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stomach pain in mornings after eating

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 6/6/2007 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
I am 24 and everytime I eat breakfast in the morning, usually if it has a lot of sugar (cereal, pop tarts, non-diet soda, juice, sweetened/flavored cream cheese) i get an incredibly painful stomach pain and within 10-15 minutes after i eat I'm in the bathroom with diarrhea.  i've tried taking tums in the mornings before i eat or drinking a glass of milk, but it doesn't seem to do much.

anyone have any ideas?

Stephanie

Posted 6/6/2007 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Stephanie... Welcome to Healing Well :-)

I don't suffer from diarrhea as much as I do from constipation but I do understand the stomach pains. If my pains are bad in the morning, I would usually just eat a slice of dry toast in the morning. Are you taking fiber? Fiber is really good in bulking up your stool but the key is to introduce it slowly because it can cause cramping and gas in the beginning especially if you start too quick. I eat a high fiber cereal in the mornings now and don't have any problems. Fiber is good for both D and C.

Take Care
Posted 6/6/2007 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Stephanie,
Welcome to HealingWell! :-)
Sugar alcohols are really tough on IBSers, especially IBS-Ders. I wonder if you are having trouble with them too... Pretty much all the foods you mentioned have them. Most sugary foods, candy, soda, gum, mints, have sugar alcohols. I would start watching what you eat, reading ingredients labels, and maybe keeping a food diary to see what bothers you most. This way you will be able to pinpoint what doesn't agree with you and then make changes to your diet to eliminate them (or cut down your intake).
Here are a list of sugar alcohols you should be aware of:
Malititol
Xylitol
Sorbitol
Lactitol
Mannitol
Erythritol

Pretty much anything that end ins "tol" is a sugar alcohol. Watch for these ingredients in gum and mints too! You can never be too careful.

Also, do you take probiotics? You might just have an abundance of bad bacteria in your guts. It might be beneficial to you to get some good baceria in there. Yogurt and probiotic supplements are a good thing to try. Can't hurt.
Posted 6/6/2007 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your replies, I will look into the sugar alcohols.  I've had this problem since I was younger, about 10-ish.  My pediatrician that I saw for it always said there was just too much acid in my stomach in the mornings and to just take tums before i eat, but that made it worse I think.

I've not been diagnosed with any form of IBS and I'm not currently taking anything like medications or probiotics to help it. What is an IBSer or IBS-Der?

 Is it worth even worth wasting a trip to the doctor for??

Stephanie

Posted 6/6/2007 7:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Stephanie,

Yes, I do think you should see a doctor. Anytime you have pain with bowel changes you should see a doctor.
Sorry about the acronyms, let me clarify:
IBS = Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IBSer = one who has IBS
IBS-D = Diarrhea predominant IBS
IBS-C = Constipation predominant IBS
IBS-A = IBS that alternates between C & D

I hope that helps!
Posted 6/7/2007 5:00 AM (GMT 0)
Why don't you change you morning diet and eat soluble fiber first? If it is acid you might try taking Pepcid an hour before you eat and really you should stay away from carbonated stuff in the AM. I am wondering if you may be sensitive to dairy. Why don't you try no dairy for a week and see what happens. Try some toast and jam with juice and stay away from the sugar alcohols.
Posted 6/7/2007 2:23 PM (GMT 0)

eating jelly/jam and juice in the morning also irritates my stomach.  I've not noticed any adverse reactions to dairy in the morning or at any other point in the day. If I choose to have a soda in the morning, I drink a Diet soda, and have no problems at all with it.  That's when I thought maybe it had something to do with sugar.

I'm just gonna bite it and go see the doctor.

Posted 6/7/2007 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like you're having a problem with sugar indeed.  Jams/jellies and juices all contain massive amounts of sugar as well.  Try cutting out all sugary products (if it's got anything containing the suffix "-ose" in there, or "sugar" as one of the first several ingredients, don't eat it; also be careful of any fruits) for a week or two to see if this clears up.  Bran cereals with lactose-free milk are a good bet, or oatmeal (I like it mixed with peanut butter), regular ol' toast, etc.

Seeing the doctor is a good idea as well.

Posted 6/7/2007 4:14 PM (GMT 0)
Have you just tried eating eggs and bacon or sausage for breakfast? Some people just can't tolerate a high does of sugar on their stomach first thing in the morning. I used to not be able to drink oragne juice in the mornings because it gave me heartburn, although I was fine drinking it later in the evening (can't seem to drink it at all now). While it may just be your stomach in the mornings, you may also have a reaction, like an allergy, to real sugar in general, and so many need to cut it out all together. I'd start by eating a non-sugary breakfast and see what happens. If you can tolerate sugar later on, then okay, it's just your stomach being a bit persnickity. If you have problems later on in the day, like after eating a dessert, then you need to check with a doctor/allergist to see if you have an allergy to sugars, and if so, which ones (all sugars are similar, but they are also different enough that you might can tolerate honey, but not cane sugar).
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