Why do most foods upset my stomach?

Trans Ann · 07-09-2020 12:44am #1

Some days my stomach is fine other days I bloat and go into excruciating pain. Mostly happens with red meat which I don't eat much of, maybe once a week, fried food, porridge, processed foods, salad dressings, BUT only when I'm dieting and slowing my food in take. I'm nearly better off eating loads because as soon as I start dieting my stomach goes into spasms and bloats. What am I doing wrong. Seems like some days I'm fine while others I'm bent over and literally trying to rip my stomach open.Also I'm addicted to sugar and finding it difficult to get off it.

[Deleted User] · 07-09-2020 2:44am

Trans Ann wrote: »

Some days my stomach is fine other days I bloat and go into excruciating pain. Mostly happens with red meat which I don't eat much of, maybe once a week, fried food, porridge, processed foods, salad dressings, BUT only when I'm dieting and slowing my food in take. I'm nearly better off eating loads because as soon as I start dieting my stomach goes into spasms and bloats. What am I doing wrong. Seems like some days I'm fine while others I'm bent over and literally trying to rip my stomach open.Also I'm addicted to sugar and finding it difficult to get off it.

You need to visit your GP

Trans Ann · 07-09-2020 2:46am

JayZeus wrote: »

You need to visit your GP

I have. Its never changed. He just tells me to keep a food diary. But its unpredictable. Also tells me I could be stressed etc. Going on for years now. Since 2011 anyway.

Comerman · 07-09-2020 7:17am

Trans Ann wrote: »

I have. Its never changed. He just tells me to keep a food diary. But its unpredictable. Also tells me I could be stressed etc. Going on for years now. Since 2011 anyway.[/quote

I don't want to scare you but you should see the GP again and insist on getting bloods and a gastroscopy done, I was treated for indigestion and helicobacter virus for about 2 years, turned out to be a tumour. The good side is that was 13 years ago now.

Graces7 · 07-09-2020 7:20am

Comerman wrote: »

Trans Ann wrote: »

I have. Its never changed. He just tells me to keep a food diary. But its unpredictable. Also tells me I could be stressed etc. Going on for years now. Since 2011 anyway.[/quote

I don't want to scare you but you should see the GP again and insist on getting bloods and a gastroscopy done, I was treated for indigestion and helicobacter virus for about 2 years, turned out to be a tumour. The good side is that was 13 years ago now.

Agree fully. Insist on seeing a specialist, please. This has gone on too long.

GooglePlus · 07-09-2020 7:22am

Get a scope done, it's important. Ask to be sedated if you have a bad gag reflex.

Dizzyblonde · 07-09-2020 8:12am

Mod note:Moved from the Food forum.

Trans Ann · 07-09-2020 8:40am

Comerman wrote: »

Trans Ann wrote: »

I have. Its never changed. He just tells me to keep a food diary. But its unpredictable. Also tells me I could be stressed etc. Going on for years now. Since 2011 anyway.[/quote

I don't want to scare you but you should see the GP again and insist on getting bloods and a gastroscopy done, I was treated for indigestion and helicobacter virus for about 2 years, turned out to be a tumour. The good side is that was 13 years ago now.

Did you have any other symptoms? Is it just a general blood test?

hayoc · 07-09-2020 9:08am

Trans Ann wrote: »

Some days my stomach is fine other days I bloat and go into excruciating pain. Mostly happens with red meat which I don't eat much of, maybe once a week, fried food, porridge, processed foods, salad dressings, BUT only when I'm dieting and slowing my food in take. I'm nearly better off eating loads because as soon as I start dieting my stomach goes into spasms and bloats. What am I doing wrong. Seems like some days I'm fine while others I'm bent over and literally trying to rip my stomach open.Also I'm addicted to sugar and finding it difficult to get off it.

If you dont want to pay for specialist help (or find the specialists are rubbish) then the best thing to do is an elimination diet.

Start out with a days fasting then go to the simplest blandest foods possible for the next few days, easier if you ditch entire food groups at a time. So start on basic food - no dairy, no meat for a couple of days. Then start reintroducing things slowly. Keep a diary, you will get a sense of whats causing problems.

Diary should include stress levels, sleep, amount of food as well as types of food, and any other factors that might impact.

For me, I had IBS that was stress related. I was so tense in the body that my gut couldnt work properly, peristalasis was being interfered with. Certain foods were more likely to trigger it (fatty and spicy foods for me).

Going totally "clean" and essentially eating a very light vegetarian diet for a few days would "reset" me so long as I also managed stress levels. It was a difficult period in my life and I couldnt avoid the stress but I tried to manage it better with good clean food, exercise and sleep.

Trans Ann · 07-09-2020 9:14am

hayoc wrote: »

If you dont want to pay for specialist help (or find the specialists are rubbish) then the best thing to do is an elimination diet.

Start out with a days fasting then go to the simplest blandest foods possible for the next few days, easier if you ditch entire food groups at a time. So start on basic food - no dairy, no meat for a couple of days. Then start reintroducing things slowly. Keep a diary, you will get a sense of whats causing problems.

Diary should include stress levels, sleep, amount of food as well as types of food, and any other factors that might impact.

For me, I had IBS that was stress related. I was so tense in the body that my gut couldnt work properly, peristalasis was being interfered with. Certain foods were more likely to trigger it (fatty and spicy foods for me).

Going totally "clean" and essentially eating a very light vegetarian diet for a few days would "reset" me so long as I also managed stress levels. It was a difficult period in my life and I couldnt avoid the stress but I tried to manage it better with good clean food, exercise and sleep.

Good advice thanks

Comerman · 07-09-2020 11:02am

Trans Ann wrote: »

Comerman wrote: »

Did you have any other symptoms? Is it just a general blood test?

Just indigestion and burping, tell the doctor you want bloods checked for everything, he/she should of done it as standard anyway.

Cill94 · 07-09-2020 12:37pm

Yeah the best thing you can do, outside of seeing a specialist, is to keep a highly accurate log of your diet and lifestyle. I would think it's unlikely for you not to see some patterns emerge that could explain the good and bad days.

Jayesdiem · 07-09-2020 1:41pm

Similar issues here. Hayoc has given you a great answer. Medics will only take you so far with this issue- they have a conventional treatment model that doesn’t cater to the individual. Taking ownership yourself will see you home but you will need to make sacrifices in your lifestyle - that is certain. Get scoped to rule out any dangerous causes.

hayoc · 07-09-2020 2:50pm

Jayesdiem wrote: »

Similar issues here. Hayoc has given you a great answer. Medics will only take you so far with this issue- they have a conventional treatment model that doesn’t cater to the individual. Taking ownership yourself will see you home but you will need to make sacrifices in your lifestyle - that is certain. Get scoped to rule out any dangerous causes.

Im not a non western medicine advocate by any stretch of the imagination but I do think conventional western medicine is sorely lacking in dealing with chronic gut issues.

I actually got fully to the root of mine by accident, at my wits end I went to a "chinese herbalist" (god knows!), however the practicioner correctly diagnosed me with an overgrowth of intestinal candida (confirmed later by my GP - was actually due to a medication I was on), and recommended I do a fast followed by a candida elimination diet (for 3 weeks? maybe 6?). I wasnt to eat anything that fed candida - no yeast, no sugar - I cant recall what else. Afterwards there were probiotics to repopulate my gut with healthy stuff. And once the candida was sorted, I had much less in terms of digestive issues bar stress locking the whole system up from time to time. They "reset" me. This encounter with the chinese herbalist followed about 3 years of GP, Consultants, camera up, camera down, barium x-rays etc...

I told my GP the whole story and it turned out that there is a tablet that would kill your candida overgrowth so the candida elimination diet wasnt really needed for 6 weeks - you could just take a diflucan (which I should have been periodically prescribed while on the medication that destroyed your gut flora). Just to go one step further, you can get diflucan (or equivalent) OTC in NI - so dont even need a GP.

ILoveYourVibes · 11-09-2020 1:11am

I am not a dr. But it sometimes is NOTHING to do with the actual food.

It can be an autoimmune response. There are lot of diff autoimmune conditions or reactions to do with digestion. Its not just Crohn's.

Some come and go. Hormones or stress can trigger it.

Or it could be the sugar.

Salt and sugar are known to trigger lots of autoimmune responses ..not just to do with digestion. Sugar and salt for instance or refined carbs can trigger the immune response that causes psoriasis etc.

Ask your doctor can they check it out.

bobbyy gee · 11-09-2020 1:13am

It might be ulcer or food allergy

jam_mac_jam · 11-09-2020 10:00am

I would get a second opinion. If they are giving you the old oh its stress and not testing you for anything then they are not really doing their job. Go to a different GP or a specialist. Saying that I have had loads of tests and the only thing that has worked for me is eating low carb and moderate fat. But at least I know nothing else is wrong.

I got the same oh its stress at the start. Its not because it has no correlation to when I am stressed, they just say that as they can't be arsed investigating properly. Go to another doctor.

JH_raheny · 12-09-2020 3:15pm

Get bloods done and liver checked, if nothing else to rule it out.

Graces7 · 18-09-2020 5:21am

I did an elimination diet years ago to try to alleviate the M.E/CFS in any way. You will find that it helps to organise your eating.

Reading threads on boards I realise how simple my basic diet is; rarely any additives etc. Almost no processed food. It has become second nature. Not a burden in any way. No red meat. Lost the taste for . Which is something else that doing the diet will help with. The occasional treat helps morale..

And yes, the physical symptoms are less extreme in many ways. Nothing alleviates the constant exhaustion, but the peripherals have eased.

I need though a breadmaker; even the simplest bread has so many chemical additives; planning to see if I can get a second hand one as my pension is not elastic! ( I am not physically able for making bread without one)

Good luck with it all OP

hayoc · 21-09-2020 9:04am

Graces7 wrote: »

No red meat. Lost the taste for .

This has happened me too. I use turkey mince for spag bol.

I do enjoy the odd steak but as I type this I and trying to recall the last time I had one - March maybe?

duvetdayss · 21-09-2020 9:31am

I had similar issues and was advised to cut out caffeine after noon, take a fibre supplement called fybogel (or psyllium husk) and to make a conscious effort to belly breathe. I have a tendency to tense my abdominal muscles which led to discomfort and bloating. Having an empty gut can apparently cause the same so the fibre helps to bulk and keep your gut on a rhythm. But yes, gp first always

Why do most foods upset my stomach?

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