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Nov. 20th, 2017 10:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI spent some time yesterday making a list of all of the things that I know I can't eat and of all of the things that various different doctors have said I should cut from my diet. I think that I can't afford the low FODMAP along with the other restrictions, and that doesn't look at what I am physically able to prepare. I ended up with a list of 130 foods and classes of food that I can't or shouldn't eat. The only thing listed as a no for pure dislike was frozen broccoli (I'm not supposed to have broccoli anyway) because it tastes really, really nasty unless something else covers the flavor.
The safe list is basically baked or steamed skinless chicken breast, baked or steamed low fat fish, baked or steamed turkey white meat, certain nuts, rice, and oatmeal. I can't put anything on any of these but salt. Well, if I'm going to eat it before about 2 p.m., I can have rosemary or dill or thyme (but thyme tastes like dirt to me, so I'd rather not) and some amount of fat.
Rice is, of course, either a blood sugar problem or, if I go with brown rice, a risk for arsenic poisoning.
Tuna might be okay or might not. I'd have to experiment with it in the late afternoon/evening to see if it gives me the sorts of problems that salmon does that late in the day. In terms of vegetables, zucchini, eggplant, spinach, and bok choy are only knocked out by my personal experience of them not being good when I'm already having problems; they're not specifically banned by any doctor recommended diet. Sadly, none of these are things that freeze well or that Cordelia is willing to eat. Well, I suppose spinach freezes passably. It's just... visually unappealing.
Sweet potatoes (steamed or baked), potatoes (steamed or baked), acorn squash and similar squashes, and carrots are all things that don't make me feel sick but that I've been told to limit for blood sugar reasons. The squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots are all borderline in terms of making things worse when the IBS is already flared.
There are a few things that I pulled from the safe to eat because of wanting to be able to take an MAOI, but 90% of them would be gone because of the low FODMAP or the diet for bringing down my blood sugar anyway (dairy mostly). The things it does eliminate are all things with vinegar or soy sauce or any sort of fermentation/pickling. Losing sourdough would hurt, but I have alcohol maybe twice a year. I wouldn't miss it that much. I'd also hate to lose the option to eat even nitrite/nitrate free lunchmeat, smoked meat/fish, and all sausages.
The MAOI restrictions hurt more because of the ban on eating leftovers than because of any ban on specific foods. It means not buying anything that isn't frozen unless I'm going to cook it and eat it that day. My psychiatrist says that an MAOI delivered by skin patch doesn't come with dietary restrictions, but it costs thousands of dollars a month, so I'm pretty sure neither of my insurance plans for medications will cover it. Not when the pills are cheap generics.
My personal experience with fruit is that the stuff that is banned under the low FODMAP diet is much, much less of a problem than all of the fruits that the diet lists as safe. Berries tend to be terrible for me while apples and stone fruit are only risky if I'm already having problems. Fruit juice doesn't make the IBS worse. Some fruit juices give me reflux, though, and they're all terrible for blood sugar. So that kind of puts all fruit off the table.
I'm trying to figure out how to turn the list I have into something actually useful for Scott in terms of helping him remember what I can and can't eat and when.
The safe list is basically baked or steamed skinless chicken breast, baked or steamed low fat fish, baked or steamed turkey white meat, certain nuts, rice, and oatmeal. I can't put anything on any of these but salt. Well, if I'm going to eat it before about 2 p.m., I can have rosemary or dill or thyme (but thyme tastes like dirt to me, so I'd rather not) and some amount of fat.
Rice is, of course, either a blood sugar problem or, if I go with brown rice, a risk for arsenic poisoning.
Tuna might be okay or might not. I'd have to experiment with it in the late afternoon/evening to see if it gives me the sorts of problems that salmon does that late in the day. In terms of vegetables, zucchini, eggplant, spinach, and bok choy are only knocked out by my personal experience of them not being good when I'm already having problems; they're not specifically banned by any doctor recommended diet. Sadly, none of these are things that freeze well or that Cordelia is willing to eat. Well, I suppose spinach freezes passably. It's just... visually unappealing.
Sweet potatoes (steamed or baked), potatoes (steamed or baked), acorn squash and similar squashes, and carrots are all things that don't make me feel sick but that I've been told to limit for blood sugar reasons. The squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots are all borderline in terms of making things worse when the IBS is already flared.
There are a few things that I pulled from the safe to eat because of wanting to be able to take an MAOI, but 90% of them would be gone because of the low FODMAP or the diet for bringing down my blood sugar anyway (dairy mostly). The things it does eliminate are all things with vinegar or soy sauce or any sort of fermentation/pickling. Losing sourdough would hurt, but I have alcohol maybe twice a year. I wouldn't miss it that much. I'd also hate to lose the option to eat even nitrite/nitrate free lunchmeat, smoked meat/fish, and all sausages.
The MAOI restrictions hurt more because of the ban on eating leftovers than because of any ban on specific foods. It means not buying anything that isn't frozen unless I'm going to cook it and eat it that day. My psychiatrist says that an MAOI delivered by skin patch doesn't come with dietary restrictions, but it costs thousands of dollars a month, so I'm pretty sure neither of my insurance plans for medications will cover it. Not when the pills are cheap generics.
My personal experience with fruit is that the stuff that is banned under the low FODMAP diet is much, much less of a problem than all of the fruits that the diet lists as safe. Berries tend to be terrible for me while apples and stone fruit are only risky if I'm already having problems. Fruit juice doesn't make the IBS worse. Some fruit juices give me reflux, though, and they're all terrible for blood sugar. So that kind of puts all fruit off the table.
I'm trying to figure out how to turn the list I have into something actually useful for Scott in terms of helping him remember what I can and can't eat and when.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-21 12:43 pm (UTC)