I was laughing reading this…with you (promise), not at you. We get it; we really do. And it is so unfortunate that we hear from many people that their GI issues have been decades long issues, just as you described. Have you worked with a Registered Dietitian? A RD could work with you on your particular FOS presentation.

Then when I was in my 20, I was at my gyn-ob for a check up. The doc is palpating my innards and asks me if I have bowel movement. I told him that I was usually a bit constipated and if I managed to go 3 times a week, I thought it was about normal for me. Now my doc was a very sweet mild mannered man who probably blushed every time he had to check out girl parts, but he was also very thorough and scientific, so it startled me a bit that he told me that I could probably lose 5 lbs if I could move it all out. He said that I was “fully impacted with fecal material!!”

At that point, I lost it and just roared with laughter. I asked him if he was diagnosing me as being “full of shit!” He wouldn’t quite say the words but agreed that he was pretty much saying that! I still laugh when I think of how I have an official medical diagnosis of being FOS!!

I have been doing FODMAP, along with low acid, for over a year now. I still get constipated. Three times a week is still about the best I can do. I get tired of feeling like I need help to go but sometimes I need to take something else.

Kim, thank you for being so engaged. We do the work for folks like you (and me)! Happy New Year.

❤️ I think you all are amazing in this group! I LOVE this website! Such a valuable resource. After 52 years of dealing with IBS-C, I’m finally getting answers as to WHY and learning how to keep myself healthy. My quality of life has improved greatly. Keep up the great work!!

Hi Kim, Dédé here…just wanted to thank you for writing. Isn’t Tamara amazing? She is brilliant and has such a compassionate way of writing and explaining. It is a learning curve for us all!

I started the lowFodmap diet in August/ September. In the beginning I tried gf products prepackaged and flour blends. Each time felt bloated and backed up. So I backed off, ate no prepackaged gf products, ate sourdough bread and kept to brown rice pasta and would treat myself to an oat cookie or oat bread from time to time. I felt better.

At Thanksgiving reintroduced Bob’s 1-1 to make pies. Month of December made different cookies and tried pizza crust and Udis. Still not feeling great at all and feel worse than if I eat AP flour. If I’m being completely honest with myself, gf flours are not good for me even in moderation. Gums are another big problem for me all of which are in gf flours. I’m finding also the less processed foods I eat the better off I am. I’ve done well with Spelt Sourdough bread from Berlin Bakery, Ebans oat bread and Rustik sourdough all of which have a very short ingredients list.

I feel like I’ve come far, but still have much to learn. This diet can be so confusing at times and so scientific that it hurts my brain 🤣 At least I’m making progress.

I just ordered your book and look forward to reading it!

I think that rice’s reputation as “binding” really mis-characterizes it’s nature. Rice is NOT constipating insofar as it doesn’t actually SLOW down your GI transit time. In fact, since rice flour is a highly digestible starch with no fiber, it is fully/completely absorbed early on in the small intestine such that there should be minimal to no ‘residue’ leftover to arrive in the colon at all. It’s not going to add to your stool burden when you have constipation. It’s reputation as a good for diarrhea is because it has no fiber and therefore doesn’t aggravate a tendency toward excessive pooping… but it hardly stops diarrhea. Think of rice as more “GI neutral”– shouldn’t help or hurt if you have constipation, shouldn’t help or hurt if you have diarrhea. If you tolerate The Bobs 1:1 or other rice based products in moderation, then I see no reason to avoid them. If you feel starchy foods “add to your constipation,” I wonder whether what you are experiencing is that eating larger amounts of low fiber food in general crowds out portions of fiber-containing foods you need to help you go? Just a though.

And: if you’re looking for a nice bread without fructans, I like the Canyon Bakehouse 7-Grain myself.

Everyone raves about Udi products
Their Soft White Delicous bread made me feel awful. All of the different gums, modified cellulose( IMO, really terrible for anyone) pea starch and potato starch in addition to rice flours.

I have tolerated Bob’s 1-1, but still have to limit my intake. Rice is binding. Rice is always the go to when you’re sick with diarrhea.

For people like myself with IBS-C and fructan sensitivity what are our best food choices in the way of breads, pasta, snacks, sweets?

Maybe share this with your medical team. Anything that can help, right? We have to advocate for ourselves and sometimes we do know things about our own bodies that we have to point out to the MDs. I have no idea if your doctors will think this is pertinent to you situation, but it doesn’t hurt to have the conversation.

Yes, this is me too. Like you I can’t eat more that 20 gms of fiber a day but try telling that to a gastro doc. They seem to think fiber is the answer to everything. The low FODMAP helped me. I think my problem is due to a metabolic disorder. My mitochondria just don’t make enough energy to power my muscles. I have to use a wheelchair because of this. Since the digestive system is a muscle I am guessing this is part of my problem.