IBS Management2024-07-15T10:48:39-07:00

Are IBS symptoms causing you ongoing embarrassment, discomfort and distress — and interfering with living your life? I can help!

How would it will feel to:

  • Feel confident about your food choices, rather than wondering (and worrying) if they’re going to cause bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea or constipation (or both)?
  • Make decisions about how to eat based on solid information about which foods trigger your digestive symptoms, and which ones don’t, rather than trying every new tip or suggestion you see on social media or the internet?
  • No longer worry about where the nearest bathroom is everywhere you go?
  • Trust yourself to be able to manage your IBS symptoms, even when traveling, dining out and socializing with friends and family at parties and backyard barbecues?
  • Find joy and pleasure in your food, without a side helping of fear?
  • Finally make peace with food and feel more physically comfortable?

4-Month IBS Symptom Management Program

My evidence-based system is based on the latest research about the low-FODMAP diet and IBS and incorporates mindfulness and a holistic view of mind-body health.

What I can help you do:

  • Correctly implement all phases of the low-FODMAP diet so you can uncover food triggers for your IBS symptoms.
  • Free yourself from searching for answers on the internet — or simply trying to “live with” your symptoms.
  • Gain a greater sense of ease about how to eat to reduce your symptoms to a level you are comfortable with.

What’s included (the nuts & bolts)?

Initial 75-minute session. In this video or phone visit, we’ll take a deep dive into your health and symptom history, as well as your eating patterns and lifestyle habits and how they are influencing the symptoms you are experiencing. You will leave with a better understanding of IBS and what foods might be contributing to your symptoms. Plus, you’ll have a solid plan for beginning Phase 1 of sleuthing out what foods are specifically triggering YOUR symptoms.

Eight 35-minute follow-up sessions. We’ll meet every two weeks to review changes in your symptoms as you work through eliminating then re-introducing high-FODMAP foods and keep you moving confidently through the three phases of the program. I’ll help you build the knowledge and skills you need to continue to make progress, and trouble shoot wherever needed.

Free e-books. You’ll get information-packed e-books to help you better understand IBS and guide you through the phases of the program. You’ll also get a collection of low-FODMAP recipes plus resources to help you meal plan. I’ll also send you a free copy of Monash University’s FODMAP app for your smartphone.

Tools and worksheets. After each session, I’ll email you specific recommendations based on what we talked about, as well as additional information to help you continue progressing on your journey to understanding your food triggers and reducing your symptoms while still nourishing yourself well.

Ongoing support. In between sessions, you can instant message me with any questions or concerns, or simply to give me a heads-up about things you want to talk about during our next session. I’ll also review your (optional) online food journal and offer feedback and support between sessions.

Your Journey Roadmap
(The Four Phases)

Phase 0: Marking Your Starting Point

Your journey begins before we even have our first session. In addition to completing a comprehensive intake questionnaire about your nutrition and health history, you’ll also do a baseline assessment of your current symptoms.

Phase 1: Clearing the Decks

As we begin our work together, you’ll learn more about what foods or parts of foods might be causing your IBS symptoms — and why. We’ll discuss your symptom history and create your personalized plan for temporarily clearing high-FODMAP foods out of your meals and snacks.

Phase 2: Reintroduction

Variety is the spice of life, and a varied diet is important for pleasure as well as for nutrition and health. We’ll reintroduce high-FODMAP foods back into your meals and snacks in a precise, structured way so we can uncover exactly which foods, and which amounts are triggering symptoms. You’ll learn which foods you can welcome back permanently with open arms, which you can still enjoy in moderation, and which you need to continue to avoid when you want to avoid a symptom flare-up.

Phase 3: Personalizing Your Plan

Once you have a baseline understanding of which foods you love also love you back (and which don’t), we’ll work on fine-tuning your list of “Yes,” “Sometimes” and “Not the best idea” foods, doing any troubleshooting and laser-focused experimentation with specific foods. We’ll also build strategies for managing symptoms with a minimum of restrictions, so you can confidently eat in virtually any situation, including restaurants and social gatherings.

Program Investment

4 monthly payments of $399/month

(Total $1596)

As a small business owner, I always appreciate being paid in full up front. If you have the resources to pay in full, as a “thank you” I will apply 10% towards a scholarship fund for clients who are financially challenged. I will also add an additional book to your self-care kit.

Program Investment

4 monthly payments of $399/month

(Total $1596)

As a small business owner, I always appreciate being paid in full up front. If you have the resources to pay in full, as a “thank you” I will apply 10% towards a scholarship fund for clients who are financially challenged. I will also add an additional book to your self-care kit.

My Approach & Philosophy

I am a weight-inclusive, non-diet dietitian who uses a Health At Every Size approach, and I bring those perspectives into my work helping people manage their IBS symptoms. As a certified Intuitive Eating counselor and a licensed Be Body Positive facilitator, I aim to help you feel confident and empowered, and to help you break free of food fears and feel better in your body. I’ll collaborate with you to develop an individualized plan for nutrition and self-care while providing a safe, non-judgmental environment for you to discuss any food and body concerns.

Ready? (Or think you might be?)

I’d love to chat with you. Click on the button below to request a free 30-minute Gut Check Session so we can talk more about where you are today with your symptoms, what you’ve tried before, and how I can help you get lasting symptom relief. We’ll talk about what’s worked (or not worked) for you in the past, and I can answer any questions about my program that aren’t covered in the FAQ below!

Frequently Asked Questions

You can ask me questions about the program and how I work during our Gut Check Session (or email me via the “Contact Me” link below the FAQ), but you might find the answer to your question below!

Q: What is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?2023-07-30T18:08:09-07:00

A: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional bowel disorder, which means that the problem is in how your bowels (intestines) function, but their structure remains normal. IBS causes abdominal pain with diarrhea, constipation, or both, and affects around 1 in 10 people in the U.S.

Q: What are FODMAPs?2023-07-30T18:14:23-07:00

A: FODMAPs are fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. In other words specific types of carbohydrates (both sugars and fibers) found in many foods, including many healthy foods. In many people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) consuming FODMAPs contributes to digestive symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea or constipation (sometimes both, alternately). Some people with IBS find that certain FODMAPs trigger their symptoms, but others don’t. Also, some people find that they can tolerate some FODMAPs in small doses, others in large doses, and some not at all. This is why a carefully structured elimination and reintroduction diet, followed by tailored personalization, is important.

Q: What do “Health At Every Size,” “weight inclusive” and “non-diet” mean ?2022-05-28T12:59:41-07:00

A: Health At Every Size (HAES(R)) is a registered trademark of the Associations for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH). It’s the philosophy that anyone at any body weight/size can adopt behaviors and form habits that support or improve health and well-being — and that health is not determined by weight. The emphasis is on habits and behaviors that are sustainable, joyful and appropriate to each person’s circumstance. HAES also makes clear that pursuing health is not a moral imperative, and that many factors that influence health are not under our personal control. A weight-inclusive approach accepts and respects the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and rejects the idealizing or pathologizing of specific weights — this is very different from the weight-centric approach, which emphasizes weight and weight loss when defining health and well-being. Non-diet means not manipulating food with the express intent of losing weight — obviously we all eat some type of diet!

Q: Will you give me a low-FODMAP meal plan?2021-01-24T11:34:56-08:00

A: The short answer is no, because meal plans prepared by someone else (even me!) are not a real solution. The longer answer is that I will help you develop a meal plan based on meals you already enjoy, tweaking them if necessary to remove high-FODMAP ingredients. I will also provide you with low-FODMAP recipes to give you some new options. If you don’t already meal plan, I’m happy to help you learn how, because it is a good skill to have, especially if you’re busy, trying to minimize trips to the grocery store, or trying to minimize food waste.

Q: I tried the low-FODMAP diet on my own, and I’m not sure it helped. What would be different if I tried it with you?2022-06-15T16:50:40-07:00

A: While the low-FODMAP doesn’t help everyone with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it helps the majority of people (estimates are around 75% of people). While the low-FODMAP diet isn’t super complicated, there are many places where people can get tripped up, accidentally allowing too many high-FODMAP foods during the elimination phase of the diet. Also, if the reintroduction phase isn’t followed carefully, it’s hard to figure out exactly which FODMAPs, in what amounts, are triggering symptoms. One thing I see a lot is doctors recommending the low-FODMAP diet to their patients with IBS, then basically handing them a printout of “foods to avoid.” That doesn’t really help, and can leave you more frustrated and confused than before. So yes, working with me or another dietitian who understands the low-FODMAP diet, and has experience helping people implement it, can be helpful. You will definitely know if the diet works, or not…there will be no lingering confusion.

Q: Do you accept insurance?2023-07-31T14:50:56-07:00

A: No, for a variety of reasons that I won’t bore you with! However, I am a licensed dietitian in Oregon, and a certified dietitian in Washington state, and while I’m out-of-network with insurance, if you live in one of those states I can provide you with a “superbill” (aka an itemized receipt), so you can seek partial reimbursement from your insurance company, Healthcare Savings Account (HSA), or company wellness program. Contact your insurance company to learn more about this process.

It is important to know that superbills can NOT be generated for any Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage or Medicare + Supplement plans due to Medicare CMS regulations. For all other insurance plans there is no guarantee that they will pay any portion of the superbill, and also no guarantee any payments will “count” towards annual plan or out-of-network deductibles. Superbills may or may not qualify for submission to individual HSAs.

 

Q: Can I pay for just one IBS session with you?2023-07-31T15:14:22-07:00

A: When you’re trying to manage a health condition like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by making dietary changes, it takes time to figure out what’s working and what’s not working. That’s why I ask my IBS clients to commit to working with me for four months, so I can fully guide you through the different phases of the low-FODMAP diet and ultimately help you develop a personalized plan that allows for as much food variety as possible, which will help you get the nutrients you need and be confident when dining out or socializing at food-related events, all while significantly reducing or even eliminating your digestive symptoms.

Q: How do I know if your IBS coaching program is right for me?2021-01-24T11:47:07-08:00

Excellent question! My coaching program is likely right for you if your doctor has told you that you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and you haven’t tried the low-FODMAP diet, or you tried it on your own and you aren’t sure if it helped. If you currently have an eating disorder, this program is NOT right for you, because an elimination diet may be triggering, and eating disorders can cause digestive distress all by themselves. However, if you have been diagnosed with IBS, and you have struggled with an eating disorder or disordered eating in the past, and you want to try the low-FODMAP diet with guidance from someone who understands where you’re coming from, then you’re probably in the right place! That said, the reason I offer a free Gut Check Session is so we can “meet” each other and decide if we’re a good fit for each other.

Q: What happens during the free Gut Check Session?2021-01-24T11:40:13-08:00

We’ll get to know each other a little, including what symptoms you’re experiencing, what you’ve already tried, and what has or hasn’t worked. It’s a chance to see if we’re a good fit, and while I will offer some general suggestions, I won’t offer any specific nutrition advice during this brief time together.

Q: What are your credentials?2023-07-31T15:02:40-07:00

I am a nationally registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) who is certified (CD) in Washington State and licensed (LD) in Oregon. I have my masters of public health (MPH) degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. I’m also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a licensed Be Body Positive facilitator.

I also have completed training on dietary management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with the low-FODMAP diet through Monash University in Australia, the leading research center on the low-FODMAP diet. I’ve also sought out additional professional training on trauma-informed care, neurodivergence, anti-racism, and social justice.

Q: Are you LGBTQ-friendly?2023-07-31T15:00:39-07:00

Yes!

Have another question? Contact me.

© Carrie Dennett | Nutrition By Carrie, LLC | Site produced by JPD Creative Studio
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