Very restrictive diets---anyone else?

[suz]

This new medical team (5 Journeys Functional Medicine, Newton, MA) is really on top of it. After one appointment they ordered a ton of tests and discovered SIBO (both kinds) and that I am diabetic .
Not one Dr in the past 8 years of specialist after specialist after specialist even suggested those tests!
They also tested food sensitivities, and i am intolerant of bovine dairy, eggs and gluten. The nutritionist assures me that once my gut heals i may be able to slowly add those back.
So now I’m eating gf, dairy free, sugar free and fasting for a minimum of 12 hours overnight. And i just got the blood sugar kit, starting tomorrow I’ll be checking blood sugar/stabbing myself every few hours. Yikes.

But----I’m feeling better, the constant bloat is gone (tbh i looked 19 months gone and my belly was as hard as a drum—So uncomfortable!), I’ve def got less stomach pain, and far less burping. The question is—can I live like this forever? ME? The bakery queen?!!
Stay tuned lol!

[Jackie_Cochran]

I have to avoid: wheat, milk, most things with milk as an ingredient, eggs, avocados, just the major food groups that are the food basis of Western civilization. I have problems with eggs, if something is cooked on the same grill after eggs I end up super nauseous, and I end up nauseous when I smell eggs cooking. Potatos spike my blood sugar, as does anything that uses cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup. My limit of eating fruit is 1/4 of a small apple, or my blood sugar spikes.

My gut also does not like any type of melon or gourd, I hate green beans (other beans are fine), tomatoes are iffy, sweet corn spikes my blood sugar (though I can eat corn tortilla chips). My gut does not like most vegetables.

Food wise I do not fit very well into the cuisine of most of the world.

[CHT]

I did the FODMAP (fermentable sugars) elimination diet for a year and then started adding back. I still have some restrictions, but not bad. The biggest problem comes with eating out or at someone’s house. When eating out, I try to research the menu ahead of time to make it easier to know what I can eat. At someone’s house, I bring a dish I know I can eat (enough to share).

With FODMAP there are some good APs to help - perhaps there is something to help you

If you like baking, you may actually have fun learning to back with your new restrictions - a new challenge! Hopefully you are feeling the positive effects of your changes soon!

[Scribbler]

@suz

This new medical team (5 Journeys Functional Medicine, Newton, MA) is really on top of it. After one appointment they ordered a ton of tests and discovered SIBO (both kinds) and that I am diabetic .
Not one Dr in the past 8 years of specialist after specialist after specialist even suggested those tests!
They also tested food sensitivities, and i am intolerant of bovine dairy, eggs and gluten. The nutritionist assures me that once my gut heals i may be able to slowly add those back.
So now I’m eating gf, dairy free, sugar free and fasting for a minimum of 12 hours overnight. And i just got the blood sugar kit, starting tomorrow I’ll be checking blood sugar/stabbing myself every few hours. Yikes.

But----I’m feeling better, the constant bloat is gone (tbh i looked 19 months gone and my belly was as hard as a drum—So uncomfortable!), I’ve def got less stomach pain, and far less burping. The question is—can I live like this forever? ME? The bakery queen?!!
Stay tuned lol!

I went low carb several years ago because I was prediabetic. The only thing I’d personally miss off your list is no cows milk but lots of adults don’t touch it, and there are superb goat and sheep cheese out there.

You need to look at a chart of glycemic index for foods. That’s the really key thing for diabetics. Also some of the gluten free baking and things like rice flour are higher glycemic index than wheat flour.

Glycemic index is based on total.sugar plus how long it takes to get digested and enter your blood. So while northern tree fruits have a high percentage of sugars they don’t digest so fast. Tropical fruit tends to be higher glycemic.

I’d say just write off bakery snacks for 6 months.

[Rackonteur]

What is SIBO?
What diabetes did they diagnose? Type 2 or Type 1, or LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes)? I’m surprised it took special tests to diagnose diabetes; that should show up on an ordinary blood panel or at least an A1C.

So, for you dairy free includes cream and cheese? Milk is full of sugar; cream and cheese, not so much.

IDK about checking your blood glucose every few hours. Did they say to test your fasting blood glucose first thing in the morning? Then a lot of us also check BG levels before a meal, 1 hour after a meal, and again an hour after that. It shows which foods spike your BG and how much. “Stabbing” yourself is no big deal. The lancing device does all the work. Stab the side of your fingertip is easier on your fingertips.
Did they say anything about carbs in general (not just sugary ones)? Carbs turn into glucose when you eat them.
I like “Bakery Queen.” If you are the Bakery Queen then I am the Duchess! Or Queen in the next kingdom over lol.
That said, I AM NOT A DOCTOR. Talk to your doctor. Ask him/her lots of questions.

[Rackonteur]

@Jackie_Cochran

I have to avoid: wheat, milk, most things with milk as an ingredient, eggs, avocados, just the major food groups that are the food basis of Western civilization. I have problems with eggs, if something is cooked on the same grill after eggs I end up super nauseous, and I end up nauseous when I smell eggs cooking. Potatos spike my blood sugar, as does anything that uses cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup. My limit of eating fruit is 1/4 of a small apple, or my blood sugar spikes.

Some diabetics say avoid almost all fruits other than berries, and eat those in moderation.
Of course everyone’s body is different.

[suz]

I have SO many questions lol!! As for my dx, i’m in my 60s so assume type 2. The Dr has not yet suggested anything other than the very basics so far— avoid carbs, ie–eat a half fist size portion of carb after eating a fist sized piece of protein–and of course educate myself. I spent a zillion hours reading about it this weekend, and atm my brain is full but it’s not yet making a whole lot of sense.
Dairy free for me means lactaid whole milk in tea, heavy cream rarely in coffee, otherwise only nanny or ewe cheese. Thankfully ground pecorino is very palatable to me on many things.
Yesterday I pricked my finger for the 1st time (didn’t like it, don’t recommend it) 2 hours after breakfast and bs was 146. I’m a big baby and know that if I am to make that a habit, i need the non prick tester, which i ordered last night.
SIBO is small intestine bacterial overgrowth. I’ve got both the methane and hydrogen versions, plus h pylori. The restrictive diet is helping, i’m burping much less, the bloat is gone and a lot of the gnawing belly pain is as well.

[suz]

Yes I’m eating low fodmap, and its not too awfully hard . So far lol.
As for being a bakery queen, I buy, not bake, I’d rather be eating cake!

[Rackonteur]

I am glad to hear that.

I was also glad to read about the fist-sized portions. I hadn’t seen that before and it sounds really good and I want to try it.

I was dx’d at about age 65, right after I got on Medicare. Before my first finger-pricking I called a friend who also has T2 and paramedic training on top of it! and had him walk me through it on the phone. And I’m one who used to have to lie down at the doctor’s when they drew blood for fear I would faint! Now I just sit there and let them get on with it and hope they make the stab as painless as possible. Some are better at it than others.

[hybriseris]

I LOVE to bake too, but have celiac and my parents are both plant-based (and Dad also has celiac) so I often have to do GF AND dairy-free. I can commiserate BUT, I’ve found I can reproduce most recipes pretty darn close now without too much extra fuss. Sugar-free/low sugar I’m not as familiar with.

If it’s something you end up having to do long-term, I’ve found with some time to adjust, it’s really quite doable. It’s not like 15 years ago when my Dad was diagnosed and avoiding wheat and dairy meant misery!

[WavyRider]

Are they treating the SIBO with Xifaxan (rifaximin)? It’s expensive but it worked wonders for me both times I had SIBO. My diet is 90% gluten free now to prevent another rebound of SIBO but otherwise very few restrictions. Before my SIBO was treated, even the FODMAP diet wasn’t enough to keep me comfortable.

[WavyRider]

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. It’s miserable and used to be frequently misdiagnosed as IBS, but is treatable with specialized antibiotics to kill the excess bad bacteria.

[joiedevie99]

Download an app like My Fitness Pal and log everything you eat - even a handful of chocolate chips or a single potato chip. When you get a bad blood sugar reading, you can use process of elimination to figure out the exact culprit and put it on your personal NO list. Everyone’s body is different.

[Scribbler]

You might also want to consider a probiotic like Florastor for hind gut health.

[tabula_rashah]

Caveat that I do not have a medical reason for it other than I feel my best when eating this way, I do not eat sugars, grains, fruits, legumes, or gluten. I do eat dairy though. It sounds limiting but as my DH and I have learned to cook with substitutions etc, it’s really not. If you know what and how to sub ingredients, I find that you really can have most anything. For instance, the other night I wanted pasta, I made egg white crepes and sliced them into noodles, boiled them for 1 minute and put my sauce on them. Sounds weird, tastes amazing

[CHT]

I have had to give up buying baking for the most part - the “mystery cooking oil” that they use in most mass produced baking and in most potato chips was like Russian Roulette for me. Betty Crocker type baking kits I can do, as I can choose my own oils (Olive Oil & Butter), and some specialty bakeries are safe.

Being on a restrictive diet has made me more mindful of what I eat and how it relates to how I feel, and although food is more complicated now, it is more enjoyable!

[4horses]

I have gastroparesis and have had SIBO. I had C Diff a couple years ago. After that I didn’t want to take any more antibiotics. I’ve been managing the SIBO with peppermint oil. If you decide to try it, make sure to get enteric coated peppermint oil to prevent acid reflux.

For some reason, garlic and possibly tomato sauce are big triggers for me. Garlic is in just about everything.

Anytime I have stomach issues, I will fast all day, and maybe just eat one meal around 3-4 pm. I probably should pay more attention to what I eat and what triggers symptoms. Mashed potatoes and baked beans are my safest foods. Ice cream doesn’t seem to bother me, but yogurt does. I was eating a lot of soy foods from the grocery store but they tend to add a lot of spices and it just wasn’t agreeing with me.

[candyappy]

My husband was diagnosed type 2 around 27 years ago and what helped most is that the doctors set him up with a diabetic nutritionist. She advised him on meals, foods etc and kind of got him going in the right track.

Is that a possibility @suz?

[Jaegermonster]

@suz
Would they get you a continuous glucose monitor ? I have one for my diabetes and it’s way better than finger sticking. I have LADA

Also try Fair Life Milk. It’s a little pricey but ultra filtered so almost no sugar which eliminates a lot of the lactose