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Has anyone dealt with Functional Dyspepsia, or know someone who has?


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I have been diagnosed with Functional Dyspepsia and despite a strict paleo/whole 30 diet, I can't seem to get rid of my symptoms, even though I have also incorporated digestive enzymes, probiotics, tried cod liver oil, as well as many other things. The ONLY thing that has taken away the burning in my upper abdomen is the antidepressant Elavil (amitripyline). I hated being on a medication, plus it made me tired so I stopped, but within a month the burning and worse GI symptoms returned. I have stayed on a strict paleo diet and am back on the antidepressant waiting for it to kick in again. I am working with a good doctor who is an MD, but is open to trying all the natural methods to help heal the GI tract, and your whole body (very knowledable about helping heal naturally). I am still working with him and we are trying different things, but to no avail. I can't seem to find anyone in the whole30/paleo community that has suffered with this. I feel like I am the only one who doesn't have that wonderful testimony to contribute to the community :(. Can anyone help?

 

By the way, I have had two endoscopys, gallbladder removal, abdominal CT scan, stomach emptying test, and tested negative for H. pylori. Given the lack of evidence of anything being wrong, I was diagnosed with Functional Dyspepsia.

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awright - never give up! I've had a number of health problems resolved permanently after getting rid of grains and dairy but I still have a few weird things going on. You are certainly not alone in hunting for solutions that doctors haven't found yet.

 

Do you keep a food diary?

 

How long have you been doing Whole30 for?

 

Have you had trouble digesting fat since your gallbladder was removed?

 

Have you tried any of the peppermint options like peppermint tea, peppermint oil, etc?

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Thank you for your reply.

 

I am definitely not giving up...I am stubborn lol, but in the good way. I care too much about my health and feeling good, to give up.

 

I have kept a food diary, but it doesn't really help that much. It is a common thing among functional dyspepsia sufferes to have too many random episodes to pin point a direct cause and effect relationship.

 

I have been doing paleo for 2 months, but since there isn't much difference between paleo and whole30, I have been doing whole 30 for a little less than a week, but once again, the only thing I had to do away with was the occasional use of stevia (which I had elminated well before now and it made no difference, as well as other foods).

 

I have tried digestive enzymes with ox bile and it didn't seem to make that much difference, and I have also tried peppermint oil extract that you put drops in water and drink and it was kinda random...most of the time it either didn't make a difference, or actually made me feel a little worse.

 

I have actually asked Sarah Ballantyne about functional dyspepsia after reading The Paleo Approach, and she said that the antidepressant probably helps me so much because "maybe something wonky with gut production of melatonin and/or serotonin? Maybe peristalsis isn't super well coordinated, which would also explain why amitriptyline would help so much. This can be a result of inflammation, inadequate tryptophan, inadequate insoluble fiber, stress, combination of all of the above."

 

I see my doctor again this coming Thursday. Just waiting to see what the next step will be.

 

Functional Dyspepsia, at least with me, is the most confusing condition to have. When I temporarily went off the antidepressant, my doc tried digestive enzymes as well as HCL supplementation and it made the burning unbareable. He thought maybe my stomach was too inflamed to handle it, and maybe so, but why would NOTHING that helps burning, either natural or not, not have that much of an effect? His stomach coating/healing methods may have helped minimally, but wasn't consistent, even with a strict diet. The only thing that helped consistently was the antidepressant (no I am not overstressed or depressed). I do have this weird symptom though that even the antidepressant only helped a bit. It is this aggravating tightness in my upper middle abdomen that feels like something inside is restricting my stomach/muscles from relaxing. When I deep breathe, I can only breathe to a certain point before feeling major restricting tightness. It's so confusing, Oh, and it's almost always very tender in that spot as well. It's even that way in the morning upon waking, with NOTHING on my stomach.

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awright, when I saw your post I couldn't help but cry. Finally I have found someone who is suffering from the same condition and who also understands the struggle! 

 

I had my first bout of functional dyspepsia about 4 years ago now (although at the time I did not know what it was). I went through two MRI's, multiple blood tests, two endoscopys and saw so many 'ologists' I've lost count. I spent two weeks in hospital before being discharged with no diagnosis and the doctors telling me there was nothing they could do. After about a year the whole thing calmed down.

 

Then just over a month ago it came back, only 100 times worse than the first time. I spent another week in hospital here I was on IV fluids (because I couldn't drink or eat without vomiting). I had another endoscopy, CT scan, more blood tests, biopsies of my stomach etc. All results were absolutely normal and I tested negative for H. pylori. I have now been diagnosed with functional dyspepsia. 

 

As soon as I eat or drink anything my stomach throws a fit. I am currently on so many pills that I don't know what half of them do but I know that none of them are working.

 

I've never heard of the Paleo diet and I only found out about the Whole30 from reading your post! Needless to say I will definitely be giving it a go!

 

So far the only thing I've done that has helped slightly is eating extremely small meals multiple times a day instead of having 3 big meals a day. But even then this does not get rid of the pain completely.

I've just started a food diary again to hopefully help me notice whether some foods and drinks help and whether some make it worse.

 

While I was in hospital though I found that Bundaberg ginger beer (slightly flat) was quite soothing. I have a problem with dehydration when I get the dyspepsia bouts so I also mixed it with a bit of water.

 

Is there anything else that you have tried that has been slightly successful?

If I find anything else myself I will definitely let you know.

 

 

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FollowTheFez...I will help you in anyway that I can. It brings me joy to help others.

 

First and most importantly, I serve the Lord and seek his presence, direction, wisdom, and strength everyday. Apart from him, I can DO NOTHING. I am not sure of your religious status, but I can't neglect to tell people how important it is to seek his help.

 

Second, DEFINITELY try Paleo or whole30. Both of them are VERY similar except the whole30 is a more strict 30 day paleo diet. I would suggest reading "It Starts with Food" by the creators of the Whole30 lifestyle/diet. I would also suggest reading "Your Personal Paleo Code" by Chris Kresser and "The Paleo Approach" by Sarah Ballantyne. I am not sure how close you are to a library, but my library had all of these books so I didn't have to buy them all; however, I will be buying them all when I have extra money because they are AWESOME. I can't say that I have had significant results (only been doing paleo for 2 months, fixing to transition to Whole30), but I can say that I KNOW without a doubt that doing away from at least gluten and grains has made my bloating disappear, my energy levels are better, and my complexion has gotten a lot better. I also found out from my current doctor that I do have a gluten sensitivity.

 

I have literally tried almost everything under the sun to rid myself of functional dyspepsia, or at least manage it to the point where the symptoms are negliable; however, the only thing that has taken away the random burning in my upper abdomen is the antidepressant Elavil (amitripyline). If you change your diet and take certain digestive supplements and still don't see a change in at least 2-3 months, you might want to try Elavil. I HATE medication and make sure to do everything I can to NOT have to take it; however, I had to submit to the Lord's will because it was the only thing that helped. We have to accept ALL things the Lord sends our way to help us, even if it's NOT how you wanted to be helped. If you try Elavil, I have to warn you it could take 1.5 months to see a difference, because that is the norm in the anitidepressant world. I do take a really low dose though (20 mg). The only thing that the antidepressant doesn't really help is this weird tightness that I have had in my upper abdomen for the past year and a month. It is there 24/7 whether I have eaten or drank anything. I am working with a wonderful doctor right now though that is not giving up and is trying to get to the ROOT cause.

 

I am not a professional, but if you want to, along with the diet/lifestyle change, you can try digestive enzymes, probiotic supplements, DGL if you have heartburn or any type of burning, homemade bone broth (literally drink it straight daily), peppermint oil (capsules or straight oil that you drop into water and drink), and iberogast (on amazon). I tried all these things and havent had significant results, but that is the downside of functional dyspepsia....IT IS COMPELTELY RANDOM and aggravating to deal with. I can't pin point any food or drink that is directly related to my symptoms. But I refuse to give up. God says we are more than conquerers and that the victory is already ours...just hang in there.

 

I will be here for you. It's always helpful to have someone to talk to who understands. God bless you and DON'T GIVE UP! :)

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  • 7 months later...

Hi,  

 

I have recently translated a book by the daughters of the French Dr. Jean Seignalet which has a similar approach to "It starts with Food".  I think you might find that by fine tuning the recommendations of "It starts with etc" using the Seignalet book, you may achieve the result you are looking for.

 

You can find it here on Amazon.  

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/prevent-reverse-diseases-Seignalets-miracle/dp/150318496X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421144262&sr=1-1&keywords=seignalet

 

At the moment it is only available in paperback form but a Kindle version is in the works and should be available within a week or two.   We will be offering the Kindle version free of charge for a limited time - so get the Kindle version if you are hard up.  

 

The Seignalet diet is based on very rigorous science.  Seignalet was a doctor but also a scientist.  He was what the French call a "Maitre de Conference" which is a sort of professor.  To become a Maitre de Conference you have to take an extremely difficult competitive exam and only one or two out of hundreds of applicants succeed.   You then have to teach medical students for a set number of hours and you are free to research in any areas of medicine or biology you want.  Seignalet did research in a number of specialist medical fields and among other things became an expert in the new medical field of Human Leukocyte Antigens.  As an expert in HLA's he set up and was the director of the histocompatability laboratory of Montepelier in the South of France.  This laboratory looked at the genetic matching of donors and recipients for organ transplants.  It also carried out blood tests for diagnosis of autoimmune and other diseases for patients from all over France.  So this guy was no quack!

 

Seignalet developed a theory about the cause of most so called "incurable" diseases.   His diet was a form of Paleo.   To test his theories,  he treated 2,500 patients (free of charge and in his leisure time) over a period of twenty years and kept meticulous records.  In the book by his daughters you will find his original tables of  around 100 diseases with results for each disease.  He treated 63 patients for Dyspepsia.  62 of the patients had a complete remission and one patient had a 50% remission. 

 

If you do not succeed completely with the Seignalet diet I have one recommendation of my own as a health nut.  Try cabbage juice!   Cabbage has amazing healing properties.  I have a book written by a French doctor in 1880 (which I will translate when I get the time).   Cabbage juice is way better than any drug for curing ulcers (there was a study in the 40's into this which you will find on pubmed).  It has amazing healing properties for the whole digestive tract.  Just be aware that cabbage (and all cruciferous vegetables) contain goitrogens which prevent the uptake of iodine by your thyroid.  There is a simple skin test to see whether you are getting sufficient iodine.  Look it up on google.   Be careful with iodine,  too much can have the same effect as too little.  So research this carefully if you go the cabbage juice route.  You will need a decent juicer.  A centrifugal juicer won't cut it for cabbage juice.  You will need a triturating juicer like a Green Power or a masticating juicer like a Champion.  

 

Cheers Chris Parkinson

French to English translator

www.frenchtoenglish.rocks

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  • 1 month later...

Hey guys,

 

I know this is a very late reply but i can't say how relieved I am to have came across this post. These last 2 years I have been having these horrible symptoms, constant bloating, upper abdominal/chest burning, tightness feeling which makes it hard to take a satisfying deep breath and an almost pressure like feeling in the upper stomach/chest area. I have been going back and forward from the doctors with every test I've done coming back normal. I have had an endoscopy, H.pylori test, blood tests, chest x ray and even had my heart tested and all have came back normal. This has been very hard to deal with as it has caused me to loose my job and caused a huge amount of anxiety. I have tried all different types of proton pump inhibitors with little help. Lansoprazole provided some relief but nowhere near enough to go back to a normal quality of life. I have tried all sorts of different diets and they all make little to no difference to my symptoms. The doctor originally said this is just something I will have to learn to live with maybe for the rest of my life which is very scary thought as I'm only 19 years old and these symptoms make day to day life very hard for me. After my most recent trip to the doctors we had a chat and she decided it was time to prescribe me some amitriptyline 10mg.

I was only prescribed this a few days ago and I am yet to take them. I was very weary of taking these tablets but after reading your comments on how they have gave you some relief is reassuring. I do not want to be on medication for long periods of time but after suffering with this for over 2 years with absolutely no relief I am most certainly willing to give this a try. 

 

I must ask effective is the amitriptyline (Elavil) for relieving your symptoms?

 

And how long were you taking the tablets before you experienced the relief?

 

Thanks for your time guys.

Hope all is well.

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Hey guys,

 

I know this is a very late reply but i can't say how relieved I am to have came across this post. These last 2 years I have been having these horrible symptoms, constant bloating, upper abdominal/chest burning, tightness feeling which makes it hard to take a satisfying deep breath and an almost pressure like feeling in the upper stomach/chest area. I have been going back and forward from the doctors with every test I've done coming back normal. I have had an endoscopy, H.pylori test, blood tests, chest x ray and even had my heart tested and all have came back normal. This has been very hard to deal with as it has caused me to loose my job and caused a huge amount of anxiety. I have tried all different types of proton pump inhibitors with little help. Lansoprazole provided some relief but nowhere near enough to go back to a normal quality of life. I have tried all sorts of different diets and they all make little to no difference to my symptoms. The doctor originally said this is just something I will have to learn to live with maybe for the rest of my life which is very scary thought as I'm only 19 years old and these symptoms make day to day life very hard for me. After my most recent trip to the doctors we had a chat and she decided it was time to prescribe me some amitriptyline 10mg.

I was only prescribed this a few days ago and I am yet to take them. I was very weary of taking these tablets but after reading your comments on how they have gave you some relief is reassuring. I do not want to be on medication for long periods of time but after suffering with this for over 2 years with absolutely no relief I am most certainly willing to give this a try. 

 

I must ask effective is the amitriptyline (Elavil) for relieving your symptoms?

 

And how long were you taking the tablets before you experienced the relief?

 

Thanks for your time guys.

Hope all is well.

Hi Tony,

 

Reading about your experience with functional dyspepsia is like a blast from the past! Funny how a 'normal' test result can make you so upset/angry/anxious. 

I was finally diagnose with the condition when I was 16. I am 21 now and happy to say that I have it under control (although it did take a while). :)

My doctor almost prescribed me amitriptyline too, however by this stage in my failing treatment (if you can call it treatment at all!) I had a major emotional breakdown and began refusing all medications as I was starting to suffer from side effects. Therefore I cannot say whether or not it will help. Sorry. 

Despite this I did eventually get my functional dyspepsia under control and so I'll share with you how I managed to do this. :)

 

  1. Start a food diary. This is an extremely tedious and annoying process but it really does help. Don't worry, you don't have to keep this diary for the rest of your life! I kept mine for only a few weeks before I started to see patterns in the pain. I've attached two PDF files that I made to make keeping my diary easier. 

    a ) Food chart template: this is simply a table where I recorded EVERY thing I ate and drank (including water) and approximately how much I ate and drank.

    b ) Health diary template: this is a two page document with two 6 hour clocks (to account for all 24 hours of the day). At each hour I would put a pain rating on the clock and add notes to how I was feeling in the space below.

    After doing this religiously for two weeks I began to see patterns in my pain (e.g. I always seemed to be in the most pain around 1pm). By comparing my pain patterns with my eating/sleeping/exercise patterns I began to get a sense of what set of bouts of my functional dyspepsia. This included...

    - exercising before 9am

    - exercising after 6pm

    - dairy products (although I still do eat/drink dairy I do so in much smaller quantities and have switched mostly to soy)

    - Indian food

    - Pineapple (although this fruit has been shown to help many people with hearthburn and digestive pains, it made my stomach CRAZY!)

    - Excess napping (I napped because I was so worn out form the pain. So instead of napping I switched to yoga/meditating. By doing this I got the R&R I needed while awake). 

    Your 'triggers' will probably be different to mine so make sure that you do start your own diary.

     

  2. Start yoga! I know it sounds new-agey but it had been scientifically proven to have positive health benefits. Yoga particularly focuses on correct, deep & calm breathing. This was great for me as the stress of all my health issues had caused me to develop Hyperventilation Syndrome. It may also help with your not being able to take a satisfying deep breath. 

    As well as the breathing from yoga, I focused on tummy/back stretches. The pain made me want to curl up in the fetal position in bed and not move for hours. These stretches were the complete opposite of what I felt like doing and were quite painful at first but after a week of yoga I found that they slowly began to relieve the pain. My doctor said that this was because my stomach muscles were no longer cramping up when the pain started. Instead, my muscles would stay loose and relaxed around the pain, therefore significantly reducing it. 

    There are plenty of good yoga videos on YouTube. Have a browse and see which ones you like. 

    I found the supine postures very helpful, check out some of them here --> http://yogaforbeginners.com/supine101.htm

     

  3. Try a smoothie for breakfast. My parents bought me a Nutribullet and companion cookbook for my birthday to see if it would help. And what do you know it did! The smoothie recipe I make every morning for breakfast now (have been doing so for the past 4 years!) is as follows:

    - 50% lettuce or spinach

    - 1/2 banana

    - 1/2 ripe pear

    - 1/4 inch slice of peeled ginger root

    - 1tsp of cinnamon

    - 1/2tsp nutmeg

    - almond milk

    There are other digestive-aid smoothie recipes online if you don't like this one. I find that if I deviate from my classic recipe above I have terrible stomach pains for the rest of the day. And of course you don't need a Nutribullet to do this. Any normal blender will work. :)

     

  4. A few months ago now I also went vegetarian. Although I did this for animal rights purposes rather than health reasons, I found it had huge knock effects for my functional dyspepsia. I no longer feel bloated or sleepy after eating and have reduced acid reflux. If you would be interested in giving a vegetarian diet a go check out this site for recipes, heath tips and information on how to switch... http://www.chooseveg.com/

     

  5. Never have an empty stomach. My method is that I eat little and often. By doing this I keep my stomach acid levels at a constant rather than have then fluctuating as is the norm. I always have a bag of nuts, dried fruit etc in my bag to snack on to make sure there is always something in my stomach to line it. 

     

These were the main things that significantly helped reduce the pain I was in. 

I do still get the pain but it is significantly reduced in severity and I can carry on with life as normal.

Although this all sounds very boring and like the end of the world after a few months being on a strict diet and lifestyle (after I had figured out the patterns from my food diary), I was able to loosen up a bit as the 'triggers' had reduced effects. For example, I can now eat chocolate again, I can nap with only minor stomach pains on waking, a single glass of milk no longer makes my stomach have a fit (although multiple glasses will). 

It does take awhile (and a lot of effort on your part) to get back to an ordinary life but it's important to remember that it is totally possible. Functional dyspepsia is something you will have to learn to live with, but this does not mean learning to put up with being in immense pain 24/7. It simply means learning what sets off the pain and adapting your life to stop it.  

Stay strong. You can get through this. :)

Katie

Food chart template.pdf

Health diary template.pdf

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 months later...

Yes, I have Functional Dyspepsia. I second the food diary idea for sure; you will have an easier time finding your triggers and avoiding/limiting them. Sometimes despite avoiding triggers, I find myself ill, but it certainly helps to avoid them as much as I can. Best wishes.

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  • 2 months later...
On 16/02/2015 at 11:15 PM, FollowTheFez said:

Hi Tony,

 

Reading about your experience with functional dyspepsia is like a blast from the past! Funny how a 'normal' test result can make you so upset/angry/anxious. 

I was finally diagnose with the condition when I was 16. I am 21 now and happy to say that I have it under control (although it did take a while). :)

My doctor almost prescribed me amitriptyline too, however by this stage in my failing treatment (if you can call it treatment at all!) I had a major emotional breakdown and began refusing all medications as I was starting to suffer from side effects. Therefore I cannot say whether or not it will help. Sorry. 

Despite this I did eventually get my functional dyspepsia under control and so I'll share with you how I managed to do this. :)

 

  1. Start a food diary. This is an extremely tedious and annoying process but it really does help. Don't worry, you don't have to keep this diary for the rest of your life! I kept mine for only a few weeks before I started to see patterns in the pain. I've attached two PDF files that I made to make keeping my diary easier. 

    a ) Food chart template: this is simply a table where I recorded EVERY thing I ate and drank (including water) and approximately how much I ate and drank.

    b ) Health diary template: this is a two page document with two 6 hour clocks (to account for all 24 hours of the day). At each hour I would put a pain rating on the clock and add notes to how I was feeling in the space below.

    After doing this religiously for two weeks I began to see patterns in my pain (e.g. I always seemed to be in the most pain around 1pm). By comparing my pain patterns with my eating/sleeping/exercise patterns I began to get a sense of what set of bouts of my functional dyspepsia. This included...

    - exercising before 9am

    - exercising after 6pm

    - dairy products (although I still do eat/drink dairy I do so in much smaller quantities and have switched mostly to soy)

    - Indian food

    - Pineapple (although this fruit has been shown to help many people with hearthburn and digestive pains, it made my stomach CRAZY!)

    - Excess napping (I napped because I was so worn out form the pain. So instead of napping I switched to yoga/meditating. By doing this I got the R&R I needed while awake). 

    Your 'triggers' will probably be different to mine so make sure that you do start your own diary.

     

  2. Start yoga! I know it sounds new-agey but it had been scientifically proven to have positive health benefits. Yoga particularly focuses on correct, deep & calm breathing. This was great for me as the stress of all my health issues had caused me to develop Hyperventilation Syndrome. It may also help with your not being able to take a satisfying deep breath. 

    As well as the breathing from yoga, I focused on tummy/back stretches. The pain made me want to curl up in the fetal position in bed and not move for hours. These stretches were the complete opposite of what I felt like doing and were quite painful at first but after a week of yoga I found that they slowly began to relieve the pain. My doctor said that this was because my stomach muscles were no longer cramping up when the pain started. Instead, my muscles would stay loose and relaxed around the pain, therefore significantly reducing it. 

    There are plenty of good yoga videos on YouTube. Have a browse and see which ones you like. 

    I found the supine postures very helpful, check out some of them here --> http://yogaforbeginners.com/supine101.htm

     

  3. Try a smoothie for breakfast. My parents bought me a Nutribullet and companion cookbook for my birthday to see if it would help. And what do you know it did! The smoothie recipe I make every morning for breakfast now (have been doing so for the past 4 years!) is as follows:

    - 50% lettuce or spinach

    - 1/2 banana

    - 1/2 ripe pear

    - 1/4 inch slice of peeled ginger root

    - 1tsp of cinnamon

    - 1/2tsp nutmeg

    - almond milk

    There are other digestive-aid smoothie recipes online if you don't like this one. I find that if I deviate from my classic recipe above I have terrible stomach pains for the rest of the day. And of course you don't need a Nutribullet to do this. Any normal blender will work. :)

     

  4. A few months ago now I also went vegetarian. Although I did this for animal rights purposes rather than health reasons, I found it had huge knock effects for my functional dyspepsia. I no longer feel bloated or sleepy after eating and have reduced acid reflux. If you would be interested in giving a vegetarian diet a go check out this site for recipes, heath tips and information on how to switch... http://www.chooseveg.com/

     

  5. Never have an empty stomach. My method is that I eat little and often. By doing this I keep my stomach acid levels at a constant rather than have then fluctuating as is the norm. I always have a bag of nuts, dried fruit etc in my bag to snack on to make sure there is always something in my stomach to line it. 

     

These were the main things that significantly helped reduce the pain I was in. 

I do still get the pain but it is significantly reduced in severity and I can carry on with life as normal.

Although this all sounds very boring and like the end of the world after a few months being on a strict diet and lifestyle (after I had figured out the patterns from my food diary), I was able to loosen up a bit as the 'triggers' had reduced effects. For example, I can now eat chocolate again, I can nap with only minor stomach pains on waking, a single glass of milk no longer makes my stomach have a fit (although multiple glasses will). 

It does take awhile (and a lot of effort on your part) to get back to an ordinary life but it's important to remember that it is totally possible. Functional dyspepsia is something you will have to learn to live with, but this does not mean learning to put up with being in immense pain 24/7. It simply means learning what sets off the pain and adapting your life to stop it.  

Stay strong. You can get through this. :)

Katie

Food chart template.pdf

Health diary template.pdf

Hi I'm based in the UK , I still haven't been diagnosed but all the usual checks have come back negative so after doing pretty much all my own research I've come to the conclusion I now have FD , I've had to leave work and currently feel just diflated with everything I've tried . I'm so glad to see someone has over come this , as I had literally given up

hope , I'm about to try all your suggestions . Thank you 

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