Need GI thoughts

[Rita B.]

Hi there! I breezed through my Whole30, and my husband and I are currently around day 45 or 50 (stopped counting after 30 days). We've reintroduced a few things here or there (more coconut flour, honey, a bit of maple syrup), but, for the most part, we are still "strict." I moderate fruit intake and keep it mainly to berries or bananas (just because that's what I love), and I don't eat nuts much at all. Here's the trouble: after the Whole30, I was put on a course of antibiotics that made me unbearably queasy but cured my sinus infection. I was afraid of the gut impact, so I took a course of probiotics as well. I stopped taking the probiotics the same day the antibiotics were done. Since that day, I've had a stomach ache in the top center of my abdomen, directly beneath my ribcage. Occasionally this pain moves to the right of my abdomen and my back, but never my left side. It only occurs after lunch, but it lasts all day. No sharp pain, but a persistent, significant ache, like a terrible knot. (I'm sleeping well, not exercising too much and managing mental stress, too.) For the last 8 days, I've had cases of diarrhea and zero solid BM's. I have added canned pumpkin, more banana and even some white rice back into my diet in an effort to bulk up. I started yet another course of probiotics. I'm frustrated beyond what's reasonable because I'm terrified it's the diet causing trouble. I have an appointment with my doc, but not for another couple weeks, and I'm beginning to wonder if this is a "serious" issue, or if it's just an enormous annoyance. Thoughts on the discomfort and the diarrhea most welcome. Otherwise, I feel fantastic and wake up every day happy and energized... just post-lunch, it's all downhill. Guide me.

[Robin Strathdee]

Have you ever had gallbladder issues? Do you notice that the pain is worse when you eat fattier foods?

[Rita B.]

Hi Robin, I was hoping to hear from a mod on this issue. I've never had any kind of gallbladder issues, and my worst stomach issues before were just stress-related. Could I be developing a gallbladder issue 6 weeks after starting when the first 30 days were easy breezy? In fact, I notice that the pain occurs after lunch. But lunch is usually 1/2 grilled chicken breast over a big mix of salad greens and other veggie toppings. Dressing is usually lemon juice and/ or vinegar. I tend to include about 1/4 of an avocado and maybe 5 or 6 olives. Is this a common issue? Thanks for the suggestions.

[Robin Strathdee]

Hmmm... the kind of pain you're experiencing isn't common at all, actually. The location and description just sounded like it could be gb problems (I've got some experience there :0). Since your lunch doesn't look like it has a lot of fat in it, that's likely not the case, but it might be worth checking out with your doc. My guess is that the chaos of anti and probiotics has messed things up a bit in your gut. You may try adding in some more fermented foods or another round of probiotics, too. If it gets to be really troublesome, though, I would recommend checking in with your doc.

[Phanniemae]

Hi Rita,

I'm interested in hearing what your doc has to say. I have a similar persistent pain in my upper right abdomen, sometimes it seems to move lower, but never center or left. I think that I may have experienced gallbladder issues in the past (infrequently) before I knew anything... Such as a strong pain under my rib cage that lasted throughout the night. Hope you are feeling better!!

[Flynn]

I used to get bad stomach pain after lunch or dinner everyday and it drove me crazy, until I decided to write down everything I ate prior to each stomach ache. After several entries, I realized there was avocado in each one. It was a very sad day but I had to give them up. I haven't had any episodes since then. Maybe writing down each meal that gives you pain and finding the common factor could help you, or at least give you a better idea if it's something dietary

[Phanniemae]

Flynn, thats a great idea! I'm sorry you had to lose the avo : (

[tanis]

I was going to ask about gallbladder issues too. I was having pain in my upper right abdomen, I didn't think it could be gallbladder because I usually had the most pain when I was dieting and eating just lean protein and veggies. I would have the pain and lots of gas. I had some pretty bad attacks about 7 years ago, they did an ultra sound and never found anything. Things seemed to get better for a while and then I started having pains againg, I had this for a couple years and it would come and go. Then in June we were on vacation and I had some severe attacks. The worst one I had was after eating pulled pork. The pain was excrutiating and lasted 15 hours. I was miserable. I went to the doctor and had an ultrasound done and they didn't see any gallstones, but still suggested I have my gallbladder removed. The surgeon said most likely the opening to my gallbladder was curved and that is what was causing my attacks. After having my gallbladder removed, they examined it and found a huge stone that they were not able to see in an ultrasound because it was against the gallbladder wall and just looked like liquid.

My whole point to all that, is that most of the pains I had was when I was eating a relatively low fat and low carb diet. It just got really bad towards the end when I ate fat. It might be worth it just to go see your doctor if you are still having the pains.