedure. Mine did and I ended up paying like $700 dollars to find out I had nothing (though it did confirm my lactose intolerance, incidentally). Make sure it's billed like labwork instead.


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## jza (Oct 4, 2016)

Nat_London said:


> The meal bar issue is tricky - I generally have one for breakfast during the week and all my past choices are out, mainly because of sugar alcohols and that dang chicory fiber/inulin that is in EVERYTHING. But I have found that the NoGii bars are good (though higher in sugar, and it depends how you tolerate chocolate) as well as the Go Macro Macrobar in the Peanut Butter flavor. Avoiding splenda, chocolate, most nuts, and dried fruit makes things hard.


There are 3 main things I look for if I'm looking for a "meal bar":

1. Low/no sugar

2. Gluten free

3. No chicory root

These don't tend to be the tastiest ones, but if I'm looking for a meal replacement, they're the only ones that don't exacerbate my SIBO symptoms.


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