Does change of diet from bad to good cause discomfort?

kaybeepickles
kaybeepickles Posts: 23
edited October 15 in Food and Nutrition
My neurologist has agreed that I definitely need to start cutting back and loosing the weight I've gained and then I can slowly start to add in physical activity.

I'm now currently 28 and it's so weird to think how ten years ago I could go and go and go and do all sorts of physical activity with no pain or getting out of breath.... boy how things change! So of the past few years it was nothing for me to drink almost a 2 liter of Mountain Dew a day sitting in the house and eat, it's all I could do... so it's what I did.

So at the beginning of the year I finally cut out all the bad stuff. I work from home and am home pretty much 24/7 anyways since I suffer from bad migraines. Because of these migraines over the past 5 or so years I've gained a bunch of weight since all I do is sit in the house snacking all day and the meals I was eating weren't watched either. But now I've cut out all the soda and am consuming around 4 bottled waters a day instead. My diet has went from fast food and greasy fried foods etc. in the house to fruits, veggies, no meat except fish... I mean I'm calorie counting like crazy and nothing bad or processed. And I'm at around 1200-1500 a day. So since Jan. 1st to today I've dropped 9.2 pounds which is awesome! But I want to start adding in more activities like riding my bike and walking dogs more. I'm trying to start off slowly by changing diet and getting adjusted to that and now start adding in activities.

However, for about a week now my abdomen area of my body has just felt "out of wack" and on my right side bottom of my ribs I've had some on and off nagging sensation... not a pain and not really a burning feeling... just it's there ya know?

I just had a friend who had her gallbladder out and I know it's on right side. And in past they've checked my abdomen because I had lower right pains and we wanted to make sure it was not related to my appendix and it isn't. I'm VERY superstitious and I'm such a worrier and paranoid. I never had these pains on my junk food diet and now I'm eating correctly and now this??? So I have a doctor appointment this week to make sure nothing is wrong since I'm a worrier.

But I'm wondering if anyone else on the board that's went from terrible eating to correct / good for you eating has experienced anything similar? My mom says she wonders if it's related to the diet change and my body is adjusting etc.

Replies

  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
    Well, you are doing the right things. You should be really proud of yourself!

    I don't think your diet change is related to this new pain. I think it is much more likely your sedentary lifestyle and bad diet have caused lingering problems, and your doctor will help you figure that all out.

    Until your appointment STOP googling things, stop talking to people who have little or no medical experience (I am among them, but still), and stop going onto WebMD and making yourself more worried and paranoid. :)

    Congrats on your progress! Keep it up!
  • briocktj
    briocktj Posts: 128
    I know what you are going through! I am a worrier too, but hopefully this will all be cleared up and be nothing major when you see your doctor. Wishing you the best on your journey!
  • kaybeepickles
    kaybeepickles Posts: 23
    YEP... I FREAK out over medical stuff and got SO depressed the past few years because the neurologists couldn't figure anything out and couldn't get the right RX's for me so I could be active. So I just continued to eat how I'd always ate growing up not knowing better and little by little the weight kept adding on.

    And you know me to well! I was googling and reading all this stuff and I am just soooo worried! I keep telling myself there's nothing wrong, but I worry still. It's like Tuesday can't get here fast enough so I can go make sure there's nothing wrong to calm my nerves.

    It just isn't fair... I'm not mean to anyone... heck I don't go around anyone! I sit at home I read and piddle on the net and work. I'm not an overly "mean" person and then here I go doing the right things after learning about my diet etc. and now I'm having discomfort?! REALLY? Just pisses ya off!
  • Learning2LoveMe
    Learning2LoveMe Posts: 1,430 Member
    Well since I started eating better (more fiber) I had gassy discomfort for a few days until my body got used to it. It was definitely uncomfortable! I'd say if it doesn't go away in a week (let your body adjust to the changes) then go see your doc.
  • kaybeepickles
    kaybeepickles Posts: 23
    Agreed! That's why I'm going on Tuesday because it hasn't gone away and it's not a gassy area related discomfort. So I'm puzzled and pissed and of course worried!
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    However, for about a week now my abdomen area of my body has just felt "out of wack" and on my right side bottom of my ribs I've had some on and off nagging sensation... not a pain and not really a burning feeling... just it's there ya know?

    I just had a friend who had her gallbladder out and I know it's on right side. And in past they've checked my abdomen because I had lower right pains and we wanted to make sure it was not related to my appendix and it isn't. I'm VERY superstitious and I'm such a worrier and paranoid. I never had these pains on my junk food diet and now I'm eating correctly and now this??? So I have a doctor appointment this week to make sure nothing is wrong since I'm a worrier.

    But I'm wondering if anyone else on the board that's went from terrible eating to correct / good for you eating has experienced anything similar? My mom says she wonders if it's related to the diet change and my body is adjusting etc.

    So the gall bladder- if it's that- doesn't 'go bad' over night and it's not fixed over night either. A diet high in fat + genetic factors + obesity + unknown factors can all lead to gall bladder problems. IF if IF it's your gall bladder, changing your diet and losing weight is one of the best things you can do for it, but it still might not undo the damage that was done over years.

    So... doctors visit is the right thing to do. Get it checked out.

    But no, switching your diet probably didn't make your gall bladder go bad... chances are, it was on it's way out before you changed your diet, but you're just now noticing the pain.

    At any rate, it's nothing to sweat about. Worse case scenario? They have to take the gall bladder out. It's not a bad surgery at all. Post-surgery? Some people have to change their diet and exclude high fat/spicy foods. I had my gall bladder removed and it doesn't seem to matter what I eat. I'm not in the habit of eating really fatty stuff anyway, but I can gnaw on some bacon and not have any problem.

    As for fair? I sympathize, but alas, nature just isn't concerned about 'fair'. I'm sorry it's depressing and worrying for you. If the depression/worry is too great, you might want to seek counseling.

    Good luck.
  • kaybeepickles
    kaybeepickles Posts: 23
    See no one explains that stuff to most people about the affects food can have on your body. So it wasn't until I did my own research did I learn what actual consequences can happen and they are not just getting fat. Who knew?! LOL

    If my GB is acting up there is no way I can get it out. Plus I've been doing a lot of research on alternative methods to try and correct or at least help with GB's. I can't handle anything medical for what ever reason I have a HUGE fear about anything medical. I mean I hyperventilate just getting my female yearly and if they take blood I break into sweats and start hyperventilating to. So as you can assume anything else up the scale just is not in my mental grasp LOL. No clue where the fear came from but it's there. Plus I don't have health insurance right now so that really limits people from getting medical attention. I had to call around and find a income based clinic in my county that will see me.

    Are you experiencing any other issues since having your GB removed? My grandmother had hers out years ago and she has never mentioned having issues relating to it being removed. But some stuff I've found online suggests surgery as being a last effort because of problems that can stem from it being gone. But other articles say there are no consequences. Guess that all depends on the person to.
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    Are you experiencing any other issues since having your GB removed? My grandmother had hers out years ago and she has never mentioned having issues relating to it being removed. But some stuff I've found online suggests surgery as being a last effort because of problems that can stem from it being gone. But other articles say there are no consequences. Guess that all depends on the person to.

    I haven't had any problems at all. Some people do, but for me, it's been fantastic. The surgery went smoothly. Post-surgery recovery was text-book fine. I've never had a problem since, and most of the problems I had prior to my surgery are gone. Even things I didn't know were related are gone. Example: I almost never have heart burn now. I used to live off of Pepcid before the surgery.

    Regarding the anxiety relating to the surgery... that's something a doctor/phycologist can help you through. But if you choose not to get the surgery done... a bad gall bladder is unlikely to be life threatening, just painful/uncomfortable, and if you eat healthy, some of your symptoms will eventually go away.

    BUT this is all assuming that it is the gall bladder. It could be something else. You won't know it's gall bladder until you get an actual diagnosis.
  • emma7437
    emma7437 Posts: 225 Member
    I had my gall bladder removed twelve months ago. I have had NO problems since - best thing I did was get it removed. The doctors warn you that after surgery you may still not be able to eat certain foods (the foods that gave you a gall bladder attack) because you may get diarrhoea, but I have had no problems and can eat anything. In terms of eating healthy or not healthy, every person's gall bladder reacts to different things. It is too simple to say that you can't eat high fat food with a gall bladder problem. I could eat Maccas or pizza all the time, but eggs nearly killed me, the pain was beyond excruciating. BBQ chicken and cheese also set my gall bladder off. I have a friend who used to get a gall bladder attack from capsicum. So things that people would be eating in a healthy lifestyle, for me, were the worst things I could eat. Having said that, if it is a gall bladder and you do not want surgery, you just work out what sets you off and make sure you do not eat it. Surgery for me was the answer and it was really easy and successful, but if it is not the answer for you, you can manage gall stones through diet.
  • kaybeepickles
    kaybeepickles Posts: 23
    All of your replies have been very calming and thank you for sharing your stories. I just want to let you all know how thankful I am that you chose to reply and that I've found this wonderful site :)
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    I had my gallbladder removed 9ish years ago...I had tons of issue when I went from more fried food to healthier choices...then whenever I ate something greasy I would have an attack...
This discussion has been closed.

Categories