# IBS C helped with low FODMAP ?



## Muze (Aug 31, 2007)

I have had IBS C for years and years,always had problems with bloating but recently this has got much worse with gas pains and hard stools and aches as these make their way along my intestine,and horrible bloating.
Thinking of trying Low FODMAP diet but it is so restrictive and,with my lifestyle,will take a lot of complicated organising.
I also have had eating disorder in the past so doing any kind of diet is something I would never consider unless I was desperate.
I have tried so many things that are supposed to help IBS and nothing has - most of them seem to address mainly people with IBS D.
Has anyone with IBS C found this diet helpful? How many people on here?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

HI. i have colonic inertia, pelvic floor dysfunction and some other C problems as well.

i've been eating low fodmap for quite a number of years. 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 as well as soften them. these are the foods one often finds in diets recommended to help relieve constipation. so the whole FODMAP thing is kind of tricky for those of us with C--a bit of a balancing act, figuring out what foods work best for you, which foods to keep, which to eliminate or reduce, etc. keeping a food diary is very helpful.

what i've generally read is that it's suggested to follow the FODMAP diet strictly for approximately four weeks. after that, generally what you are supposed to do is challenge each group--such as eat a food from one of the FODMAP groups, then 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. going strict FODMAP made my C worse.

and of course, everyone is different. some people can't have any FODMAPs at all while others find that it might be only one group that bothers them and still others don't notice any difference at all while on the diet. the FODMAP diet is meant to be a four to six week diet to determine your sensitivities, but you might also find that you need to be on it long term. basically the diet reduces fermentable carbohydrates which provides symptom relief for many people, but starves both our good and bad bacteria of the prebiotics they need for growth. That is why many people recommend challenging food groups later on, so that you can have as many prebiotics in your diet as possible.

consulting a registered dietician or nutritionist who is familiar with the FODMAP can be very helpful, too, to make sure you are getting proper nutrition while on it.


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## tummyrumbles (Aug 14, 2005)

It's possible that everyone with IBS might be helped by low FODMAPs if gas is the cause of your symptoms. If I have baked beans for instance, a high FODMAP, these cause so much gas that somehow it seems to split up stool so it's segmented in the colon. The stool itself is mushy and seems to be separated in pieces and this means a long evacuation for me. High FODMAPs aren't digested well for anyone, and this means a lot of this food passes through undigested. This can have an osmotic effect so high FODMAPs can cause diarrhea in some people. I think exactly the same process happens with starch, for me anyway. I just can't digest it all that well.

On the one hand, starches and high FODMAPs have a laxative effect, due to osmosis. On the other hand, starches and high FODMAPs are digested by bacteria, causing gas. And for carbohydrate malabsorbers like us, we'll be producing a lot more gas than normal people. It's the gas itself that causes the constipation. So the starch and high FODMAP food itself rushes through the colon, attracting water (basically) and acting like a laxative, but the gasses inhibit motility. For me, Leaky Gas is just a milder form of alternating IBS, where you get diarrhea like BMs but long delays between them. It hasn't actually been proved that gas causes constipation, although Dr Pimentel's studies show a very strong correlation between methane gas and constipation and it's believed methane can affect serotonin, a gut neurotransmitter.


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