The FODMAP plan (I can never remember what the letters mean) is hard work, and you need to be really good for at least three months.  You'll have to exclude whole groups of food (no gluten, no lactose, no fructose, little soya, and much much more excluded). So, most dairy is excluded, except for hard cheeses. No fruit or honey. No milk in tea or coffee, but you can get Lactofree which is ok.  No butter, but olive spread is ok. No wheat products, but there are some nice (well, acceptable) gluten free substitutes. You'll probably find you're scouring the free-from section of every shop you go in, and reading the ingredients list of every prepared food! 

Fortunately, it isn't permanent and after 3-4 months (once your symptoms have settled down) you can cautiously re-introduce foods until you find one which triggers your symptoms.  Then you know  what you have to miss out.  It turns out I can't eat beans nor mushrooms.  I can only take dairy in small quantities, so I've switched from milky lattés to americano or filter coffee with a small quantity of milk, or sometimes a soya latté when I want a treat. 

I hope your doctor is able to refer you, but if not it might be worth seeing a dietician privately.  It's not like you'll need to see them very often. I think I saw my dietician just four times over 6 months, with maybe a couple of emails in between.  She gave me LOTS of booklets and leaflets on the FODMAP plan which made it a little bit easier. 

Good luck. Please let us know how you get on. 

Hi Molly33.

At least your doctor didn't condemn the idea. It's a pity there's a long wait on the NHS but by going private you're taking control. It seems to me that there are definitely some candidate trigger foods in your diet. Let's hope this is the beginning of taking your life back.  

If you need any encouragement then I'll be here for you.  I've been through the FODMAP process and I know what it's like.  The first couple of weeks are a nightmare, but it gets better once you settle into a routine.  

This isn't strictly a cancer topic, but I suspect that your experiences will prove useful to others.  I don't think the moderators will ask us to take the discussion elsewhere.  Nevertheless, if you prefer to talk privately then feel free to send me a friend request now or any time in the future.