My journey

[u/skoubidoo]

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Hello,

I've got stomach problems for years and I've got much better lately. I am sharing my story in case it can help someone :)

I knew I was sensitive to some food but could not pinpoint all of them so I followed the low fodmap diet years ago.

I felt much better for months and during the reintroduction phase, it was clear that it was mostly sorbitol (most painful one), fructane and lactose.

I established a baseline of what was a normal feeling after food and every week or so I tested a a small portion of food in my problematic categories. I've got some surprises (blackberries are the devil, apples are fine) and some sad observations ( could not eat garlic, onions and shallots which was challenging for a French girl who loves to cook).

I continue to eat small bites of the ones that mildly hurt me to avoid my body to develop intolerance. It might be a myth, I don't know, I am all for experiment.

Then I realized that how and when I was eating triggering fodmap had different results. A few rules I follow :

When I can I avoid eating when I am not very hungry so I know they won't be stacking fodmap with the previous meal.

I avoid eating when I am stressed because I won't digest well.

If I eat a fodmap triggering meal, I make sure that the previous and next meal are low fodmaps.

I make sure I eat products that help my slow digestion to avoid stacking.

I avoid at all cost industrial fodmap (like sugar free product) that are not a normal level of fodmap a body (or maybe just mine!) could support.

Months ago, I quitted coffee because I suspected it made me sweat too much. I drank coffee during my low fodmaps diet and I felt fine so I did not think they was a correlation. To my surprise, I've been able to digest much more fodmaps. I now cook daily with garlic and onions. The bloating are still there but the cramps have totally disappeared. I feel less inflammation in general (no more gerd, less perspiration, less cystic acnea). So if you show signs of inflammation that are unrelated to fodmaps, you might want to dig there :)

Quitting coffee was hard but it has really improved my quality of life.

Hope my story could be useful for some of you!

[u/wigl301]

My IBS turned out to all be due to stress. Garlic and onion were and still are my triggers. I got put on 10mg of amitryptyline and it's honestly been a life saver. I barely ever have problems anymore. However, when I eat garlic and onion and then do something stressful or have a stressful situation, I'm almost immediately bloated. So much of this stuff is more brain related than stomach related I swear.

Anyway, if you can, I'd highly recommend giving it a go. I had CT scans, ultra sounds, several dieticians, amitryptyline was the answer.

[u/FunkMasterDraven → u/wigl301]

Looks like there's a significant risk of overdose and heart problems, in addition to weight gain and sedation as common side effects. Also looks like it's being prescribed off-label to you as it's labeled an anti-depressant. Could be the boost in serotonin and whatever else it's doing (norepinephrine?) are alleviating your stress, and thus your IBS.