Extreme Abdominal Pain with Protein Intake?

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caitmommy
caitmommy Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all,

I need some advice. I've recently upped my protein intake from 70g per day to 110g per day, and severe, debilitating abdominal pain has ensued.

I've tried switching off protein powder, thinking maybe its my intolerance to milk/eggs that's causing it and the protein powder may have some in it. However this evening I ate a quest bar and within an hour the pain was back with a vengeance. It was so bad my husband got scared and called an ambulance. Fortunately the pain subsided and my vitals/ecg were clear so no hospital.

My question is, I am on a rigorous strength training program. How can I build muscle if I can't eat enough protein? Anyone found any solutions to keep protein intake up without the severe pain?

Replies

  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    Most likely you were using a whey protein powder, and quest bars also contain whey (a milk product). If you have an intolerance that could certainly be the cause of your problems. They make protein powders and products from a variety of other sources, such as soy! I've heard Vega brand is good, but haven't tried it.

    If you eat meat, you could simply add more portions of lean meats into your diet to up your protein. I'm a vegetarian and get most of my protein from dairy sources (eggs, greek yogurt, string cheese, etc.) so if you can't have any of those you could definitely look into the vegan protein options.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
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    I agree with others: you haven't conclusively determined it's a protein problem and not a protein supplement problem. There are many ingredients in protein powders or bars that could be disagreeing with you, including the whey itself (though I am lactose intolerant and Quest bars are fine for me), or sugar alcohols, or in the case of the Quest bars, the fiber syrup they use, just to list a few. Try eating high protein from whole foods and see if that causes problems.
  • desert_mom
    desert_mom Posts: 91 Member
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    It could also be the sweetener. I'm not sure what kind is in your products, but splenda and sugar alcohols really do a number on my stomach.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,288 Member
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    Lots of different ingredients that could cause that reaction. A protein I use is MuscleEgg which is just egg whites that taste amazing. I even use it to make protein pancakes. If you can eat eggs with no problem, you might not have a problem with this product.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I don't get pain, but I bloat and get very unpleasantly gassy if i have protein powder made with whey concentrate, my husband has banned it from the house lol
    I'm fine with quest bars though.
  • druasmith
    druasmith Posts: 20 Member
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    Quest bars are all dairy-based protein. If you have an intolerance for dairy that's your culprit. Can you handle soy or gluten? You might check the faux meats in the vegetarian part of the freezer section. The veggie burgers and the "chick'n" strips and etc.
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I have experienced exactly those symptoms and can attest that it is excruciating!!!!

    I have a dairy protein allergy (allergic both to casein and whey), and I would bet money that you are allergic to dairy. (Note that with dairy allergies, sometimes the body responds almost immediately and sometimes there will be a delay of 12-24 hours.) The first ingredient in Quest bars is dairy: Protein Blend (Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate). Most protein bars and powders are dairy based, so read the labels. (If it happens again, I'd recommend a dose of Benedryl.)

    I'd also recommend that you find out for sure by getting a skin test done at an allergist. If it is lactose intolerance instead, there are so many products out there that can cut the effect of the lactose sugar so you can continue to eat dairy and get all that protein and calcium dairy is famous for, without the side effects.

    In the meantime, I'd suggest lean meats (especially chicken), eggs, broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus, edamame, lentils, peas, and vegan protein powder.
  • SugarySweetheart
    SugarySweetheart Posts: 154 Member
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    Whenever you take in loads of protein you also need to take in loads of water. It could be you're dehydrated and need to flush that protein out of your system.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I don't get pain, but I bloat and get very unpleasantly gassy if i have protein powder made with whey concentrate, my husband has banned it from the house lol
    I'm fine with quest bars though.
    LOL

    I personally get pain (I feel like I just swallowed a sharp metal bottle cap type pain) from ingesting whey concentrate.

  • caitmommy
    caitmommy Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice everyone. Today is rest day and with diet alone I only hit 60g of protein. Way under what I want to hit. Im definitely completely intolerant to eggs. However dairy is OK if it's processed (I can't drink milk but I can eat yogurt/cheese). Quest bars have hurt me once now so I think I'm going to try a vegan protein powder. Lots to think about here because it really could be a number of things, but I'm finding this pain only occurs if I drink protein powder OR if I eat a quest bar with other protein at the same time (the pain that happened this time was after I ate a quest bar, cottage cheese and a cheese string within minutes of each other).

    Thanks again for all the advice!
  • taubut
    taubut Posts: 11 Member
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    Don't drink protein shakes too fast. Typical 20 grams is a lot to absorb at once. Also, I had to find a very plain protein powder. The additives, especially sugar and substitutes were making me sick.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    Whey protein powder kills me. Also, soy protein makes me double over in pain. I always do vegan protein powder!

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