Gastritis?

[sia0102]

I started the Whole30 program on March 1st with a friend who really wanted to try the program. She sent me the approved food list and we swapped recipes. What I didn't realize was how important the "Reintroduction" phase is. The end of my Whole30 collided with the Easter holiday and I didn't hold back, I ate horribly.

 

For about five days straight I had terrible pain in my upper left abdomen and along my left side. I have been training for a half marathon so I thought maybe I had strained a muscle because it was painful to run, breath deeply, laugh, etc. I couldn't bear the pain any longer so I went to see a doctor. I described my symptoms and she told me I had gastritis --this is when the lining of your stomach is inflamed.

 

I didn't want to believe her, I had never had any type of stomach issues, heartburn, acid reflux, etc. The pain is finally starting to subside, but i'm not sure what type of diet to follow now. With gastritis, you are not supposed to eat roughage and you should eat bland foods. 

 

Could post Whole30 really lead to gastritis? I really have no other explanation as to why I would have it. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help and thoughts on this!

[ladyshanny]

No one here is a medical professional but I would venture a guess that the following is what happened to you.

 

You eat clean for 30 days.  The protective extra thick mucosal lining that your intestines had developed over the years to protect themselves against disruptive and irritating foods was no longer needed so it sloughed off.  Whole30 ends, Easter shows up and your eating is "horrible" (your word).  All of a sudden your gut has no protection anymore and they become severly inflammed.

 

It's not so much that "Whole30 led to gastritis" but more that you ate clean and your body healed and then you sent a bomb down there and your gut reacted.

[sia0102]

You're right, I did not phrase that correctly -- making poor food decisions post Whole30 may have caused gastritis, post Whole30 did not lead to gastritis. 

 

Thanks for providing your insight and thoughts.

[Physibeth]

If you would like more clarity on what happened you could go back to Whole30 until you feel as well as you did on day 31 and then give a proper reintroduction a go.

[pcooper]

That's exactly what happened to me after my first Whole30.  I did not follow the reintroduction, and went right back to eating all the foods I thought I'd been missing for 30 days.  That led to a miserable few months which included 2 trips to the ER (for gastritis), multiple ultrasounds, and a whole lot of confusion.  During one of those ER visits, the doctor couldn't even see my gallbladder because my intestines were so inflamed.  Obviously I was reacting quite severely to something, but I had no idea what. 

 

So here I am, on Day 25 of second Whole30 and I can assure you I won't make that mistake again.  For me, reintroduction is the most important part of my Whole30.