[fodmap]

Fellow IBS sufferer here. I understand and share your pain.

There isn't any magic pill yet but until someone invents it I can tell you I've found great comfort following the FODMAP diet.

I've wasted ten horrible years until I discovered that Monash University diet.

Ten years of pain and expending.

Hoping it can help you as well https://www.monashfodmap.com/

[genewitch]

For anyone who doesn't feel like viewing a slideshow website, FODMAP stands for "Fermentable Oligosaccharides Disaccharides Monosaccharides And Polyols"

Which is basically Cereals (what make beer) onions, garlic, and beans; Lactose; Fructose; and at least two of the "Sugar Alcohols".

As someone who had their gut biome wrecked by aggressive antibiotics, i was told i will probably have to take probiotics for the rest of my life, but i managed to track down two things that will 100% all the time cause pain - Garlic and Onions. I'm not entirely sure which is worse, but i'd wager garlic. For a long time i assumed it was certain types of oils, too.

Basically if you're adhering to this "Low FODMAP" diet, you're meandering between "slow carb", "atkins", and several other dietary restrictions.

That "fructose" one though, that's a doozy. There are tons of health ramifications to avoiding all of the stuff on the list, so if you suffer from intestinal stuff, it'd probably be best to experiment with each thing on the list (on the site) and see if it causes discomfort, how much, how long, etc.

[fodmap]

Anecdotally the onions are way worse for me than garlic, although the latter doesn't do me any favor.

To anyone wanting to learn about FODMAPs, Monash University blog (1) helps to understand this very complex topic.

(1) https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/

[graeme]

Low fodmap was of enormous help to me too. For years I thought I had gluten issues, as most bread caused me trouble.

Turns out every wheat product with the exception of sourdough wheat bread is high fodmap! I tried low fodmap and nearly instantly got a lot better. And I can now eat some fodmaps by reintroducing in lower amounts.

Highly recommend anyone with ibs try this. It is complicated but you can get free or cheap apps that let you search ingredients fast to figure out what to remove.

And the great part is the intolerance is quantity based. So, celery in a recipe? No problem. Just don’t eat a massive amount of it. Very much unlike any kind of hard avoidance plan.

This won’t solve all issues but give it an honest shot. Mine has moved from seriously debilitating to minor inconvenience.

[fodmap]

Exactly, that have been my personal experience too.

Identifying the triggers, and keeping an eye on quantity are the keys for me. It isn't an easy process but it makes a world of difference as you say.

[mountain_peak]

Was diagnosed with IBS just after university, then (similarly) spent 10 years suffering and experimenting when I ended up switching to an ultra-low carb diet for unrelated reasons. Within weeks, I started to feel better and for the next 12 years felt great - so much so, that my family (wanting me to enjoy something sweet) started buying me "Keto-friendly" bars with < 2g of net carbs, but also with erythritol. That was a mistake, as within weeks of enjoying the bars, I was back to dealing with IBS. I'm six weeks into trying to undo the 'damage', and starting to feel a bit better, but I'd definitely advise people who have IBS to always be cautious with trigger foods - certainly the ones that personally cause them issues, but also others on the list.

[fodmap]

That's a good advice. I wish you the best with your recovery.

[throw345hn]

Thanks, yes I have been following fodmap for years now and reduced my gluten intake as well and that has helped a bit. Although its only recommended for 3 to 6 months.

I have also slowly been introducing foods I have been avoiding back and so far I have been able to tolerate them well

[fodmap]

Yes, the key is to try to have the less restrictive diet without the food that triggers your symptoms.

About gluten, in my case I found out that it wasn't the problem but fructans.

[jodrellblank]

(I didn't downvote). For comparison, imagine you signed up with the username "Oracle" and posted "Fellow data storage sufferer here. I understand and share your pain. There isn't any magic pill yet but until someone invents it I can tell you I've found great comfort using the Oracle database" and a link to a "purchase Oracle" page.

You might be a well-meaning person, but you're hard to distinguish from a bot pushing a fad diet with online courses, a for-pay app, a shop, "find a dietician" services, certifications, etc. Preying on offering hope to the sick and desperate is common and people are cynical and wary of it, and even genuine well-meaning people are prone to sharing dubious alternative medicine suggestions which they honestly believe help but aren't proven to do anything more than the placebo effect. If you were a long-standing HN commentor, you'd probably get more benefit of the doubt; signing up as "fodmap" to link to an apparently for-profit fodmap service with an emotional message makes it easy to assume bad faith astroturfing at a glance - focused username, commercial link, fringe/alternative/woo treatment, claims of health cure for incurable condition, SEO style message ("As a fellow sufferer, believe me, I know, I've been there, trust me, just one easy credit card payment").

[I wrote this for your deleted comment;]

[throw345hn]

I agree with your overall message but in this case I would like to point out one thing - a lot of fad diets were first adopted by people and then researched to see if they are helpful where as Fodmap has been specifically researched for the gut and only after it has been shown to be helpful, its now being recommended by doctors.

Obviously you should talk to your doctor before adopting the diet. It may not provide all of the nutrients that your body needs and its normally only recommended for 3 to ~6 months. Its may also not work well for some variants of IBS / IBD / other gut issues and may even be a detriment - so talk to your doctor.

Personally its been helpful for me. A lot of people also may not need to do fodmap and instead just do a elimination diet. For example you may not know it but may be suffering from lactose intolerance or gluten intolerance and so on. Probably easier to try that first as well.

[jodrellblank]

I don't have an "overall message"; they asked why they were being downvoted for sharing a genuine opinion, and I explained how much the comment looks like an advert. I am already convinced that gut microbiome affects people and diet affects people.

[fodmap]

I did remove my question because I understood that it didn't add up anything interesting to the discussion.

Thank you for answering anyway. Your comment helps me to see why my post could be seen as not well intentioned.