Post Testing Follow Up
Can Fructose, Lactose and Sorbitol malabsorption and SIBO be treated?
Yes. Correct diagnosis of the problem, followed by specialist guidance on diet and lifestyle changes, can often result in great improvements by reduction and sometimes elimination of symptoms.
The treatment of these malabsorption issues often requires simple, achievable changes.
Once a malabsorption issue has been identified, referral to an Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD) is advised to receive the guidance and recommendations on what to do.
Where do I go for dietary guidance following my tests?
If you have been provided a referral for these tests from your GP, specialist, dietitian, naturopath, nutritionist, etc. please organise a follow up consultation with them, to take place after your tests have been completed and you have received the results.,
If you have no practitioner, or you/your practitioner would like more information on specialist dietitian services - Stream Diagnostics works closely with Shepherd Works, which provides specialist dietitian services for IBS-type symptoms, along with other gastro intestinal issues.
Dr Sue Shepherd is the world leader in research and development in this area, and created the Low FODMAP Diet to assist patients with the malabsorption issues.
For more information on these services visit the Shepherd Works website.
Why should you have a follow up consultation with an Accredited Practicing Dietitian after your tests?
When you have completed these tests, you will be provided with a report on your results. This will be a brief comment by a specialist in this field based on the numbers created during the course of your tests and, to a lesser degree, the symptoms you may or may not have experienced during these tests. While this can provide an important diagnostic result and a greater degree of definition about these particular issues, it requires the guidance of a specialist working with you to turn these basic results into meaningful change for you.
The role of the Breath Methane and Hydrogen tests is a diagnostic one, designed to determine if fructose malabsorption, lactose intolerance, Sorbitol Malabsorption and/or small intestine bacterial overgrowth may be causing your symptoms. It does not provide you with dietary guidance or specialist assistance towards acting on these results.
Some people feel that management of their symptoms is simply a matter of accessing ‘information’ via the internet and modifying their dietary intake accordingly. This can result in patients either stopping all intake of fructose-bearing and / or dairy products completely, or mismanaging their dietary intake based on misconception, rather than educated advice and guidance.
If you have had the breath methane and hydrogen tests and received a result of no evidence of fructose malabsorption, lactose intolerance, sorbitol malabsorption and/or small intestine bacterial overgrowth, this can make a consultation with a specialist dietitian all the more important for you.
Symptoms which may be caused by fructose malabsorption, lactose intolerance, sorbitol malabsorption and/or small intestine bacterial overgrowth may be: diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, gurgling noises (borborygmi), increased and bad-smelling flatulence, headaches and lethargy.
The malabsorption issues we test for can be some of the most basic causes of these symptoms. However, they are not the only causes, as there are a variety of dietary triggers of these and other symptoms which may be responsible or may be operating alongside these malabsorption issues.
When you sit down and talk with a specialist dietitian, you will discuss the range of issues which may be at work in your gastrointestinal system, along with talking about how to understand the signals your body may be providing you about what is happening. This one-to-one discussion can be the source of increased knowledge resulting in correctly applied changes to your dietary intake and lifestyle, and can often lead to a considerably improved quality of life.
This is why it is important to pursue this avenue fully. It is also important to discuss any symptoms you may be experiencing with your GP or Gastro Specialist.