Hello, I am not sure what my next step is and looking for some help and advice. I have just last week been informed by yet another doctor that there is nothing wrong with me, apart from my stomach being overactive in producing stomach acid, and I just don’t understand. I grew up on a farm and until I left home at 17 had never heard of IBS or reflux and yet here I am. Even though I do have some symptoms of IBS it is not severe unless I eat peas. My main reason for buying the Clever Guts book and reading it is because of reflux. MY doctor tells me it is sign of age and there is nothing I can do apart from taking the medication. No one wants to explain to me why this is happening. I have severe reflux even when my stomach is empty and even a glass of water can cause it to flare up, bloating my stomach and making me feel really horrible. It has brought me to the edge and I don’t think I can go on like this. I am taking the highest dose of Nexium I can and still I feel sick. If I eat raw garlic or onion (in any food) I will have a reaction so bad I will eventually throw up. I exercise every day, walk about 3 to 4 km, and don’t eat junk food, but the one thing I have a hard time with is trying not too eat too much, as having my stomach fairly full, does relieve the symptoms for a little while at least. I have tried the 2/5 diet and lost quite a bit of weight, about 8kg, but found that it stopped working after time. Just not sure if the Clever Guts Diet is for me, as most of the things in the recipes will not be what I can eat. Just want to know if anyone else has problems with reflux with or without the IBS as well and what they have tried, that might work. Thanks

Hi, I know this is a v old post now but just wondering how you are now and what, if anything, worked for you? I am really struggling myself right now. I have suffered with IBS for 10+ years but what is happening to me now is so much worse. I have a near constant, gnawing hunger in my upper abdomen. I have it before, during and after eating. It saps all my energy and I have become very lethargic. I wake up bloated and my stomach gets even bigger during the day. I am at the early stages of finding out what is wrong with me and my doctor has put me on 30mg of acid-reducing medication each morning. However, the tablets don’t seem to be doing much. Does anyone else have this constant hunger feeling that is so intense it’s hard to think about anything else?

Hi, I had similar symptoms years ago, along with a flegmy cough not coming from my lungs. I went through a full stomach and bowel endoscopy to be told there was nothing wrong so I kept a really detailed food diary, giving each day a score out of 10 morning and evening on how I felt, then looked for patterns. I excluded dairy and wheat flour not sure if it was gluten or yeast ….. switching to soya / oat and taking calcium for bone health and it worked . That empty hungry feeling went as did the rising contraction feeling in my oesophagus and the cough , I kept up the diary for about 6 months but the symptoms have never came back. Now it’s a way of life..I know I can get away with one dairy or wheat thing every few days without any ill effects. Hope this proves useful and you begin to feel better .