I have an intolerance and gp not interested

[Letsbekindplease]

Just that really

for years there’s something I’ve been intolerant too and I can’t work it out. I cut bread out for 2 weeks didn’t notice a difference to how I was feeling and milk the same.

I am constantly bloated. It’s been worse the last few months. Bowels aren’t normal. Loose at times but never just a normal movement. my tummy makes gurgling noises. I just feel so deflated and flat. My stomach has honestly doubled in size. Maybe more fat but just seems so flabby! (2 kids) my hair was falling out for months. Was prescribed iron tablets but nothing is working.
the dr doesn’t seem to care. I don’t know what to do. It’s quite clear something is bothering my stomach and I want to have a test to find out but they won’t do it. I know I can pay private but not sure how reliable these things are.
many advice. ?

Do a proper food diary and exclusion diet.

hope youre okay.
make a complaint, written, tell them you felt dismissed and these symptoms are affecting your life and you want nhs care.
more people should complain about their gp if theyre not listening. domt give up.. maybe see a different gp, but i would defo make a complaint

I second making a complaint. Any change in bowel habits should be investigated. I've had similar symptoms recently, gurgling tummy, bloating etc and my GP did faecal and blood tests. I'm now being referred for a colonoscopy and ultrasound. Intolerances are only one of many things can cause these symptoms.

I have very similar symptoms op, for me it's a combination of things. Agree a good diary is a good idea, but you have to be very strict at noting everything. I hadn't realised for example eggs didn't seem to upset me but scrambled eggs do. I also struggle with low iron and iron tablets don't help, I also have low but d and b. I take spatone, vit supplements and avoid triggers.
Making a formal complaint seems a little 0-60.

Two weeks is not enough, you need to have at least 3 weeks for the allergens to clear your system.

You can do a proper exclusion diet and introduce things one by one. Basically do a month of as few food types as you can (say rice, lamb, apples) and then gradually introduce things, one a week until you find the culprit.

The tests have a high number of false positives, so I wouldn't encourage that. Better to look at what bothers you yourself. If it's gluten, cutting out bread alone will not do it. You'd need to cut out all gluten.

Complain all you like but the NHS doesn’t do intolerance testing!!

Intolerance testing doesn't exist. Go in with your symptoms, not a diagnosis that is probably wrong.

Not just food that cause these symptoms so does stress and anxiety. Def need to cut foods out longer than 2 weeks.

When I had the same issue my GP gave me instructions on how to check. It’s a while back now but from memory I had to starve myself for perhaps 24 hours, then very carefully introduce different foods back into my diet. It became apparent very quickly that I was lactose intolerant.

Were you tested for coeliac before you cut gluten?

As others have said, you can't test for intolerances.

It may be that you have stripped your gut of any beneficial bacteria. It takes a long time to come back from that.

You say "bread " and " milk" but if you're worried about a dairy or wheat intolerance you'd have to remove all sources to know if they're a trigger.

So for dairy, you'd go several weeks without anything that has dairy (yoghurt, chocolate, cheese etc)

I went to an allergy specialist years ago. He had me keep a food diary. Have columns with date, time, food you ate, time, symptoms.

So you record what time you ate a particular food and when you experience symptoms you write what time you experience those symptoms and you write a description of those symptoms.

It might help you identify what is causing your symptoms and then you can try to eliminate it from your diet.

However, IME I absolutely did not see exactly what the allergy specialist saw. For example I didn’t recognise from my diary that I was intolerant to high glycemic foods.

Good luck@Letsbekindplease . I hope you figure it out or find a specialist who can help you. Allergy specialist helped me but I have known some people who have been helped by nutritionists or dietitian and some people who have been helped by naturopaths. (I have never been to see a naturopath or dietician or nutritionist so have no personal experience).

You could start with lactose, most people world wide are lactose intolerant and it does appear in strange foods.

I generally can eat cheese and yoghurt but milk sets me off and a couple of months ago I had sausages of all things.

With lactose you can also go the other way and buy lactase from a chemist.

I had similar issues for years and was repeatedly fobbed off by GPs, I even went to A&E once because I was in such horrific pain. They told me it was all in my head. I then moved to another country and when I had a flare up my partner convinced me to go see a doctor. I was reluctant because I'd been so many times when living in the UK and been fobbed off but they actually took it seriously. Things they did - tested me for celiac (not sure how to spell), lactose intolerance and did a colonoscopy to check nothing more sinister. Those were all clear so I got referred to a dietician or nutritionist who helped me work through the FODMAP diet. All my symptoms disappeared. I annoyingly never pin pointed exactly which FODMAP I can't tolerate but I learnt that these foods generally are triggers so while I haven't cut anything out i am very mindful of eating them. I also now take regular probiotics and that helps. Personally I would give up on your GP other than asking for the above tests. Give FODMAP a go, you can do it yourself with guidance online. I hope this is helpful.

Have ANAs tested. Could be autoimmune like connective tissue disease and resolved with meds. Good luck and feel better!

Change to a doctor who specialises in women's health.
You should be checked for your change in bowels, your bloating etc and not only for intolerances.
All serious causes should be investigated and ruled out.

If you do the FODMAP exclusion diet you exclude all wheat, gluten, dairy and a variety of other things for six weeks, which really gives your body time to settle. Then you gradually reintroduce things and see which things make you ill. There’s loads of information online about how to do the FODMAP diet. To be honest, the GP can’t really help that much because you need to know which foods you’re allergic to - and why should the NHS pay for tests when you can find out just as effectively (if not more so) by doing a proper exclusion diet?

YABU. A 2 week exclusion of bread and milk is not going to show anything. You need FODMAP for the proper timeframe. Maybe it would have been useful if you had done this and then discussed with GP to pinpoint whether it is indeed dietary related (in which case you need to act accordingly, nothing the GP can do), or whether non-dietary causes should be explored.

What's your age bracket OP? Uterine issues in women approaching and within menopausal age can cause symptoms similar to IBS. So it might not be a food intolerance issue. Explore many avenues.

Hi. Thanks for all of your lovely replies.
mum 36 years old so hoping not pre-meni just yet, although I know it’s a possible age.

it’s so hard isn’t it. I absolutely LOVE bread.I would eat up to 6 slices a day at some points growing up.

I started a food diary yesterday. I had pasta for dinner because im not kitted out for wheat free just yet. Will get to the shops today.

I will update I. A few weeks x

Yes as PPs have said, if it’s gluten you’re worried about, cutting out bread alone will do nothing. You need to cut out all gluten.

Definitely make a diary and definitely raise a complaint. There is a blood test for gluten intolerance but this should be guided by the GP as they need to instruct you on how much or little gluten to have before the blood test, and for how long. My mum just had this done.

There is a blood test for gluten intolerance but this should be guided by the GP as they need to instruct you on how much or little gluten to have before the blood test, and for how long.

There no blood test for gluten intolerance, only for coeliac disease, and you need to have been eating gluten daily for 6 weeks is the usual advice.

Sorry that is exactly what I meant :)

My gastroenterologist (I have coeliac disease so I see him once a year) said recently that my loose stools and anaemia were a sign that something could be up. He wants to do a colonoscopy and - the name escapes me now - but a camera into the stomach. Edit: just remembered it’s called an endoscopy!

He said it could be dietary reasons but would like to rule out something more sinister eg colitis, chrons, cancer etc.

I’m very surprised therefore that your GP hasn’t put your anaemia and bowel issues together and referred for further testing.