Ongoing stomach pain and crazy poopies

[christcavegirl]

Hey ya'all. I am on day 15 of the whole 30. A few days before starting, both my husband and I got this sort of like stomach virus or something where we had painful diarrhea. It lasted about a week (for him). I started Whole30 and thought the looseness and cramping were still residual from the stomach virus, but its been about 20 days.

 

I wake up and have my coffee and within about 30 minutes, I have to go. It hasn't been solid since I started Whole30. Prior to, I was pretty regular and before the tummy virus, I was pretty solid. I don't have diarrhea, but its painful. Cramping etc.  Appears some undigested food in stool and it smells wicked (sorry- just the facts man). It seems to happen in the morning and also right after meals, sometimes before I'm even done with the meal I start to cramp.

 

I am also bloated. I am not weighing but my stomach seems distended and my pants are tighter.  I am not sure if I am having more calories than usual since I am not counting per the instructions. My guess is I am not. I do notice when I am under extreme stress I get painful cramps and usually have to go. Before whole 30 I did a paleo diet and was pretty strict. So the main difference is now I have cut out the paleo treats like coconut flour bread, stevia sweetened drinks and excessive grazing between meals.

 

My diet is pretty consistent:

Breakfast is eggs, avocado and veggies (squash, onion and spinach) sautéed in ghee.

Lunch is usually steak or porkchop with salad.

Dinner is steak or burger or chicken, broccoli, sweet potato.

I try not to snack, but when I do, I have a banana or some pecans or almonds. I drink some almond milk or almond water to calm cravings, which have all but gone away.

 

I am on a very low dose of wellbutrin. I should also note a few other things. I am trying to recover from adrenal fatigue and my immune system is just shot.  I take the pig adrenals but I suffer from frequent (as in once a month) illness (flu, colds, respiratory and sinus infections, sore throats, etc).  Because of this, its been tough for me to get into a consistent exercise routine.

 

While I don't know much about IBS, as I said before, typically I am solid and regular unless I am under stress. However, this 15 day stretch is extreme. I never have 15 days of straight toilet misery. I started drinking some psycillium husk thinking maybe that would firm things up. It has not.

 

I used to track all my meals on my fitness pal but stopped since the book suggests not counting or tracking or weighing.

 

So- any help or ideas is really appreciated. I am feeling discouraged.

 

Thanks everyone. 

[GFChris]

I'm sorry for what you're going through.

 

A few thoughts:

- Are you staying sufficiently hydrated?  Aim for drinking water, in the amount of at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces, daily.
- When you say you get up and have coffee, are you literally having coffee first before you eat?  That is not recommended on the Whole30.  Have your coffee with or after your breakfast.
- Maybe try eliminating raw veggies and go 100% all cooked veggies for a few days and see if that helps?
- Try laying off the nuts for a few days as well.  If you feel the need to snack, have a snack that is a mini-meal, including a protein and fat (using a fat source other than nuts).

[Tom Denham]

Everything Chris said. And you might want to try taking a digestive enzyme with your meals for a week and see if that helps. The stomach distress, the undigested food in your poop, and the smell suggests your digestion process is not going well and could use some help. 

 

You might want to review these two articles:

 

http://whole9life.com/2012/04/probiotics-101/

 

http://whole9life.com/2012/09/digestive-enzymes-101/

[christcavegirl]

Wow. Thanks. These articles were very helpful. I do have chronic stress, which seems to be a culprit! Do you suggest I try probioltics and digestive enzymes at the same time or start with one first.... and if so, which one.

[reneeb]

I used psyllium husk for a few months and kept getting more and more sick with similar symptoms. I found out that I was severely allergic to psyllium and that it can be problematic for some people. My symptoms went away when I stopped using it. Could that be the culprit?

[amberino21]

Wow. Thanks. These articles were very helpful. I do have chronic stress, which seems to be a culprit! Do you suggest I try probioltics and digestive enzymes at the same time or start with one first.... and if so, which one.

The probiotics and digestive enzymes do different things so using both at the same time is fine - I can't help with products as I don't have access to the same ones you do!

You can try adding more probiotic rich food - raw sauerkraut/fermented foods, kombucha etc.

[Bet]

I used psyllium husk for a few months and kept getting more and more sick with similar symptoms. I found out that I was severely allergic to psyllium and that it can be problematic for some people. My symptoms went away when I stopped using it. Could that be the culprit?

 

Be careful with psyllium husks. They are insoluble fiber and can cause problems in some people (even without be allergic). It's better to get fiber naturally from fruits and vegetables.

[SharynF]

Coffee can be a laxative for some people which could explain the bowel movement after your morning drink. Maybe have a week or two without coffee to remove that irritant while your gut heals? 

[praxisproject]

I'm not sure what's in wellbutrin, maybe check the ingredients?

 

I'd cut out the fibre ASAP, it's not always helpful and may not be gentle enough for you right now. Pureed pumpkin would be better.

I'd also cut out the coffee until everything settles down, it can be too much with all the other changes, doesn't mean you have to give it up forever. Same with the onion, only until everything settles down.

 

You didn't mention what kind of almond milk, all the local ready-made stuff here has the gut-wrenching carrageenan in it, which makes my guts feel like there's a hula-hooper in there. I recently consumed some by mistake and realised it's a 100% gut disrupter for me.
Also double-check your nuts, make sure they're not sneaking in nasty ingredients in your nut brand.
 

If you're taking fats like coconut oil in your coffee in the morning, switch to something not-coffee and have it at night before bed, rather than in the morning. If it's the fat load, you'll be empty by morning and feel better by the time you go out and about.
 

If you try everything else and having no luck, I'd try getting rid of the ghee and go 100% coconut oil. If it gets worse, you may have a coconut problem.

Don't give up, it'll get better