Greasy Food Makes Me Sick

tomorrowperfume
tomorrowperfume Posts: 67 Member
in Food and Nutrition
At some point over the past two or three years, greasy food started making me nauseous.

I remember when it first happened: I ate a huge double-meat hamburger covered in cheese and bacon. I think french fries might have been involved. It was gigantic and glorious and I felt sick for a whole week afterwards, much to my surprise.

That sick feeling seems dependent on the amount of greasy food I eat. A half slice of crispy bacon (yum) or handful of fried okra (double yum) will leave me feeling vaguely nauseous an hour or two later. A few months ago, I visited a novelty grilled cheese sandwich restaurant and ordered some kind of delicious monstrosity with three slices of cheese mixed in with crumbled bacon. I could only finish half of the sandwich and within minutes I felt like I was going to retch. This queasy feeling lasted well into the night and I was useless and miserable for the rest of the day.

It's gotten to a point where I avoid pork and ground beef as much as I can without being a bother, and I'll only have a bite or two of my favorite fried foods or anything with melted cheese. Sometimes my stomach is a little more sensitive than at other times, and I may be able to tolerate a little more greasy food than usual, but there's always a limit. When my stomach gets upset, I can't bear to eat anything other than plain bread or rice, and that in small quantities.

I just can't figure out what happened to me. My best friend has been a vegetarian for almost ten years, and he told me that if he accidentally consumes a meat-based product, it will cause all sorts of digestive issues. Is there some kind of phenomena where your body has to be "primed" to accept certain types of fat? I sometimes have mild heartburn - could that be connected? Is it psychosomatic? It's not that I mind eating 'healthier' foods, I just like the option of being able to dig into a plate of nachos every once in a while.

Replies

  • zilkah
    zilkah Posts: 207 Member
    Acute pancreatitis perhaps ? :(
  • tomorrowperfume
    tomorrowperfume Posts: 67 Member
    Is that something my doctor would catch? I get a physical with a blood workup every year, and the only thing she mentioned was that my total cholesterol was too high. The only medication that I normally take is a hormonal birth control, Nuvaring. I occasionally take other medications as needed (NSAIDs for headaches or muscle soreness, allergy medicine if I'm sneezy and itchy) but those times are pretty rare. I'm a normal weight for my height, if that matters.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    This could be a medical issue which I would get checked out for sure.

    Or it could be psychosomatic. Ground beef...particularly if you get 90-93% isn't particularly greasy.

    I eat pretty well for the most part and still enjoy greasy indulgences without issue, so I'm going with either psychosomatic or you have a medical condition that needs to be identified.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,327 Member
    Unless you tell your doctor you are having these symptoms they probably would not catch gallbladder issues until they get very bad. Basically, any change in how a person responds to food that before caused no issue is something to bring up with your doctor at least at your annual check-up as it can indicate other issues that should be dealt with.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited June 2018
    tomorrowperfume wrote: »
    Is that something my doctor would catch? I get a physical with a blood workup every year, and the only thing she mentioned was that my total cholesterol was too high. The only medication that I normally take is a hormonal birth control, Nuvaring. I occasionally take other medications as needed (NSAIDs for headaches or muscle soreness, allergy medicine if I'm sneezy and itchy) but those times are pretty rare. I'm a normal weight for my height, if that matters.

    If it's a pancreas or gallbladder issue, it's not likely to be identified in a routine checkup and routine blood work. The would have to do more specific testing.
    rileysowner wrote: »
    Unless you tell your doctor you are having these symptoms they probably would not catch gallbladder issues until they get very bad. Basically, any change in how a person responds to food that before caused no issue is something to bring up with your doctor at least at your annual check-up as it can indicate other issues that should be dealt with.

    Ahh...beat me to it...was going to say the same...
  • tomorrowperfume
    tomorrowperfume Posts: 67 Member
    My next physical is in a month. I'll make a note to talk to my GP about my symptoms, since I tend to blank out when she asks if I have any questions or concerns.

    I just looked at a list of risk factors for gallstones (thanks for tipping me off!) and I found that I hit three out of twelve. There might also be a family history - my mom complains that lots and lots of different foods give her 'indigestion.' Then again, she has battled with an eating disorder all her life, so it's tough to sort out the fact from the fiction with her.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    edited June 2018
    I know that after changing my dietary style to lower fat, I get heart burn muuuchhh easier if I eat higher fat food. Particularly saturated fats. I have no kitten idea why it's saturated fats, but it is. I can eat lots of nuts, avacado, ect. Ate a corn dog at the fair with French fries a while back and bammm!!!! I also do this with cheese and heavily fatty meats. Who knows?
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Our bodies develop different sensitivities over time for no particular reason. There are things I used to eat all the time that I have to avoid now. I don't see OP experience as a big deal. 3/10 risk factors for gallbladder is likely meaningless. Avoid greasy food.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,092 Member
    edited June 2018
    tomorrowperfume wrote: »
    Is that something my doctor would catch? I get a physical with a blood workup every year, and the only thing she mentioned was that my total cholesterol was too high. The only medication that I normally take is a hormonal birth control, Nuvaring. I occasionally take other medications as needed (NSAIDs for headaches or muscle soreness, allergy medicine if I'm sneezy and itchy) but those times are pretty rare. I'm a normal weight for my height, if that matters.

    You can help your doctor out in catching things by telling her or him about your symptoms. An accurate medical history is an important factor in accurate diagnoses.

    ETA: Oops, I see others beat me to it.
  • OHFlamingo
    OHFlamingo Posts: 239 Member
    Sounds like me before I had my gallbladder removed! Tell your doctor your symptoms; life's too short to have to be so miserable!
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Honestly, sounds like a liver issue. Like was previously posted, go see a doctor and mention these specific symptoms.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    To feel nauseous or even puke after eating something you don't normally consume? Sounds pretty normal, for some people this does happen. But a whole week of feeling sick from one giant cheeseburger? Not normal.

    I am with the others, get checked out to avoid any potential problems getting even worse. I'm also curious if you eat/drink dairy regularly, because some of the symptoms connected to cheese sounds like it could be related, too. A friend of mine developed a horrible milk allergy at 30, out of nowhere. Even a bit of cheese makes her really sick.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I was gonna say, liver or gallbladder. Let us know what you find out after you talk to the doctor! I make a whole list when I go, otherwise I'm the same as you and totally blank on what I meant to ask.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    @tomorrowperfume Sounds a bit like Gall Bladder to me. By your own descriptions, you seem to realize those foods aren't particularly nice on your system. Just reduce them if you can't cut them out altogether.

    I had Gall Bladder problems and had to come off of greasy foods. No more trouble now even if I take a chance occasionally. You can easily change your tastes in relation to food, and you won't even feel like it matters after a while with a different way of cooking or eating.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    You might also ask to get the blood test for Celiac of you are consuming greasy foods on bread or that are breaded or prepared in fryers with breaded items. It could account for the lingering sick feeling after eating a trigger food.
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
    As far as the beef and pork is concerned, you can always buy leaner cuts. I like Laura's Lean Beef, myself.

    If you don't regularly eat greasy or fatty foods, the flora in your gut and the amounts of fat-digesting enzymes that your body produces will change over time to reflect that. Suddenly eating a bunch of fat or grease all of a sudden can kind of shock your gut, causing GI upset. Gradually upping the amount of fat in your diet helps most people avoid that.

    You could also maybe try digestive enzymes, specifically once that list several different lipase and perhaps bile extract. They help some people break down more difficult-to-digest foods.

    Even then, though, one greasy meal shouldn't make you feel sick for an entire week. If that's happening regularly, you should get checked out by a professional.
  • tomorrowperfume
    tomorrowperfume Posts: 67 Member
    Thank you all for your advice! I checked in with my mom a couple of days ago, and my grandmother had her gall bladder out for gall stones a couple of decades ago. My mom has a long list of digestive complaints, but she visited a gastroenterologist and he told her that she did not have gall bladder issues at that time. She's started taking a Prilosec every morning and it has basically stopped all of her symptoms, which is a puzzle for another day.

    Strawblackcat, I didn't even know that you could *buy* digestive enzymes. That sounds like mad science. (Wait, I just googled it and Lactaid is a digestive enzyme. Huh. The More You Know, I guess.)

    I only had the one incident where a greasy meal made me feel sick for multiple days. It could have been an illness that coincided with the Burger Event, but it started a period of about six months where I was nauseous and gurgly and irritable almost every day. Thankfully, nowadays the sick days are usually once a week or less, but I can't tell you if it's because I'm more grease-averse or because my stomach is hardier.

    I have started adding notes to my food diary with the times that I eat and the times and duration of any stomach or digestive issues, if any. Then we can see if any particular food - dairy, gluten, bacon grease - is the culprit. Maybe my brain's the culprit! That should give me a month's worth of symptoms to bring to my GP. Hopefully I've managed to bring my cholesterol down to normal, so it will be a doctor's visit full of farts and rainbows B)
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    edited June 2018
    I'd see your doctor for a work up. When I was having gallbladder issues, fried greasy foods were a big trigger for nausea AND severe gallbladder attacks. Ugh...I don't miss those days!
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Definitely bring it to your doctor.

    If you were fine one week and the next this showed up, that's a medical problem and is totally unlike what happens to folks who go lean or vegan or vegetarian and come back. Any time you make radical changes to macros and overall food makeup, there's going to be a period of adjustment. If you went from eating burgers and fries every day to broccoli, rice, and lean chicken breast, you'd probably lock up for a few days while your biome adapts. That's just normal.

    This that you've described is something else.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    I agree it sounds like a gallbladder issue. Or you could be like my dad who can't eat to much grease or be violently ill, just because! His gallbladder is fine but greasy food= vomiting/nausea for WEEKS.

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