Have you had FODMAP elimination diet success?

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

I would suggest that you make an appointment with a gastroenterologist asap if the doctor you mention isn't one. Or, check with the doctor who gave you the stool sample kit to see if refrigerating the sample would be acceptable if your diarrhea occurs on the weekends. A stool sample is a good first step to figure out what might be going on. You may want to keep a food diary to see if there are any correlations between what you eat and your GI issues. A FODMAP diet could help but you really need a diagnosis to help determine what you should be doing to manage or resolve your issues.

I have been suspecting age as a factor in my current issues. Rats! Just received my results of stool test, “no inflammation” which is good. I am aware that FODMAP Step 1 is only to be followed 2 - 6 weeks at most, I haven’t completed week one yet. If I can realize two days in a row with no cramping spasms I’ll feel hopeful. Good to know about the Levbid and Citrucel, making a note of that. Thank you.

If I get no relief from even the Step 1 of FODMAP I will ask my PCP for referral to GI Doc. Life is full of discoveries. Lol

Awesome! I will go check out the link and video you provided. Yes, I keep a food diary. I will definitely share any successes. Thank you.

@gussie
GF does exist in the Deep South!
We live on Hilton Head Island, 45 minutes drive from Savannah.
A lot of restaurants now have some GF options.
My daughter has celiac disease so we always keep our eyes open.
Most places have online menus and often will show if they have GF items.
You’ll love Savannah! It will be hot and humid though.

Thanks for the info. Not looking forward to the humidity. We don't have that in California. Also not a bug lover. But am still looking forward to getting together with family and lots of laughs. It's so hard to find a house big enough for 11 people. This one looks beautiful. I'm so sorry about your daughter, must be rough. One of my grandsons has Crohns, diagnosed in his junior year of college. He has ended up in the hospital every time he has a flair.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I downloaded the Monash FODMAP app yesterday! I can see how helpful it’s going to be. Yesterday was one month after my acute gastritis attack and finally the first evening since it started without horrid gut spasms. So relieved that a light at the end of the tunnel has appeared. Thank you for sharing your experience.

My stool test came back negative for white blood cells, which is good. My hat’s off to the lab technicians, I imagine stool is the downside of nice quiet lab work! When I was in ER I did get a full CAT scan so we know what’s in there and many causes have been ruled out. Thing about IBS is there’s no one cause. I will follow all FODMAP steps, if that doesn’t alleviate my distress I will most definitely request a referral to GI doc. As it is, this will be my fifth day of Step 1 and already feeling much better. Aging is a time to dig deep and learn how to deal with increasing sensitivities as well as honoring our body & mind for having got us this far! (I’ve not always been kind to myself). I have a new appreciation for green teas. Always wanted to switch from coffee to tea but needed this illness to finally take the plunge. My new electric teakettle is a dream, water ready so quickly that there is no hassle at all. Silver lining 🌈

@mythmara , When you are the main caregiver for a person, it is necessary to also take care of yourself with regular breaks from the care, even if only a 24 hour vacation. My husband and I have been caring for my mother-in-law for the past 9 years, and now my husband has had to care for me too for the past year-and-a-half, so I make sure we take breaks once in a while. Last year, we took 6 days off after my radiotherapy, this year we took 5 days off before my surgery and will take 11 days off in June. My husband has GI issues when we don't take these breaks. I was having sleep issues.

There is a great app to keep a food and medications diary. It's called mySymptoms. It has really helped me with my LARS (Low Anterior Resection Syndrom).