Further Help And Support

Seeing a dietitian for IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

A GP may refer you to an NHS dietitian if general changes to your diet and lifestyle have not helped your IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) symptoms.

They can suggest other changes to your diet that may help your symptoms.

Low FODMAP diet

A dietitian may recommend a diet called a low FODMAP diet.

This involves avoiding foods that are not easily broken down by the gut, such as some types of:

fruit and vegetables
milk
wheat products

Watch a video on the low FODMAP diet on the Patient Webinars website.

Private dietitians

If you want to see a dietitian privately, make sure they're registered with the British Dietetic Association (BDA).

Find a BDA-registered dietitian

IBS medicines from a GP

If pharmacy medicines are not helping with your symptoms of IBS, a GP may prescribe a stronger medicine, such as:

These are antidepressants, but they can also help ease IBS symptoms.

They may take a few weeks to start working and can cause side effects.

A GP may refer you to a specialist if you have severe symptoms and other medicines have not helped.

Psychological therapies for IBS

If you have had IBS for a long time and other treatments are not helping, a GP may refer you for a talking therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

This can help if stress or anxiety is triggering your symptoms. It can also help you cope with your condition better.

You can also refer yourself directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a referral from a GP.

These offer therapies like CBT for common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression.

Find out more about NHS talking therapies

Sexual Health Advice

Throughout this series we have help and advice on staying healthy, dealing with Sexually Transmitted Infections, the risks of each type of the most popular gay sex and what to do if the sex you have is not consentual. The topics covered in this series include:

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