Food Intolerance Testing

[Magnum Valentino]

You wanted it! You got it! The sequel thread to the modern era CaB Classic "Decent Shites"!

Long story short I've had a couple "proper" tests (NHS took a look at my blood and my dung) and all's good in terms of nothing terminal or really there at all, but I'm still no closer to identifying why I don't enjoy a regular healthy gut like everyone else I know.

I've booked a food intolerance test on Monday where they take samples of blood or skin or something and advise what you might be having issues with. I suspect it's gluten or gluten adjacent. It's been bumming me out for fucking ages now and I would love an answer even if the answer is bad news just so I know what I can't have any more.

Has anyone had one of these before? It's not cheap so I thought I'd do the bare minimum "is this thing good" research with you lot before committing to it.

[Joe Oakes]

After an extensive 30 seconds of googling I can confirm that at best, this is highly unreliable, at worst a total scam.

[Magnum Valentino]

Thanks Joe. I've Googled it.

Anyone actually had it done?

[Magnum Valentino]

Ah it really does look a scam right enough.

Fuck

[Lemming]

You've probably already come across this or tried it out, but I'll recommend probiotics. These from Boots have had a very positive effect on reducing IBS-D symptoms in a few people I know.

Only problem is gut flora seems to be a total mystery to us at our current level of understanding, so the combo of bacteria/enzymes that works for someone might not work for someone else. Worth a try, anyway.

[Proactive]

My wife did the FODMAP diet. It's fucking onerous but might be worth looking into. If you do, do it through your GP. It's not something you need to pay for.

[Proactive]

Also, Lanaoprazol works like a fucking charm for me.

[Sebastian Cobb]

After an extensive 30 seconds of googling I can confirm that at best, this is highly unreliable, at worst a total scam.

Yeah I heard they're very prone to false-positives to the point of being useless.

[Sherringford Hovis]

PM me if you need a donor for FMT. I wonder if you get medals and that like when you donate blood?

[Barry Admin]

Can you get this done on the NHS? I was on a UPF-free diet and backslid at Xmas. Now I find that I can identify the awful effect most UPF Foods have on me, and that the effects are much more pronounced, as if I have no tolerance anymore.

I've always burped an absurd amount, and today I ate crap as I had a really really rough CBT session. My burping and I think acid reflux just got worse and worse all day. I had dinner at my Mum's the other night and it was the same thing. She does the roasters in extra virgin olive oil for me, but once I had a bit of lemon drizzle cake for pudding, I was fucked. Little bit of dip and a few drips too, not a mad amount of bad stuff. But Christ, I had trapped wind for the rest of the night and felt like absolute dogshit.

I'm getting back on the time restricted eating and UPF-free diet now as much as I can.

[Magnum Valentino]

Can you get this done on the NHS? I was on a UPF-free diet and backslid at Xmas. Now I find that I can identify the awful effect most UPF Foods have on me, and that the effects are much more pronounced, as if I have no tolerance anymore.

I've always burped an absurd amount, and today I ate crap as I had a really really rough CBT session. My burping and I think acid reflux just got worse and worse all day. I had dinner at my Mum's the other night and it was the same thing. She does the roasters in extra virgin olive oil for me, but once I had a bit of lemon drizzle cake for pudding, I was fucked. Little bit of dip and a few drips too, not a mad amount of bad stuff. But Christ, I had trapped wind for the rest of the night and felt like absolute dogshit.

I'm getting back on the time restricted eating and UPF-free diet now as much as I can.

It doesn't look like the NHS offers it as it's not been proven as a legitimate thing. You could get tested for Celiac and Lactose intolerance though, and they can refer you to a dietician but the wait would be enormous, years apparently (at least here in NI).

Did you get CBT on the NHS Neil or go private? I'm on the list but will probably be a good long while yet.

[Barry Admin]

It doesn't look like the NHS offers it as it's not been proven as a legitimate thing. You could get tested for Celiac and Lactose intolerance though, and they can refer you to a dietician but the wait would be enormous, years apparently (at least here in NI).

Did you get CBT on the NHS Neil or go private? I'm on the list but will probably be a good long while yet.

I think I got the celiac and lactose stuff done years ago, can't remember much about it. Or maybe it was that it was the only thing offered when I asked before.

CBT on NHS yeah.

So it's much better now than it was in the past, where I felt completely let down by the whole process. I guess it took two years as that's when all that stuff happened.

I couldn't even get access properly the last time as the dude kept trying to shove me on antidepressants first. And then he'd drone on about how it was super intensive and would happen every day for two weeks or something.

Now it's one day a week and I got someone whose actually really good at their job this time, unlike the awful cunt I kept getting all the time before.

And whereas they had said "no you don't have ADHD inattentive, it doesn't exist, it's an American thing", she says "okay you probably do have it, let's take that on board and work with it."

[Magnum Valentino]

I think I got the celiac and lactose stuff done years ago, can't remember much about it. Or maybe it was that it was the only thing offered when I asked before.

CBT on NHS yeah.

So it's much better now than it was in the past, where I felt completely let down by the whole process. I guess it took two years as that's when all that stuff happened.

I couldn't even get access properly the last time as the dude kept trying to shove me on antidepressants first. And then he'd drone on about how it was super intensive and would happen every day for two weeks or something.

Now it's one day a week and I got someone whose actually really good at their job this time, unlike the awful cunt I kept getting all the time before.

And whereas they had said "no you don't have ADHD inattentive, it doesn't exist, it's an American thing", she says "okay you probably do have it, let's take that on board and work with it."

That's class. Is in person or over Zoom? Sounds like exactly what I'm hoping it'll be like.

[Noodle Lizard]

Not to discourage you, but the NHS were uniquely useless when I was dealing with a mysterious stomach ailment for several years in early adulthood. Their script seems to be just "IBS, enjoy" once they've ruled out anything more immediately dangerous. I hope you find more attention and better care than I did. It might not be the worst idea to seek out (and probably pay for, sadly) a proper GI specialist though, even just for a consultation.

I'm not sure exactly what worked for me in the end. I figured out a few things that definitely caused symptoms by trial and error (aspartame being the #1), but the rest appears to have been fixed by going on a paleo-style "meat and vegetables" diet for a while and slowly reintroducing foods from there.

The connection between gut and mind health is absolutely real, and anxiety can bring the symptoms back (I have a specific, clinical phobia which is fed directly by the symptoms the associated anxiety causes, nightmare), so anything you can do to manage anxiety or depression is helpful, if only to buy you some mental breathing room to focus on the purely physical side of things.

Sympathies, truly. I know just how much of a burden it can be.

[Magnum Valentino]

Aye I am suffering in a dreadful loop of being anxious about the symptoms, causing the symptoms which are making me anxious.

[BeardFaceMan]

Dairy and gluten are the two big offenders, stop eating them for 6 weeks to get it out of your system and then try something with it in to see if it makes you ill. Trial and error, that's the only real way to find out what foods are fucking with you, and you have to be very aware of what you're eating. I stopped eating wheat and dairy and it can be annoying at times but there are so many gluten/dairy-free options in supermarkets and restaurants now it's not that difficult/expensive to maintain. NHS are fucking useless for this kind of thing, if you dont have something life-threatening then they're not interested, but you can take care of this yourself.

[Barry Admin]

That's class. Is in person or over Zoom? Sounds like exactly what I'm hoping it'll be like.

In person. It's great, really helping to break down my thought processes and help me to rewire more positive ones.

[madhair60]

the way i see it if you just do all your farts, get them all out of the way, you're plain sailing

[Magnum Valentino]

You've probably already come across this or tried it out, but I'll recommend probiotics. These from Boots have had a very positive effect on reducing IBS-D symptoms in a few people I know.

Only problem is gut flora seems to be a total mystery to us at our current level of understanding, so the combo of bacteria/enzymes that works for someone might not work for someone else. Worth a try, anyway.

The folks you know, any chance if it was convenient you could ask them how long they were on these before they noticed any improvement?

[Russ L]

Short of looking for the old thread about shites, I just want to say somewhere that a friend of mine told me a few days ago that her movements were "like when the prison cook decides to serve mince".

I didn't ask for any elaboration.

OK thanks see-ya.