learning about IBS

[watervole]

 I've managed to reduce the stomach pain significantly by following a FODMAP diet.

Essentially, this misses out all the things that are common triggers for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Next week, I'll start re-introducing items one at a time, so see which ones can be re-introduced and which may have to remain off the menu.

I also have to watch out for confounding variables...

eg.  today, I have mild abdominal pain, but careful checking says it's muscular and not bowel-related.  I tried a new class at the gym the other day, and it had a lot of abdominal exercises.  I'll try the class again, as I enjoyed it, but not until the pain has gone away.

I also have to think about my asthma medication which can give very similar symptoms - it's possible that I have occasionally blamed it for what was actually IBS

Below is a simple version of FODMAP advice - I'm pleased to say that cheese is NOT a trigger for me. Already added that back with no problems.   (But I'm concerned that beans may be - I'm vegetarian and I like beans of many kinds...  they come back at the weekend, so fingers crossed)

High FODMAP foods that you should avoid include:

• Fructose: Fruits (including apples, mangos, pears, watermelon), honey, high-fructose corn syrup, agave
• Lactose: Dairy (milk from cows, goats, or sheep), custard, yogurt, ice cream
• Fructans: Rye and Wheat, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, onions, garlic
• Galactans: Legumes, such as beans (including baked beans), lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans
• Polyols: Sugar alcohols and fruits that have pits or seeds, such as apples, apricots, avocados, cherries, figs, peaches, pears, or plums

Low FODMAP foods to enjoy instead include:

• Dairy: Almond milk, lactose-free milk, rice milk, coconut milk, lactose-free yogurt, and hard cheeses.
• Fruit: Bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, kiwi, lemon, lime, oranges, and strawberries.
• Vegetables: Bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, bok choy, carrots, chives, cucumbers, eggplant, ginger, lettuce, olives, parsnips, potatoes, spring onions, and turnips.
• Protein: Beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, and tofu.
• Nuts/seeds:  (limit to 10-15 each) Almonds, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pine nuts, and walnuts.
• Grain: Oats, oat bran, rice bran, gluten-free pasta, quinoa, white rice, and corn flour.

Comments

[kotturinn]

Good luck with the bean reintroduction. I know beans are 'OK in moderation but not every day' for me.

[greenwoodside]

Good luck. Hope the beans turn out to be fine.

I've been having IBS like symptoms off and on for a couple of years and with me it seems largely stress based. They vanish during holidays.

[igenlode]

So watermelon is fine but cantaloupe and honeydew melon are not?

[catalenamara]

A gastro put me on the fodmap diet a couple of years ago following increasing IBS problems. It worked quite well, except some items supposedly good for me, like bananas, caused severe symptoms, while others supposedly bad for me, like apples, were fine. Definitely trial and error. Good luck!

[watervole]

Depends on the individual. I'm fine on many items on the 'bad' list, but had baked beans last night and had stomach pain an hour later...

I'm going to try other kinds of beans, but I'm not optimistic. I think I may have been having mild problems for some time, but I had a bad bout of gastroenteritis not long ago, and that seems to have kicked mild intolerance into bad intolerance.

[watervole]

I'm fine with apples, like you, but introduced beans again yesterday and had problems...

[watervole]

Had some problems with the bean reintroduction...

I'm going to try again next week and see if taking a tablet for trapped wind afterwards is any help.

[igenlode]

Tricky for vegetarians...

[watervole]

Well, there's still mushrooms, nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese, quinoa, quorn, etc. but beans are the real staple....

[kotturinn]

😿
Hope you can find something/a balance that works for you.

[catalenamara]

Yes, I have problems with beans too.