flowerqueen

Yes, definitely give low FODMAP diet a go, it can make a real difference. After 2 months you start to re-introduce foods which are not allowed, one at a time, to see if you can tolerate them - it helps weed out the real offenders.

I agree with Ennis too. I experienced withdrawal symptoms for a while and even then I didn’t recover for quite a while. Eating foods that harm the gut takes its toll on the whole body and, you will not have been absorbing nutrients from your food once you do start to absorb them again, it’s going to take a while to replenish your ‘stocks’ of vitamins and minerals. Stick to a wholesome diet and don’t eat out or have take outs until you have your diet in control and even then, you need to exercise caution. If after doing this for a while you still feel no better you might want to consider a food diary to detect any foods you may have become intolerant to. I have become intolerant to soy, legumes, and quinoa, and a few other things - this developed a year or so after going gluten free though, not straight away, and I was intolerant to all dairy before being diagnosed, which hasn’t changed since.

Was it a gluten free bagel? If so, you may have become intolerant to foods in your diet. Have you looked at the low FODMAP diet? I have recently gone on this and it does seem to be helping.

Hi cyclinglady, yes, it does sound like a good diet, but a little strict. I have been doing the low FODMAP for about a week now, which seems to be going okay, although last night I did have some gluten free popcorn last night, but half way through eating realised it had Demerara sugar in it which has molasses in it, so woke up with stomach ache this morning - I’m hoping this will pass. You certainly had a bad run last year and my heart goes out to you, we have so much to contend with. I also was having problems with skin last year, really itchy skin and hives. I could barely sleep for it. I have since changed my shower gels and it’s improved quite a bit. Oh, and yes, I have experienced burning even drinking water, in the early days, it’s not much fun is it. I’ve had a reverse osmosis water filter installed in my kitchen which filters out fluoride and chlorine etc., as I was having problems with fluoride. (I don’t suppose fluoride does you any favours as far as osteoporosis goes either! I have the startings of this - osteopenia, which my consultant blames on the Coeliac disease). I think these days, modern farming etc., we are really ‘up against it’ as there’s so many pollutants and cross contamination, GM Crops etc. It’s really hard at times, to know what to do to keep us healthy. My husband has RA, so I know how challenging that can be, and really hope you’re successful in keeping it at bay. I will continue with my quest, as like you say, it may not be a gluten problem.

Hi Christiana, you have a good memory, I do indeed live in the UK. My consultant does a full panel every time I visit, so I doubt it’s gluten. I have started a low FODMAP diet, and am feeling quite hopeful, although the amount of other things I’m having to give up, as well as the usual gluten/dairy etc., is a bit daunting, but if it helps get me back on track, it will be worth it.

Thank you for the suggestions. I love salmon and eat it at least once a week. I have decided to go on the low FODMAP diet, so fingers crossed .....

I don't really eat much processed food, only gluten free bread. Most of the meals I have are cooked from scratch at home. I'm now on the FODMAP diet and apart from running out of ideas for meals, it's going fairly well I just hope it continues to be like that.

I'll have a look, but it does sound intimidating, I agree, from what you've said and I'm finding the FODMAP diet challenging enough.

Hi, Thank you for replying; it's strange you should mention rice, I must admit I do find my stomach settles after I've eaten rice too. I will have a look at the Macrobiotic diet, it seemed big years ago, and have forgotten all I knew about it, so will need to refresh my memory.

Hi, you have a lot to contend with there. A lot of the things you have mentioned, I too have problems with. I think also, my problem maybe, because I have a small list of 'safe' foods, I over-use them, and am worried I am setting myself up for further intolerances in the future.

Wow! It sounds like you have been through the mill too. I was beginning to think I was alone in this, thank you for sharing. I too, can no longer have beans, I drink decaf coffee, but I'm wondering if I'm going to have to give that one a miss too, it was bad enough giving up caffeine, but to have to give up the taste of coffee too ...... I can't tolerate soy either, nor garlic and a few other things I'm finding out, including fruit. I hope that eventually things will settle down again like yours did. It's an absolute minefield eat these days. Thank you for replying.

Thank you, that looks very interesting. It looks a very strict diet, and not sure how I could implement everything as my medication contains things which are on the list of "no no's". I will definitely look into it more though!

I regularly get blood tests from my doctor as I have more than one auto immune disease, and the recent one came back okay. I feel like I have so many health issues, that I'm playing a juggling act with them all.

That sounds like a lot to contend with. I have wondered for a while if any sugar/glucose could be a culprit too, it’s hard trying find out exactly what is causing the problem, I’m keeping a food diary. Did you have to have another colonoscopy to get UC diagnosed?

Since being diagnosed Coeliac a good few years ago now, I seem to have become to intolerant to so many things. At first I just experienced the usual withdrawal from gluten, which took about 6 weeks. Then came intolerance to soya (where I had really bad IBS, including really bad stomach cramps). I had already become intolerant to dairy before being diabetic with coeliac disease. Followed by things like xanthan gum, and other additives, Quinoa and a product called Quorn, which is a meat substitute. The latest thing to crop up seems to be fructose. I've eliminated all these things from my diet, but started with bad stomach cramps again, 10 days ago, which in the last few days has been accompanied by bad nausea and fatigue. On Saturday I just ate gluten free bread - toasted and started to feel a lot better. I ate my dinner as usual last night, including a chocolate brownie (gluten free obviously) now wondering if I have a problem with dairy free/gluten free chocolate as well; by bed time I was as ill as ever. It's getting to the stage where I am scared to eat anything, as the stomach cramps get really bad after each meal. I'm at the end of my tether and can't remember what it feels like not to feel ill with something. I'm just reading a Low FODMAP book at the moment, but it's all getting a bit overwhelming. I've re-commenced my food diary. Any ideas please?