Low FODMAP food.

[Spiky Bugger]

Lots of people have problems with gut issues. You’ve seen the ads, with panicked people looking for restrooms. This is not a DS-caused situation, but the DS might complicate treatment.

Symptoms are gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation (or a combo of the two) and other unpleasant stuff. The treatment almost always starts with a doctor handing you a sheet of paper with info on FODMAPs. But it’s confusing. The one here shows the five categories of food that can cause problems and then SOME of the foods in each category. (Some foods, like pears and watermelon, can be in more than one category.)





I can tell by looking that I don’t do well with polyols…mushrooms and sugar alcohols are not my friends. In my case, I should add in all the restrictions re oxalates because of kidney stones. Attempting to plan meals is a nightmare. So, following in my mother’s footsteps, I decided that I should throw a bunch of money at it.

Enter ModifyHealth. If you understand the issue, you can just order meals. That’s how I will start. BUT they also have a program, which I will move to if I find the menu tolerable. And an optional Registered Dietitian…three appointments, $99, the first appointment is 90 minutes long! With the program, they have you pick meals, for a week or two, from their menu. At first, those meals have zero to very low FODMAPs. They say that in a few days, people feel much better. After the “much better,” is established, they add one item from one category. Usually honey. If you eat the honey and don’t regress, it is likely that excess fructose is not a trigger for you and you can add in other foods in that category. (But not pears or watermelon yet because they are also in other categories.)

Then they move you to the next category, until you have a “road map” of what foods to eliminate on a permanent basis or at least until your gut is healthy enough to slowly add in those foods.

Wish me luck. I will only offer a nod to the oxalate issue. I hate having stones, but they don’t keep me housebound and I’m treating those with meds and they haven’t grown for a while. So I know that spinach and nuts are an issue, so I won’t order meals with those.

So far I have spotted only one, but a huge one, issue with their food. They use cheap whitefish that has a HORRID reputation…basa fish. But this isn’t a lifelong program and when I complete the program, I can get healthier fish and cook that myself.

I don’t receive compensation and have no idea how it tastes. I’m just excited that in +/-8 weeks, I may have a chance to leave the house.


https://modifyhealth.com/pages/what-is-fodmap

 

[talitali]

Interesting. It’s good to see such a specialized program for FODMAP, it can be a nightmare to cook for. I’m interested in their Mediterranean meals but really can’t justify the cost.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Interesting. It’s good to see such a specialized program for FODMAP, it can be a nightmare to cook for. I’m interested in their Mediterranean meals but really can’t justify the cost.

It isn’t bargain prices, for sure. I pinch pennies often, but I’m seldom a cheap date! LOL

HOWEVER…with most of the home delivered meals we get, I end up eating maybe 60% at dinner and so, for me, it turns out to be dinner and the next day’s lunch. And for breakfast, both eggs and oatmeal are pretty easy to fix and cheap. That’s how I convince myself it’s not as bad as it really is. (Well, that and since the osteoporosis doesn’t allow me to stand for long, cooking at home is a lot more work for MrSue…and ordering out, our hobby, costs a lot, too.)

 

[talitali]

If I were single, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I just feel weird eating special meals for me that my husband doesn’t get. I’d rather whine and complain. Hah. I tend to eat low-carb during the day and whatever for dinner and that can work ok as that’s the bulk of my carbs. I would like to get him onto a better way of eating but it has to be his decision.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

If I were single, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I just feel weird eating special meals for me that my husband doesn’t get. I’d rather whine and complain. Hah. I tend to eat low-carb during the day and whatever for dinner and that can work ok as that’s the bulk of my carbs. I would like to get him onto a better way of eating but it has to be his decision.

I get the guilt thing. MrSue, whose father was a butcher, had a heart attack at age 47. And I, whose cop grandfather always had a side hustle as a butcher, had the DS. “I’ll take the ribeye, please. Medium rare,” became my solo mantra. There he was, with his fish or chicken and there I was with that steak. But he had a choice and he generally made the intelligent choice. And I (still) have to choose between that steak and a delicious-looking Shrimp or Crab Louie Salad full of all kinds of things that will cause my waist to be five inches bigger by bedtime. So I, too, am not getting some of the stuff I love. That makes me a martyr, too, doesn’t it?

 

[MsVee]

This looks interesting. I look forward to your updates. I am always looking for ways to make eating healthier simpler.

 

[JackieOnLine]

Wish me luck.

I don’t receive compensation and have no idea how it tastes. I’m just excited that in +/-8 weeks, I may have a chance to leave the house.

I do wish you luck and hope to hear you get good results.

as for the cost....I am reminded of my Aunt Laura, now passed from this vail of tears. she had back pain - probably pretty bad for a long time, since when we cleaned out her house we found the calendar hadn't been updated for years, so we know that's when she really stopped taking care of things.

anyway, I know she refused to take anything for pain, including tylenol, because it's bad for your liver. likely she suffered for years but died with a liver that was wonderful.

I guess my point is, you can't take it with you* so spending money on what could really improve your quality of life is totally worth it.




just because it's a cliche doesn't mean it isn't true!

 

[hilary1617]

spending money on what could really improve your quality of life is totally worth it.

^^^^ So true.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

So, today I learned a few things:

•Calcium carbonate—in addition to not in lieu of, calcium citrate—tends to solidify feces.
•I have been avoiding high fiber foods because that’s what IBS people are told to do. The RD wants me to try a product her IBS patients have success with, https://sunfiber.com/products/ Their website offers a free sample, so I signed up for one.
•I can eat Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Lactaid milk. (Not Almond milk, because almonds are a no-no for kidney stone formers.) I can’t/wouldn’t want to eat it every day, but it’s a fun thing once in a while. I can add a half a banana or some other “approved” fruit.
•FODMAPs are “dose dependent.” Something that is ”low FODMAP” becomes “high FODMAP,” when you eat too much of it. And the highs can be low if you eat only a little. And…
•FODMAP stacking is a thing. So, I need to limit servings of related FODMAPs to +/- 1.5 servings per sitting (3 hours). IOW, if I want to eat two foods from the same FODMAP group, I can have a full serving of one and half a serving of the other per sitting. ”Sittings” are separated by three hours. If I don’t wait three hours, the FODMAPs “stack up” in the small intestine, fermentation begins, and gas, bloating, pain, etc results. This explains why my symptoms become more severe as the day wears on.

Actually, the session was 90 minutes long and there was a lot more I learned. But I don’t know if this helps many of y’all, so I’ll stop here.

 

[MsVee]

Interesting. If I understand this correctly, theoretically I could be eating the right foods in the wrong portions or at the wrong times and negate the benefits of the FODMAP diet. Who knew eating properly could be so complicated?

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Yes, but…this first, two-week program is to attempt to identify what is bothering a malfunctioning gut. It’s not a lifelong thing, except for eating none/less of the things that trigger symptoms.

I’m terrible at following ANY program, for almost any reason, but I’m actively reminding myself that this is ONLY for two weeks and just to identify what things I can later CHOOSE to omit from my diet or eat differently, in order to be able to leave the house.

Many people have unpredictable bowel movements immediately post-DS-op, then it goes away. Living with IBS is a lot like those post-op days in terms of living in fear of not knowing where the closest, available restroom is.