Low FODMAP diet to heal a leaky gut

I meant to post every day on this blog to update on my progress with the restricted diet. I feel bad for slagging off, but it’s been for two good reasons: 1) I totally went off the rails 10 days into the diet and ate all kinds of things I shouldn’t have in the last two weeks, which meant nothing good to report in terms of decreased symptoms, and 2) I’ve felt so overwhelmed with all the things I feel I should be doing everyday (meditation, yoga, journalling, walking… not to mention the usual day-to-day things like cooking, cleaning, working) that taking “update blog” off my to do list seemed reasonable considering I’m trying to lower my stress. I will continue to update on my progress in the next few weeks, but it won’t be every day.

However, I do have an update today, and I think it’s positive, so worth sharing.

Went to see my naturopath this afternoon and got the test results from the IgG blood panel. I guess I’m lucky, because it turns out I don’t have any problem at all with candida albicans. No yeast issue in my gut. I also don’t have any problem with gluten or wheat. In fact, all foods on the panel showed no antibody response mounted by my immune system, except for dairy (of all kinds) and soy and all soy derivatives.

After going over all of my latest symptoms – extreme lethargy, low mood, aches and pains, and of course extreme bladder pain and burning – my ND suggested I try the Low FODMAP diet for a month. She said it’s imperative I’m strict with this one in order to see any improvement. The idea is to sooth and heal my leaky gut and digestive system in general. In theory, if I eliminate sugars of all kinds, including fructose, lactose (dairy), and grains, among others, I should see a great improvement in inflammation, and therefore a decrease in pain. (I’m also going to go heavy on the veggies in order to make the diet more alkaline.) This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of the connection between grains/sugars and inflammation. This diet is much less strict than the one I was meant to be on for the past three weeks, but it’s still going to be a challenge. It’s very complicated and not at all intuitive. Some vegetables that seem very similar are okay and others aren’t. Cauliflower is not allowed, but broccoli is, for example. But I am determined to make this work. As I said to my ND today, I don’t really have much choice since diet is the major key to healing IC. 

In a month I will return to my ND to get the results of a 24-hour urine hormone test. Hopefully that will add another piece to this complex IC puzzle. In the meantime, I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the kitchen and at the grocery store.

More blood work: good news, bad news

Saw my doctor today to get the results of my latest blood work, this time for celiac and food sensitivities. The good news is the celiac test came back negative, but the bad news is the lab screwed up the IgG test, checking only for antibodies generally rather than for specific food intolerances. However, my doctor said she knows of an allergist here in town I can see to have this done as well as the skin prick test. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can get clear on whether or not I have specific food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances. My doctor agrees that any issues with food can have far-reaching effects throughout the body and could manifest in symptoms of IC. In some ways it would be good to find out I have food intolerances because that way I’d have a concrete step to take towards healing my body, but on the other hand, I hope I don’t have to be concerned about certain foods. I really enjoy both gluten and dairy… and pretty much everything else that’s edible. (Of course, I know I need to follow a combination of the IC and alkaline diets specifically to help my bladder.)

I’m really glad the celiac test came back negative. Celiac disease is a serious condition for which there’s no cure and the only way to manage it is to completely remove gluten from the diet. The blood test checks for antibodies against gluten, and the normal range is between zero and 16, with anything above that indicating a problem. My number was 1.8, which means I’m definitely nowhere near the upper end of the scale, and therefore don’t have to worry about having further tests for celiac. At least I’m in the clear there. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean my body loves gluten. I’ve heard a lot of people who don’t have a true allergy to wheat or gluten still have a sensitivity or intolerance to these can really mess with their bodies. I’ll have to do a bit more research to find out more for myself on this one, but I’m relieved to know even if gluten doesn’t agree with me, at least eating it won’t completely wreck my intestines.

The next step is to wait for a call from the allergist to get more tests done. Until then, I’m going to attempt a juice fast, starting tomorrow. Fingers crossed, it’ll help calm this current flare.