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FRUCTOSE MALABSORPTION & IBS SYMPTOMS

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Posted 6/3/2011 8:35 AM (GMT 0)
FRUCTOSE MALABSORPTION & IBS SYMPTOMS

Having read through 100's of posts in the many topics under Irritable Bowel Syndrome, it seems that many IBS sufferers actually have Fructose Malabsorption (already diagnosed and looking for a 'cure') or may possibly have Fructose Malabsorption (as suggested by their symptoms/questions but as yet undiagnosed). FM is now being diagnosed more often, and is becomming more widely recognised as a cause of IBS symptoms. I suspect in the next few years it will have the same recognition and acceptance as Coeliac/gluten intolerance. Furthermore, from personal experience and after many, many hours of internet research, I believe the low FODMAP diet will become recognised as the most successful 'treatment' for Fructose Malabsorption in relieving and managing the associated IBS symptoms.

Fructose Malabsorption symptoms include excessive gas/wind, stomach bloating, stomach cramps/spasms and either diarrhea or constipation. After such things as Coeliac, Crohn's, Colitis, etc have been ruled out sufferers are often told by their doctor that they simply have IBS and that there's not much they can do about it. However, FM is easily diagnosed by a series of breath tests. 

I would like to see a separate listing for Fructose Malabsorption in the Healing Well 'index' of Diseases and Conditions. What do other members and the site administrators think about that?

Post Edited (FODMAP mum) : 6/3/2011 9:38:40 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/4/2011 3:37 AM (GMT 0)
For those of you interested in Fructose Malabsorption, food intollerances and the FODMAPs diet, the new Dr Sue Shepherd and Professor Peter Gibson book - 'Food Intolerance Management Plan' is in the shops in Australia

Post Edited By Moderator (**tori**) : 6/30/2011 3:25:58 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/4/2011 6:04 AM (GMT 0)
For those of you interested in FODMAPs diet, the 2 articles listed below are interesting reading.
The FODMAP Approach
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
Posted 6/20/2011 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Check this out...

http://sacfs.asn.au/download/SueShepherd_sarticle.pdf
Posted 6/20/2011 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there Fishfarts (looove the name),

Sue's articles always make interesting reading. Keep in mind the article you mentioned is 4 - 5 years old so the specific food lists given will have changed.

Posted 6/30/2011 8:20 AM (GMT 0)
 

I believe malabsorption of fructose is also an indicator of leaky gut syndrome.  I have it.

Posted 9/12/2011 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
I worked out Fructose Malabsorbtion was the key to my problems about 8 months ago.

I wanted to share that Fructuse Malabsortion doesn't need to be such a limiting lifestyle as most the internet advice that is often put out there.

A lot of internet advice suggests that people with Fructose Malabsorbtion may also be lactose intolerant and gluton intolerant. And there for often perscribing low FODMAPS diets. However this is not always the case. I recommend only eliminating one thing at a time so that you can decriminate what the causes are.

I am for the most part not lactose intolerant although like anyone if have a really big milk shake may have a gurgling belly. Like wise I am not glueton intolerant but still try not to go crazy eating too much bread and pasta which will cause most people problems.

I do have difficulty with fructose. I can eat fruit and vegetables but it is about being careful with my portions and not eliminating this very important part of my diet.

As a rule this is what I can get away with.
- A single serving of fruit every 5 hours e.g. a Banana or a small apple (not a large one) or a small salad.

I cannot have more than 150 mls of any juice, soft drink, tea, coffee or hot chocolate. So simply I drink water, with a squeeze of lemon for taste.

I also occasionally have problems with sweet and sour sauce or pizza if they use a lot of tomatoe paste.

By sticking to these guidelines I have been pretty much pain free and have had no bloating. Every now an then I will get syptoms that I cannot explain but they are so infrequent (maybe once a month) I am happy enough to live with them.

I hope this is helpful to someone who may be thinking they have fructose malabsorption and were worried about how much it would limit their diet.
Posted 7/6/2013 4:09 PM (GMT 0)
*Yes, FODMAP Mum, I also would like to see a seperate category on this site for Fructose Malabsorption. Please administrators, consider this.

There have been numerous changes to the low-FODMAP diet in the 2 years that I have been on it. The changes are due to food testing that takes place at Monash Univ in Australia. I get my updates from a dietican in the Boston, MA area who has been trained by te AU team and is now training others in the US. I'm on this diet for life I might add with wonderful success. I feel nealy normal now....whatever that is. :-)

Post Edited (hope floats) : 7/6/2013 10:15:43 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 12/23/2013 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hey, I have IBS and fructose malabsorption too and in my case i reckon it could be caused by a candida infection. Every time i ate a mango, apple, high fruc corn syrup drink or dried fruit i had gas. I had embarrassing uncontrollable flatulence for a whole year and even going on the fodmaps diet didn't reduce it. The kind of flatulence was very frequent and even when eating foods that were fodmaps safe or typically healthier foods like veggies, fruit, wholegrain, meat, rice. Everything gave me flatulence, i felt it was ridiculous. It took me a year to discover it was candida in my intestines. Candida has a broad list of symptoms you should check out and you may have other forms of it like a vaginal yeast infection. I didn't notice but during the year that i had candida infection i was lethargic, more anxious, depressed, moody, unfocused and foggy-brained. I started a strict candida diet last week - eggs, meat, fish, low starch vegs, almonds, avocado, no fruit, sugar or wheat rye barley polenta oats buckwheat rice anything starchy and took antifungals coconut oil and pau d'arco tea at the same time. After 5 horrible days of die off symptoms yeast was visible in my stool and i felt relieved that my candida was real. Probiotics are also a must to fight the candida as well as rebalance the gut flora which is key to recovering from ibs. A good one i've found after tiring research is Jarrow Dophilus. I have IBS-C and probiotics will definitely help with regularity preventing any breeding ground for the candida. The strict diet should be continued for a few weeks to a couple months and after that maintain a diet that allows only restricted amounts of sugar and lower carb grains like buckwheat quinoa brown rice and other lower sugar vegs/fruit/nuts. All sugar - fructose, dextrose, lactose and more- feed candida so be careful of anything and check labels . It's a hard process but I'm already feeling better after a week and i see light at the end of the tunnel.

Also many yeast infections start from taking antibiotics which kill the good bacteria needed for good digestion. Yeast is normal but not when its overgrown. Poor digestion leads to the frequent gas. My problem was too much honey with my oats for several months and being in love with carby cereals. I was pretty stressed that year too.
Posted 12/30/2013 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
I have IBS-C and after having a breath test a few months ago I found out I have fructose malabsorption. A dietician at Mayo put me on the Monash University low FODMAP diet and after almost three weeks on it I feel worse than I did before. I eliminated all the things I needed to from my diet and started adding things, one at a time, that were allowed on the diet. Some of these things I had been avoiding because they were supposedly IBS triggers. I can now say that indeed they are triggers! I'm at a loss as to how to eat anymore. How do you eat for IBS, fructose malabsorption and GERD and still have anything but cardboard to eat. :) I can't eat soy, brown rice, egg yolks, lactose, red meat, anything with much fiber, no caffeine, gluten, hard time with fruits and veggies unless they're cooked to death and pureed...and I'm sure there is more I've forgotten. I thought this FODMAP diet was supposed to help with both FrucMal and IBS. I may as well go back to eating the way I was before. I was in pain but not this much. And it hasn't helped with my bloating at all.
Anyone else have a problem with low FODMAP diet?
Posted 12/30/2013 1:49 PM (GMT 0)
I feel your pain, can't quite answer your questions but just wanted to friendly suggest you post your FODMAP diet questions on the U Colitis forum - lots of folks post there daily and hourly. You'll no doubt receive rapid replies on that forum. For some reason, this IBS forum is not used as frequently as other forums here.
Posted 12/30/2013 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
Here's my take on my IBS problem:

I received a confirmed diagnosis of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction earlier this year, but I have been dealing with it since - I would say - sometime in 2011. My pelvic floor dysfunction caused IBS in the form of constitipation, which lead to a couple of throwing up episodes and weight gain because I was so backed up and full of food and toxins that my body couldn't eliminate.

Well, after seeing a GI doctor, 2 colon rectal doctors and other doctors, I was sent to a physical therapist who specialized in biofeedback. The biofeedback confirmed that my pelvic muscles were extremely tight, but offered little, in terms of treatment, to correct the problem. about a week ago, I was chatting with a friend who did some research on my condition, which prompted me to do more research as well, and I found out that Stanford University has a program specficially for this condition. GW University Hospital in DC has one too. I'm headed to GW in January to follow up, but if I don't get the results I'm seeking, I'll be headed to Cali in the spring to get this thing resolved.

Turns out that the source of pelvic floor dysfunction is "stress/anxiety". Stress can come in many forms. Stress on the pelvis from having had abdominal surgery, incorrect bathroom habits, weight lifting, infection. enduring high levels of emotional stress for long periods - that's me! Dr. Wise and Dr. Anderson have developed the Wise-Anderson protocol, which is done at Stanford and it provides the sufferer with stress/anxiety management and trigger point pressure release techniques to repair the pelvic floor muscles. In my case, the muscles are extremely tight and tense and can't relax. They also wrote a book called "A Headache in the Pelvis", which I am reading now and it's clear that I have to practice ridding myself of self-limiting or negative thoughts in order to completely recover. Another source for dealing with stress and anxiety is through life coach David Roppo. He is releasing a stress-free guide that advocates eliminating stress because it really can't be managed.

So by the end of spring, I plan to be stress/anxiety free and have my pelvic floor in order. I recommend to everyone that you read the book because all of the conditions that you describe that you've been told that you have are covered in that book.
Posted 1/8/2014 12:55 AM (GMT 0)
What about chewing gum? Within and hour or so of chewing it i am in the bathroom with cramps and D for most of the day/night! Same with sugary candy of any kind. I use to love tootsie rolls and chewy candy but can't have any of it.
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