Why I quit the low FODMAP diet

So after having some tests done and then coming back as 'normal.' The GP suggested I try a low FODMAP diet. She printed me off some information for the Internet and sent me home to investigate further. 

For those of you who don't know...

I read so much contradictory information on the internet I ended more confused then I had started. Though I started on a Monday morning going for the more restrictive option just to be safe. I pack up a low FODMAP salad & had berries & carrot sticks for snacks-as I'm a girl who likes to snack. I had high hopes from reading the reviews that this might be what would finally make me feel better. 

What followed was 7 days of bad mood, bad skin and a lack of concentration and energy. I have never felt so low of energy in my life and that even following any long runs. I felt tired, super tired and all I wanted to do was lie in bed and not talk to anyone. I searched the Internet for evidence of anyone of similar and it was suggested that it might be down to a lack of food/sugar. 

What you see above are low FODMAP almond cookies. I baked these to sort my problems but then read I could only have 2 a day because of the use of almonds. They were tasty and I certainly didn't feel I was depriving myself of everything but they didn't solve the problem. 

What made the diet harder was that my stomach problems didn't improve. I was still getting dizzy and feeling naseous. I was still having painful stomach cramps after eating and I still felt like crap. After 7 days I stopped the diet because I was in pain and my mood swings were making me feel like I wasn't a very nice human being any more. 

I haven't written this post because I'm anti-low FODMAP. Quite the opposite I think a diet that means many people can now live pain free is an amazing thing. I however couldn't maintain my normal lifestyle while following it and really any diet that effects your day to day life isn't worth doing. I'm also writing this as when I googled I only found positive comments about how amazing it was. I wanted to put a balanced view and say that if the restrictiveness doesn't work for you then try something else. I can't say what else to try but life is to short to stay on a diet that makes you unhappy.