Hi Mythmara,
I am sorry to read about your suffering and I wish you the best.

A bit about me: 56 years ago, lifelong vegetarian but trying to go vegan and gluten free due to my chronic gut issues...it is difficult.

I have tried the low Fodmap diet and it can be done for a week or two, but it is not sustainable and not meant to be. It exists to help find out your food triggers and plan out your diet. Using it I have found out my triggers: no more decaf coffee and ice cream. My only dairy now is lactose free yogurt. Once in a while, I can have pizza. As stated, I am trying to go vegan and cut out as much gluten as I can. I do not have a gluten allergy, but thanks to the Cdiff and its resulting IBS D, I am becoming more sensitive as I age. Other foods I cannot have or have in very small quantities; chocolate, alcohol, and spicy items. Any type of wine will flare up my IBS D and anything more than a can of beer and I am off to the bathroom. While I love eating vegetables, I have to deal with the abdominal gas issues that result.

Have you asked your gastro doc for a Fecal Calprotectin test? It is very sensitive and rules out chronic infections and other inflammatory bowel diseases. I had two done in the past two years and both results were normal: no active infections or inflammation...just annoying and permanent IBS-D.

I have had IBS for years, and two years ago, I came down with another acute case of diverticulitis. The urgent care doctor who saw me prescribed an antibiotic called Augmentin which healed the diver but then caused me to get CDIFF and my intestines are now permanently wrecked with IBS-D. I am also now a formal carrier of CDIFF though I do not have any active infection and I had a colonoscopy almost two months ago and all was normal with the exception of diverticula all over the place. I had another bout of diverticulitis in January of this year and that led me to the colonoscopy. I was on the three year rotation, but now I don't have to have another for five years.l

I see a great GI doc and he prescribed a medication called LevBid which eases abdominal cramps and diarrhea. For me, it has been a miracle drug. I don't have to take it every day, but it helps with my frequent loose bowel movements and cramping. My GI also recommended I take Citrucel every day for fiber. While I eat a lot fiber in general the Citrucel helps form things up for people with IBS D. I take one or two 500mg tablets of Citrucel per day. It works great for me.
Again, I wish you a full recovery.
RR1967