Seeing a dietician for food intolerance/IBS
 

Has anyone been referred to a dietician on the NHS for suspected food intolerances/bad IBS?

Last time I asked I was refused.

Basically I've got irritable bowel syndrome but recently it's been so bad. I'm in pain every single day and often half an hour after eating I rush to the toilet and get lots of pain. I have a suspicion that milk and wheat trigger it but in order to be sure I need to go on an elimination diet but from what I've read it's incredibly hard to do by yourself.

I'm seeing my GP tomorrow and I feel desperate. I've tried basically every medication for IBS, gastric reflux and nausea available and nothing has helped.

It doesn't help that I have binge eating disorder and so can have binges of really unhealthy, fatty, carby, sugary foods. I know that's really not helping but in the back of mind because I don't know exactly what's triggering my symptoms I tell myself I can eat what I want. I just want to know for sure what to avoid in order to feel better.

Hi there, how did seeing your GP today go? They shouldn't refuse you help as you are in pain, so make it clear to whoever you are seeing what discomfort you are in. Could you ask a family member or friend to help you with the elimination diet, as getting someones help will make it easier.
I hope you get some help with it and things get better for you.

Hey sarah,

How did it go at the doctors today? i hope you managed to get a referral.
my twin has IBS so i know how frustrating it can be to live with it. eliminating foods sounds like a really good idea to find out what triggers it.

take care x

I know yeast and dairy are massive triggers for my IBS so I understand. My GP saw me every other week to sort out dietry issues etc maybe that's an option if your GP's willing?

Hi Sarah how did you go? Xx

It wasn't good. I saw a GP I hadn't seen before. I told her I was worried about my symptoms because they got really bad and she was quite dismissive. She said no to me seeing a dietician and told me to stop avoiding wheat and dairy and to keep a food/symptom diary.

She's ordered a repeat of blood tests I had a few months ago.

I'm keeping the diary for the next week until I have my blood tests then I'll go back to avoiding wheat and dairy because I am pretty sure they make my symptoms worse. I had bread at lunch time today and a few hours later I got really bad bloating.

I expect this is just something I have to put up with because none of my doctors think it's worth investigating further.

Have you thought about looking into doing a food intolerance test by yourself at all? I did one a few years ago, but it was quite expensive and I had to pay for it myself.

Yes I've looked into it. I've done quite a bit of research, and the types of tests that are offered for food intolerance are not scientific. It says something that most places that offer testing are homeopathy clinics, and the testing involves testing 'electrical resistance' to certain foods! I know some places offer blood tests for food intolerance but again it's not scientific, you can get false positives and it's not reliable. The only reliable method is going on a medically supervised elimination diet.

It's different for food allergies as they can be easily detected by a blood test, but with an intolerance you're not actually having an allergic reaction to anything.

So I'm keeping the diary to get a general idea. Maybe if I have evidence that food is causing my symptoms to worsen then I'll have more of a case for seeing a dietician?

When I was having issues with reacting to food my GP suggested Yorktest to me. It tests for IgG antibodies. Once I discovered the intolerances I found it easier than having to do the elimination method.

Oh also in answer to your last question. Yea that sounds like a good idea re the diary

According to the research I did, IgG testing is not reliable either. It's interesting your GP recommended it to you.

I don't know what to think any more!

I don't understand why your GP won't refer you to the dietician! Can you see anyone else to get the referral like a different GP or is it not that simple?

ETA: I've just looked at the letter I got from Yorktest with my results, and it says on it that they advise you show your GP/dietician the results as they are better placed in helping you make the changes needed.

I'll see a different GP and ask again!

I might look into the york test thing, see how much it costs.

York test is £10 but pretty pointless unless you pay £250 for the other specific test to follow on to determine specific allergies

Yeah I don't have that kind of money :(

I'm keeping a food diary and I've got my blood test next week to check for coeliac disease and other things.

Hope the blood test come back alright.

How is the pain going, are you seeing any correlation with your food diary?

Xx

Yeah I think it's obvious when I have too much dairy I get more nausea and unpleasant bowel symptoms, and when I have a lot of wheat I get bloated.

Blood test tomorrow morning and GP on friday.