Sounds like a specialist is may order. But if not, the only thing I could suggest is to do a cleanse. My wife did one and you literally cut out just about everything you can and still survive. Dairy, meat, gluten, sugar, etc. Then once it's all out of your system you add things back slowly one at a time. If you're trucking along problem free and then add dairy for instance and the problem returns, there's a good chance dairy is the issue. I can't promise that it would work but it might be worth a shot.

Good luck.

---

The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die. -Steve Prefontaine

I cut gluten out of my diet and it helped. Stick with it for a little longer.
Get a good strong probiotic and take it TWICE a day for a few weeks before going down to 1 per day.
Try reducing calories on the bike. Try 70-80 grams of carbs per hour on long rides and see what happens.

Research in to a low FODMAP diet.

You may end up eating gluten free just because they have lower fodmap than foods containing gluten. Also you might end up lactose free.

Try it. Just did a phd study on how fodmap affects gi issues in runners. Night and day difference.

High fodmap week - gassy, bloated, many gi issues on runs.

Low fodmap week - no symptoms at all. Felt a million times better

Do you have any recommendations for doing a cleanse? For the past week I've been trying to accomplish what I think you're describing - I'm eating only rice, ham, and tortilla chips, and multivitamin as those seem to give me a reasonably balanced diet that shouldn't be hard to digest. I was hoping to be able to start readding things as you suggest but so far I haven't really seen much change. :(

Do you have any probiotic recommendations? I read an article about how they can help but I wasn't able to decide on a supplement (there was a bunch of different types and the article seemed to thing many aren't effective) so I hoped that eating yogurt would accomplish the same thing.

I've tried a low FODMAP diet after reading your post on my other thread (thank you for that response by the way) though there isn't a ton of information (and it often conflicts) out there about it so I'm not sure how well I did but I didn't notice much of a change. How long would it take to notice the effects? A week?

I had really bad GI issues for nearly a year resulting from a parasite infection, and I believe probiotics were what helped me turn the corner from regular bouts of problems every week or so to returning to relatively normal. I tried several different kinds, and my regimen now is drinking Kefir daily. The "culture count" and number of different strands of cultures is a lot higher than what is available in pill form or regular yogurts, and it seems to be cheaper overall also. As far as brands, I would recommend picking whatever tastes the best to you. I stay away from the sugary ones and am drinking Wallaby Plain variety right now, though have used Lifeway Plain also. Lifeway Kefir is available at regular grocery stores in my area, places like Whole Foods have more varieties to choose from.

I would not recommend going to a specialist until after you have tried probiotics for six weeks or so. Based on my experience, GI specialists like to order expensive and invasive tests to rule out relatively rare chronic disorders before considering anything else -- even for triathletes who are regularly exposed to nasty GI bugs in open water for whom an infection is much more likely the cause of the issues.

---

Alex Modestou | Elite Off-Road Triathlete
On the web: Off-Road Adventures | Tweets
Supported by: Roots Hummus | Rotor Bike Components | Effetto Mariposa Sealants and Tire Accessories | ROKA Sports

Thanks! I'll give this a try! In fact I already went to the store and picked some up. Is one serving a day enough?

I do one serving a day usually. Sometimes I'll have two if I make a smoothie and use Kefir instead of yogurt.

---

Alex Modestou | Elite Off-Road Triathlete
On the web: Off-Road Adventures | Tweets
Supported by: Roots Hummus | Rotor Bike Components | Effetto Mariposa Sealants and Tire Accessories | ROKA Sports

Thanks! I'm trying it out and I'll let you know how it goes. I'll give it a few weeks before scheduling anything with my doctor.
The other thing I'm trying, along with the cleanse, is giving my intestines a break from the jostling of running by going on the elliptical. It seems like the problems come in bouts and so I'm thinking that maybe stuff just gets inflamed or something and I need to give it time to calm back down before trying to run again. I've only done the elliptical once but had no signs of problems on it.
I'm still open to any other suggestions as well.
Thanks to everyone who's responded so far!!

My wife did the Arbonne cleanse. You have to buy their shakes and other stuff and I'm not 100% sure what all the details are but you basically eat fruits and vegetables. Alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, fried meals, and sugary treats are no-no's. I can't vouch for it personally but she was happy with her results and is looking to do it again soon.

---

The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die. -Steve Prefontaine