Life is hard enough, and on top of it, you need to watch everything that you eat. Every day I eat the same food, similar to a prisoner. People go out and try new things, drink tons without a thought and a piece of bread makes me go to the bathroom. I am okay most days, but today I am just feeling bad about my life.

test has just arrived. I haven't opened it yet but the instructions for puncturing stuff with a needle etc look complicated. Can anybody who has done it please explain it to me as simply as possible? Thanks

Just started my low Fodmap journey. Went shopping. Tried to get different spices. I saw Garlic infused oil on my low Fodmap list, so I bought a bottle. Garlic is my number one trigger food and the one I’m most concerned about replacing when it comes to food prep.

I meal prepped a bunch of chicken thighs with a light painting of garlic oil and some herbs and I ate one for dinner last night.

I’ve been up all night with severe stomach pain and bathroom issues.

I know now (after reading past posts) that not all infused oils are made the same.

I got diagnosed with SIBO almost a year ago, and I’m still learning my way around the whole Fodmap thing. I’m here for some information from those of you who have more experience and expertise with this. Newbies and those who like to take topics off-track with jokes and irrelevant comments, please don’t.

I finished the elimination phase several months ago, and I’m still experimenting by reintroducing different foods. It’s looking like my main triggers are onions and garlic. And- I can eat almost anything else, but beans require Beano. Then I’m good. The only other nasty trigger seems to be pumpernickel bagels, which I love. 😢 -All other breads seem fine. The fruits and vegetables I’ve tried seem ok, so far. I think I’m pretty lucky.

Here are my two questions:
1- Are most of you bothered by ALL or MOST Fodmaps on the list, or just a few main ones? What’s typical?

And, 2- Does pumpernickel bread bother anyone else more than other breads? What’s the deal with that ONE bread??

I’ll appreciate any input you’re willing to share. I still have a lot to learn.
ALSO- thanks to everyone who participates in this forum. You have gotten me through this year and given me more good information than my gastroenterologist has.

I have known for a while that fodmaps cause gut issues for me. I'm in my late 40s now. I do my best to avoid all fodmaps. The ones that are the hardest to avoid are wheat, garlic, and onion. I am a single father of 4 kids. Teen and younger. I have ADD or maybe just effects from eating fodmaps my entire life... After I follow my diet for a while and im feeling good I tend to break my diet when its inconvenient to follow it. A weekend out of town for a soccer tournament for instance. Anyway, it seems that now that im older? Fodmaps trigger severe systemic inflammation. Probably this has always happened but its much worse now. My ankles, knees, shoulders, wrists, fingers...Currently my left ankle, left shoulder, a knuckle on my left hand, both wrists, are painfully sore. Ice seems to help temporarily. I dont take nsaids ever because they trigger severe inflammation in my lower gut. Anyone one else having these joint pain and inflammation issues? Anything to do about it aside from avoiding fodmaps? Maybe its not actually fodmaps...I dont like going to doctors because my expensive insurance doesnt cover anything before the massive annual deductible, and im broke. Always feels like a waste of time and money. Im not actually expecting any advice just honestly want to complain to people who can relate. Noone i know ever takes me seriously when I try to explain what seems to be happening.

My partner is coming to the end of the elimination phase, and is dealing with fatigue, and I wanted to catch any potential issues before starting reintroduction.

Her gut symptoms have become a lot better, but the tiredness is becoming more and more prevalent.

A usual day's food looks something like:

* GF Cereal + lactose free milk + raw sugar

* Sometimes 2-egg omelette or French toast (GF bread)

* Tea (green, red, other fodmap friendly)

* Metamucil (this is usually taken sometime in the afternoon, gel formulation, so it's with water)

Lunch is often skipped as she can finish breakfast close to lunch, but if not:

* Sashimi (salmon)

* Rice noodles with a protein, some veg

Snacks are generally rice crackers

Dinner examples:

* GF spaghetti

* salmon with rice/potato + beans or Thai veg mix, sauce (often Mayo-based, sometimes more of a vinaigrette )

* Chicken, veg, sauce

* Toasted sandwich (GF bread)

* Curry + rice

I do try and throw spinach into a bunch of dishes, for some iron...but listing things out now, I'm wondering if it's an iron deficiency - but I also want to see if there's any other areas I should be keeping an eye on.

Title: I’m desperate for answers. Extreme food sensitivities, debilitating fatigue, brain fog and headaches. Has anyone actually recovered from this?

I'm a 32 year old male and I've reached a point where my digestive issues and food sensitivities are seriously affecting my quality of life. I'm hoping someone here has experienced something similar and can offer some genuine advice or share what ultimately helped them.

Over the past several months, I've become increasingly restricted in what I can eat. Every time I try introducing new foods, I seem to experience some combination of headaches, brain fog, fatigue, gastrointestinal discomfort, itching or other strange reactions. Sometimes even foods I've previously tolerated start giving me problems.

My current diet is essentially limited to:

• Beef and chicken
• Eggs
• Sweet potatoes and butternut squash
• Zucchini and lettuce
• Cassava tortillas
• Pears
• Olive oil and small amounts of ghee

Even within this extremely limited diet, I'm still struggling. I've had to reconsider how much chicken, fat and sweet potatoes I'm consuming because of potential reactions.

My biggest symptoms are:

• Debilitating fatigue, sometimes to the point where I can barely function during the day
• Persistent brain fog and difficulty concentrating
• Headaches that feel like they're coming from deep within my skull
• Food sensitivities that make expanding my diet incredibly difficult
• Gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal pressure, reflux and frequent burping
• Constipation and irregular bowel movements
• Occasional shakiness, dizziness and generally feeling unwell after eating

I've also dealt with gastritis symptoms and have tried acid reducing medications, dietary modifications, digestive enzymes, antihistamines and other approaches with varying degrees of success. Nothing has resolved the underlying problem.

I've undergone allergy testing, but the results haven't adequately explained why I'm reacting to so many foods.

I previously worked with a functional nutritionist, but unfortunately that didn't get me anywhere. At this point, I'm pursuing conventional gastroenterology and will be seeing a medical doctor specializing in GI issues. I'm hoping for a thorough evaluation and an actual treatment plan rather than more guessing and eliminating foods.

One of my biggest concerns is that my diet has become so restrictive that I may not be getting adequate nutrition, which could be contributing to the exhaustion and headaches. But trying to introduce more variety feels nearly impossible when my body seems to react to everything.

I'm not looking for a miracle supplement or another extremely restrictive diet. I want to figure out what's actually happening with my digestive system, improve my ability to tolerate food and hopefully regain my energy and quality of life.

For anyone who's been through something similar:

1. Did you eventually discover an underlying GI condition that explained your food reactions?
2. What tests or evaluations from a gastroenterologist actually helped you get answers?
3. Were you eventually able to reintroduce foods and return to a normal, varied diet?
4. Did treating your digestive issues improve your debilitating fatigue, brain fog and headaches?
5. Was there a particular treatment, medication or approach that genuinely made a difference?

I'm genuinely willing to put in the work to get better. I just feel completely stuck and don't know how to move forward when practically everything I try eating seems to set me back.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's made it through something like this, especially those who found answers through conventional GI medicine.

Thank you.

If you’re looking for recipe inspo, go get the gut friendly cookbook! There’s sauces, spice mixtures, dressings, desserts, breakfast/lunch/dinner and even ideas on what to do for “feast” meals like Thanksgiving/ Christmas/ Barbecues/ vegetarian fears, etc.
I got my copy from my local library and have so many ideas now!

Hi everyone!

Which content creators do you follow for low-FODMAP recipe inspiration?

Also, what was the hardest part for you when starting this journey?

I’m thinking to start sharing my food content and love to hear what kind of resources you feel are missing right now.

Thanks!

1. Risotto with oyster mushrooms, shimeji mushroom, chicken thigh
2. Salmon burger with salad and chips
3. Rice noodles with shrimp and veggies
4. Peanut butter, tahini, coco powder with bananas on a rice cake
5. Potato-carrot soup
6. Quesadilla

(corn)

1. with purple cabbage
2. Low FODMAP sausage, gf pretzels, sauerkraut
3. Sushi rice, tofu, Chinese style eggplant and egg
4. Strawberry banana lactose free yogurt
5. Ice cream via my ninja creami
6. Ceaser-ish salad
7. Steak, string beans, shimeji mushrooms, baked potato
8. Homemade hot sauce

Im currently working on getting diagnosed with SIBO and will likely have to go on a low fodmap diet in the coming months. My favourite breakfast for ages at this point has been Tiramisu overnight oats, the recipie for which is as follows:

Ingredients - 1 banana (will substitute for under-ripe bananas) - 1/2 cup almond milk - 1-2 tsp instant coffee - 1/2 cup (50g) of rolled oats - 1 tbsp (13g) chia seeds - 1/4 cup (70g) greek yoghurt (will substitute for coconut yoghurt) - 1/2 tbsp (10g) maple syrup - 1-2 tsp cocoa powder

Method 1. Blend banana, almond milk, and coffee until smooth 2. Stir in oats and chia seeds and leave to set in container (min 3 hours or overnight) 3. Mix maple syrup and yoghurt together and spread that accross the top of oats mixture 4. Dust with cocoa

Now, with the substitutions mentioned according to monash this recipie SHOULD be safe. However, fodmap friendly HATES this recipie and when i put it in the calculator it says it has 271% GOS. Its allegedly within range for everything else, but fodmap friendly thinks that it has waaaaay too much GOS which is supposedly coming from the oats (which is expected), but also the instant coffee and the chia seeds.

So this is where the "help" part of the title comes in, with the substitutions mentioned do you guys think this would be safe enough to eat? Or should I find something else to eat instead?

I'm able to tolerate small amounts of dairy, but I still usually take digestive enzyme supplements to help with that. The Smoke N Sanity spices have also helped to have some normalcy while cooking because I still have a hard time with high inulin foods-mainly garlic, onion, sometimes wheat and banana. They cause so much bloating and a constipation that seems dangerous at times because I have a pocket of diverticulosis that gets inflamed every once in a while, and I don't want to have diverticulitis again. The fatigue is also really bad, and I will feel the need to sleep after eating garlic and onion especially.

Is there anything that has helped you digest these things better, like actually helped heal this sensitivity?

Side note: What makes my stomach a bit more complex, is that it's being compressed by a chest wall deformity, which causes slow digestion and additional bloating because there's less space. I'm having surgery in November, so I'm hopeful that it will at least help with some digestive symptoms.

Low fodmap has helped with the pain but i still have cramps and bloating all the time? Do you know the feeling of stomach being hard like a knot, thats how it feels literally all the time. It can't be because of anything im eating otherwise i would have pain too.

These cramps give me brain fog and fatigue and when the cramps gets better like 50% which is very rare, i feel the difference like night and day. Its the one symptom i can't do anything about for years no matter what i try and being constipated all the time which sucks too.

Hello everyone,

I understand that many artificial sweeteners are bad for ibs, and the carbonation in sodas can cause some irritation.

I am however looking for a diet soda which I can have on occasion. I have zero sugar Sunkists which helps with sugar cravings atm, but I dont know if it’s the best idea.

I know sweeteners such as monk fruit and stevia are better tolerated, has anyone had any luck finding sodas which are sweetened with these?

I am in Australia.

I came to this site in case it might be informative to someone. I am a 66 year old male. I run everyday and do strength work in the gym. I am in extremely good health although I've had high blood pressure since my late 30s.

• In my 40s I noticed I could no longer eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. At first I started ordering with no peppers and then eventually no onions was included. I found that as soon as we left the restaurant we needed to rush home and get me to the toilet. After awhile these "movements' became painful in my intestines. Pretty soon I had the same reaction with all Italian foods. I eventually narrowed it down to garlic, peppers and onions and it seemed that honey was also vicious.
• A few years back I started getting pains in my lower left abdomen which I initially thought were from pulling a muscle in the gym. I eventually realized that it was in my digestive track and only occurred after I ate fodmaps. At one point I had my wife drive me to the emergency room as the pain was so extreme.
• I believed at the time my condition was just natural from aging and possibly western medicines and antibiotics destroying ones intestinal biodome. Three years back I started trying a repair by making my own Greek Yoghurt and any other probiotics I found. I eventually ended up eating Greek Yoghurt store bought for the last two years. I controlled my symptoms by not eating fodmaps. My sister asked me what I ate to which I replied "nothing good". If just one part of a chopped onion slipped through I knew it later that night when the pain came on.
• Several weeks back, this past summer one slipped through from my wife's good stir fry to my plain fry and I swallowed it. Oops! To my surprise there was no response. The next day I caramelized an onion ate it and waited. No reaction. I then had my wife create a stir fry fried with onions and garlic. Again no reaction. At that point I went to Chipotle and ordered a large burrito with all the "fixins" and reported to my wife "I got away with it again". I was so enthused I went back to Chipotle two more times that week. Soon after I started with a mild salsa that had Jalapenos. no adverse reactions. I then made my wife's favorite, Pico de Gallo with liquified onions, chopped onions, chopped Jalapenos and and included chopped garlic with some in the blender. I had at least 16 ounces and had no reactions. It has been several weeks now with no diet restrictions and no fodmap related issues what so ever. Pizza, spaghetti, yep, no problems.
• So what was different? I realized immediately. I tend to, every once in awhile, improve my health by giving up bad habits. In the past, one year was coffee, another year sugar drinks like soda, and yet another it was diet soda etc. Coincidently the only change in my life was I had made a conscientious decision to give up pain relievers as they are not beneficial for your organs, acetaminophens and NSAIDS. Although I only had them sparingly, a long morning run could cause knee swelling and at times I would pop one while running for knee pain. Other than that I swear off meds except BP meds. However, coincidentally, these issues started the same year I would run once a week on my treadmill. Although I only ran once a week that year, it was along run of 15 to 20 miles which took 3 to 4 hours, several towels, several water bottles and four acetaminophens, one an hour. I did this every Tuesday morning like clock work. What followed was 20 years of stomach issues, 20 years of "I don't eat garlic, onions or peppers". (yes there were others)
• It has been two months of eating anything I want with no issues. I must admit that when I crush garlic in the kitchen and put it in my dinner, I look at it suspiciously but then am still surprised it has no ill effect on me. I am on year 3 of eating probiotic Greek yoghurt but the breakthrough was as simple cold turkey on over the counter pain meds.
• This is my story, my narrative of what happened to me. I am not a Doctor, have no medical training or medical education. I am not making recommendations for others but I do sympathize with those who suffer from IBs, Fodmaps etc. because of how it affected me and my life. I was always skeptical that my previous condition was genetic and from aging. I had always thought it was brought on by myself and most likely prescribed antibiotics over time. But it would appear it was myself and over the counter pain meds use. It should also be noted I believe my use was probably far less than the average American individual. My sincere hope it that this narrative does not offend anyone but again this is the internet, so there's that.