Day 19 - Extreme Diarrhea

[ladyforsci]

I'm on Day 19 of my first Whole30. I've done great so far, with absolutely no cheats. And I truly think the tiger blood phase is around the corner...I can almost taste it!

 

I came from an extremely SAD diet before this, so it comes as no surprise that I spent the first week and a half with brain fog, headaches and low energy.

 

I recently upped my probiotics (started taking NOW probiotics, HCL and Enzymes on Tuesday). I bought fermented sauerkraut on friday, which I've worked into 1-2 meals a day since. Last week, I discovered kombucha, which I am growing to love. I'll usually have 1/4-1/2 a bottle of GT kombucha a day.

 

So this morning, I became very nauseated. About an hour later, waves of diarrhea began. I have been running back and forth to the bathroom for the past few hours. I'm frankly surprised I still have that much left to expel, but each time I run to the bathroom, it's just as bad. 

 

Could all these probiotics be to blame? Not sure if it's helpful, but I was a vegetarian for 12 years up until last year. And earlier this year, a doctor said I had IBS, although I'm not sure how accurate his diagnosis was.

 

It's possible I just have a bug that's going around, but thought I would toss it out to the mods in case it sounds familiar and there's something I can do to improve my situation. I'm trying to drink a lot of water, but it's hard when it's coming out of me faster than I can replenish.

[Robin Strathdee]

Long story short: YES.  You're very rapidly changing the population of bacteria in your gut, and one of their primary functions is to help with digestion. I'd back off to one type and then slowly add in another and then another (you may not even NEED all of those). If you notice...trouble... then back off and re-acclimatize.

 

Here's a really good primer on probiotics: http://whole9life.com/2012/04/probiotics-101/

[KaiDrumm]

What else are you eating? I had a similar issue and eventually decided that guar gum in coconut milk was to blame - although I suppose probiotics are a reasonable suspect.