Horrible Stomach Pains

rbiss

Hi guys.

I've been at this for 4 weeks now and I loose at about 3 lbs per week, so I think I am okay on the nutrition front. The problem is, every time I switch to a more healthy diet, I get horrible horrible pain in my stomach. It happens immediately after eating and will "reset" when I go to bed unless I ate a pound of broccoli.

I've been a vegetarian since 2006 and for years ate very unprocessed foods, lot of veggies. Then I switched to anything with white refined carbohydrates which is what got me to this weight. I've had the poor carb based diet for about 3 years. I am switching back and trying to eat as much unprocessed food as I can manage (which sometimes only works out to 1 meal a day) and am having horrible stomach pain. I've been switching up what I am eating and have determined it is not worse when I eat greens, worse when I eat broccoli and other similar veggies so I cut them out for a week, not impacted by vital wheat gluten (Seitan/fake beef), does get better if i switch back to pizza, pasta, bread.

This morning I made oatmeal with almond/coconut milk, sugar, nuts, and bananas and within 5 minutes my stomach was cramping. I just don't get it. Sometimes it's bad enough where I will actually vomit or have diarrhea and seems to be unrelated to a food type. Has anyone else had this problem? It is best in the morning and gets progressively worse throughout the day.

afortunatedragon

Hi guys.

(which sometimes only works out to 1 meal a day)

What do you mean by this? You only eat once a day?
Have you ever been tested for any food intolerance? Funny thing with gluten intolerance is, if you eat it, it could make you feel better for a while. But then it gets worse.
Check it with a gastroenterologist, especially if you can't break it down to a certain food.
All the best.

SJKirk51912

Nothing in your post mentioned artificial sweeteners, but when I first started trying to eat better I got terrible stomach cramps too. Like terrible where I once when to the ER.

I later discovered that Sucralose aka Splenda was the cause. After it would happen I would look at the ingredients to the foods I had most recently eaten and they all had a common thread. I then looked up the "side effects" of Sucralose and there it was.

So it may not be your cause, but I just wanted to throw it out there in case it was.

rachelg145

Seconding Captain Kirk - I had Truvia in my coffee a few times and was doubled over in pain. No more....no artificial sweeteners - real sugar only!

kaz321123

How much water do you drink per day? I'm thinking it could be constipation. Try to do the whole 8 glasses a day for a while-see if it improves. Don't drink too much per hour tho (2 glasses max per hour).

kaz321123

She cannot handle the strain capn' (star trek) :P

rbiss

Nothing in your post mentioned artificial sweeteners, but when I first started trying to eat better I got terrible stomach cramps too. Like terrible where I once when to the ER.

I later discovered that Sucralose aka Splenda was the cause. After it would happen I would look at the ingredients to the foods I had most recently eaten and they all had a common thread. I then looked up the "side effects" of Sucralose and there it was.

So it may not be your cause, but I just wanted to throw it out there in case it was.

I don't do artificial sweeteners and the first thing I checked was a gluten intolerance. If I eat a seitan log I would get very sick, but I am pretty sure it would do this to anyone. One serving of seitan and I have no problems. I do drink a ton of water because I am at the gym all the time. I drink about 1 liter while I am there, another liter at night, and have some with me throughout the day. It's just so frustrating because I can't link it to food, I have been to a doctor in the past the last time I tried to get healthy and he made me do a food diary and came up with nothing. I've tried probiotics and no help. I really don't think it's food related unless I eat a pound of broccoli.

Can it be stomach shrinking, calorie deficit, or something along these lines? Every time I do this, I do drop weight very quickly, about 2-3 lbs a week. I am not sure if this is related. I start the day on a pain scale of 2 and by dinnertime it's about a 7. It doesn't matter what I eat.

ChaplainHeavin

and within 5 minutes my stomach was cramping. I just don't get it. Sometimes it's bad enough where I will actually vomit or have diarrhea and seems to be unrelated to a food type. Has anyone else had this problem? It is best in the morning and gets progressively worse throughout the day.

ChaplainHeavin

and within 5 minutes my stomach was cramping. I just don't get it. Sometimes it's bad enough where I will actually vomit or have diarrhea and seems to be unrelated to a food type. Has anyone else had this problem? It is best in the morning and gets progressively worse throughout the day.

14 years ago I started having severe stomach cramps and still have them. It felt like someone was grabbing my stomach and just started twisting. None of the medications worked . There were times I would be bent over walking to the car after work. Then one day I remembered a verse in the bible that said, "take a little wine for your stomach and frequent ailments." What I discovered is that red wine would actually make the pain and cramping go away. It happened to me yesterday after eating a peanut butter sandwich at work. Sometimes I can eat a certain food and not have any problems, other times I can. When I got home I had a glass of red wine and I felt better within five minutes or so.

RheneeB

Wow - I had the same exact problem and after 6 weeks of suffering I went to the doctor. Because of the location of the pain (high in my rib cage, a little to the right of my sternem) the doctor needed to rule out chest pains verses abdominal pain. She did a chest xray and an EKG. Everything was fine with my heart. I then had a sonogram on my liver, pancreas, gall bladder and ducts to see if I had a blockage, pancreas or gall stones. She also then had me take a test where I had to blow in a bad, drink this really sweet lemony liquid, wait 15 minutes and blow in the bag again. Three days later she called me and said that I failed the "blow test". Turns out that test reveals a bacteria called H Plyori. This bacteria is in 70% of the world's populations' stomach. However, for reasons unknown, it attacks some and damages the stomach lining causing Peptic Ulcers...that is where the pain is coming from. I am the 6th day in on the medication....80 pills in 10 days and I am feeling 80% better. The medication is very expensive, my insurance wouldn't pay for it and it was $421. I asked the pharmacist what would happen if I didn't take it and she said I couldn't afford to not take it. What alerted me with your symptons is your feeling better when you eat brocoli...go on line and research this bacteria. One thing that keeps it at a "healthy" level is brocoli....but once there is pain, the stomach lining has been compromised and treatment is necessary. GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!

RheneeB

Also, the heaviness and fullness of the food you eat helps keep the stomach acid down. If you don't have a full belly the acid affects your stomach more.

jwooley13

Your symptoms sound similar to peptic ulcers or a parasitic infection. You really need to see a doctor to have a workup done.

blondageh

Have you had your gall bladder checked? Mine went wonky on me when I started losing weight. Either way, sounds like another doctor visit is in order. Don't give up on healthy eating.

martinel2099

I would recommend having a chat with your primary care doctor and if he/she feels the need get a referral to a gastrologist or nutritionist.

RenaTX

Hi guys.

I've been at this for 4 weeks now and I loose at about 3 lbs per week, so I think I am okay on the nutrition front. The problem is, every time I switch to a more healthy diet, I get horrible horrible pain in my stomach. It happens immediately after eating and will "reset" when I go to bed unless I ate a pound of broccoli.

. I've been switching up what I am eating and have determined it is not worse when I eat greens, worse when I eat broccoli and other similar veggies so I cut them out for a week, not impacted by vital wheat gluten (Seitan/fake beef), does get better if i switch back to pizza, pasta, bread.

This morning I made oatmeal with almond/coconut milk, sugar, nuts, and bananas and within 5 minutes my stomach was cramping. I just don't get it. Sometimes it's bad enough where I will actually vomit or have diarrhea and seems to be unrelated to a food type. Has anyone else had this problem? It is best in the morning and gets progressively worse throughout the day.

The foods you mentioned are all high in fiber. Could it be gas from not being use to eating high fiber food? Not sure about the vomiting unless the foods are causing gas build up and that causes the vomiting. The pain is possible gas however. Have you tried taking any sort of OTC gas relief after something like this happens?

EllieB_5

I get severe and uncontrollable vomiting from starchy foods and especially wheat. I mean, I actually burst vessels in my eyeballs :sick: I cut a vast majority of that out and things began to settle. I started getting nauseous again lately and discovered it was from the excessive cocoa I used. I also can not eat more than half a banana every other day or so without my GI acting up. I can eat nuts but only small amounts or I get nauseous. Milk makes me sick but cream and cheeses do not. Apparently having irritable bowel syndrome contributes to some of this.

Basically what I'm getting at is it could be any one thing, a combo of things, or a medical condition. You need to experiment with your foods and see what is causing you to be sick. Eat a simple meal with meat and one veg and see how you feel. Stick to only a few food types in a day and see what happens. If you get sick, cut out one food for the next day and see if you get sick. Continue to do this until you know the culprit(s). When you start increasing your food varieties, add only one food in a day so you know what the culprit is. Eventually you will get it figured out.
Source: my GI specialist.

lorigrocks

That actually did happen to me...it took me approx 5 days to figure out what it was by doing lots of research and changing my foods, etc. What it was that was causing the pain for me was 'sugar/fat free hard candies'!! I thought oh I don't want to snack on anything while I am at work so I'll try these candies...I would have sucked on approx 5 a day and as the day went on the pain got worse and worse and as soon as I realized what it was and stopped eating them immediately the pain went away. So...not sure if you have anything like that in your diet...but something to think about.

MissJenniLee

May want to try an antacid like tums. I get real sick from indigestion a lot and this vegetarian diet I am on seems to be flaring it up more, so who knows. Maybe just access acid? You can press on your diaphragm area to check for tenderness which is usually a sure sign of an acid attack.

rbiss

Wow - I had the same exact problem and after 6 weeks of suffering I went to the doctor. Because of the location of the pain (high in my rib cage, a little to the right of my sternem) the doctor needed to rule out chest pains verses abdominal pain. She did a chest xray and an EKG. Everything was fine with my heart. I then had a sonogram on my liver, pancreas, gall bladder and ducts to see if I had a blockage, pancreas or gall stones. She also then had me take a test where I had to blow in a bad, drink this really sweet lemony liquid, wait 15 minutes and blow in the bag again. Three days later she called me and said that I failed the "blow test". Turns out that test reveals a bacteria called H Plyori. This bacteria is in 70% of the world's populations' stomach. However, for reasons unknown, it attacks some and damages the stomach lining causing Peptic Ulcers...that is where the pain is coming from. I am the 6th day in on the medication....80 pills in 10 days and I am feeling 80% better. The medication is very expensive, my insurance wouldn't pay for it and it was $421. I asked the pharmacist what would happen if I didn't take it and she said I couldn't afford to not take it. What alerted me with your symptons is your feeling better when you eat brocoli...go on line and research this bacteria. One thing that keeps it at a "healthy" level is brocoli....but once there is pain, the stomach lining has been compromised and treatment is necessary. GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!

Thank you. I was just there today because of this and she kind of just dismissed it, like oh this is normal. Loosing bowel control is not normal when your just eating normal food. I'll go back to a specialist because if this keeps up, I won't be able to walk soon. As we speak I am curled in bed not feeling well.

rbiss

That actually did happen to me...it took me approx 5 days to figure out what it was by doing lots of research and changing my foods, etc. What it was that was causing the pain for me was 'sugar/fat free hard candies'!! I thought oh I don't want to snack on anything while I am at work so I'll try these candies...I would have sucked on approx 5 a day and as the day went on the pain got worse and worse and as soon as I realized what it was and stopped eating them immediately the pain went away. So...not sure if you have anything like that in your diet...but something to think about.

It's worth a try.