# How long for a trigger food to stop causing symptoms?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 11, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294 "2010-11-11T11:38:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294/1 "2010-11-11T11:38:23Z")

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Slightly TM. I’m trying to figure out the cause of on-again-off-again diarrhea that I’ve been experiencing for several months. My doctor thinks that, in the absence of other symptoms, it’s probably due to a food sensitivity.

I have not been terribly diligent in trying to track down the culprit by process of elimination (HA HA HA), but I have identified a suspect. My question is, if I consume said suspected food, what is a typical length of time that an episode of sensitivity-caused diarrhea should last? How long does it take for the troublemaker to get out of my system? Or does the troublemaker get my colon all riled up, causing it to misbehave long after the trigger food has made its exit?

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**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294/2 "2010-11-11T15:09:20Z")

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A single bout probably shouldn’t last more than a day.

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**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294/3 "2010-11-11T21:24:17Z")

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For me, it depends on the food. Black pepper sometimes gives me attacks for a week, while coffee attacks last less than a day. Other stuff varies, and sometimes I can be OK with eating a small amount of a trigger one day, but the next month it’ll attack promptly, and I’ll have the afteraffects for several days.

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**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294/4 "2010-11-11T22:16:27Z")

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When I was put on a bland diet to identify similar things, I was put on it for two weeks and introduced things in two week intervals.

Don’t know if that was right or not but that’s what the doc had me do. (I figure its conservative.)

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**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-for-a-trigger-food-to-stop-causing-symptoms/560294/5 "2010-11-12T21:30:37Z")

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Thanks, all, for the anecdotal reports. I’d sure love some of our medical Dopers to chime in, too!