Diet hasn’t helped… Help!

was fortunate to discover Immodium/loperamide when my IBS-D symptoms started 6 years ago. Taking it almost daily has helped me live a somewhat normal life.

I started this year determined to get to the bottom of my diet to find out what was giving me symptoms and maybe stop depending on the loperamide once and for all.

My baseline symptoms are; mild, but constant, discomfort in my stomach. This is usually more noticeable after eating any meal at any time of day. After eating I'll get mild cramping/feeling the urge to use the loo for anywhere between 30 mins - a few hours.

Then there are times when loose/watery BMs are uncontrollable almost instantly (within 20 minutes) after food. Very rarely it may be a normal BM as well, but the urgency and ultra-quick response to having just eaten will be there.

On those occasions, Loperamide can be helpful, but it doesn't really help with the baseline discomfort and will only delay the D.

I have gradually restricted my diet more and more over the past few months, starting with cutting Gluten, then Dairy and then low FODMAP, followed by zero Fodmap and i kept reducing foods until now I am at White Rice, Chicken and sometimes Salt and Pepper 3 x daily. I've lost around 10kg/22 lbs. I am still finding that all the same symptoms persist (minus loose/watery BMs). I still have discomfort and an immediate urge to go after eating a meal (and sometimes I still do go within 20 mins).

I will mention that along the way, there were a few meals (mainly those heavy in fat) that had me in a very bad way on the loo within 20 mins of eating and I have made a note of those.

Right now I am worse off than I was mostly eating anything I wanted whilst popping loperamide every day.

It's making me think that it really isn't in the food I am eating and possibly just down to a broken and useless stomach/colon?

Does anyone relate? If so, how do you manage your symptoms? Is there a better alternative to Loperamide?

Where do you go from a chicken and rice diet if it isnt doing anything?

I am booked to see a private Gastro for the first time next week, so will hopefully be able to relay this to him and start considering what options are available to me (if any!)

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