Over the counter meds

[Patsy Thomas]

I have had gastric bypass surgery, and take a lot of over the counter meds like Alka-Seltzer chews, Pepto-Bismol and Gas-x. Are these allowed?

[Tom Denham]

All of these meds have a negative effect on your gut health. You can take them if they are part of your doctor approved health management plan, but you will suffer some erosion of the benefits of doing a Whole30 while using them. You are unlikely to need these meds after you have transitioned to Whole30-style eating. It is up to you how aggressively you attempt to move away from them. If it were me and I was used to taking them, I would probably keep taking them for the first week of doing a Whole30 and then move towards reducing use over the second and maybe the third week with a goal of not using them by the end of the period. 

[frantastic]

Hi Patsy...I haven't had the same surgery, but have an inflammatory bowel disease that had me eating tums, gaviscon, gas ex, and alka seltzer and taking zegrid (always a lot of gas, acid, and general unrest). I am on day 33 (or 34, I need to count!) of a whole 60. I have not needed to use ANY of those meds since I started. It was completely astonishing to me. I did it consciously...I wanted to see what would happen. What happened was that I didn't need them (but if I did, they were still in the house).

[praxisproject]

Some alternate options for tummies: peppermint tea, peppermint oil capsules (sometimes sold in chemists as de-gas tablets), plain soda water, kombucha, lemongrass tea

 

Bone broth doesn't work instantly, but it makes a long term difference!