I've been posting this questions all over the forum and I think I've learned that sugar alcohols are causing my upset stomach and severe diarrhea. Atkins bars are a downfall of mine - the Advantage Peanut Butter especially. But I am so sick and if it is the bars causing it, I guess I need to give them up. I haven't noticed a direct link between bar consumption and stomach problems but maybe I'm missing it. I was good for the first 2 months - felt great, but I've had diarrhea for weeks now - should I be taking a potassium supplement just in case? I'm starting to get concerned, and I'm really uncomfortable - never know where or when the cramps will hit. Would sugar alcohols be in anything else? I don't eat any other candy etc., and I use splenda for sweetening coffee and tea. Otherwise I stick to lots of veggies, cheeses, eggs and lean meats. Plus supplements, which I also question - could L-Carnitine, Chromium, Omega 3,6&9, CoQ10 or Calcium/Magnesium be causing this? Also my multi-vitamin has iron. Help! I talked to my doctor and he says it's Irritable Bowel Syndrome and that I should take fibre supplements even though I'm sure I eat lots of fibre in all the veggies - tried that and it was sooooo worse. I first tried Metamucil but then saw it had 3.6 g of sugar/tsp so I bought Psyllium husks and tried - that made me sicker. Now I don't know what I'm safe to eat. My doc also told me not to take Imodium or Pepto or anything else like that because it really messes with your bowels, so I see no relief in sight.
Help!!!!

Wow, it sure sounds like you are trying so, so, hard!
You're wise to contact your dr.
I suggest you call him and tell him it's not working. See what he says. Don't wait around!

Please let us know what happens, will you?
You've done great so far by looking at your stats!

Annie-Pie

hi there,

I replied a while ago to your post in the General Health forum http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=146542

Yes, the s/a's could very well be contributing to your problem. Or it could be a virus or bacterial infection. But I think a likely culprit is the high dose of vitamin C. It may not be too high for most, but some people are very sensitive to it. Check out that other post for more info.


hth,

Doreen

You know they do make a suagrfree Metamucil as well and Benefiber which is only 1 Effective carb per dose

Could it be dairy consumption? You mentioned you didnt see a direct link when you ate the SA & then the cramping. I used to be a real dairy hound- all my life, with no problems, then when I was aabout 32 or so BAM! I started having the same issues you describe- cramping, running to the restroom etc. After a couple of weeks I finally tried taking the Lactaid pill before eating ANY dairy- it was an experiment- but it worked! Turns out you can become lactose intollerant anytime- usually as you get older if its going to happen. Maybe this is part of what causes your sickness? it might be worth a try to get a small pack of these pills, or give up all dairy for a week & experiment. Usually my symptoms start between 45 min. -2 hours after i eat dairy (if i dont take the pill first) Too many S/As bother my stomach also- but since its usually bars or chocolate (that have dairy in them) I attribute it to that most of the time.
Good luck!

i went to the hospital twice because of gas,bloating,severe cramps, vommiting,diarehhea....its the sugar in the bars/mixes...stay away from them unless you want to live on the toiliet...

Thank you all for your quick assistance. I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow morning, and I am going to take all my jars of supplements etc. with me, plus the wrapper from an Advantage bar so she knows exactly what's going into me. I'll try the Lactaid pills too, because that would be a very simple solution. I'll let you know what the end result is...thanks again.

To update, I spent the morning with my doctor and at the lab having many vials of blood taken and an ECG because my blood pressure was very high (it has NEVER been high before) and I have to get "samples" for the lab as well to check why my stomach is so upset. She did read the labels on everything I am taking - supplements etc., plus she examined the ingredients in the Advantage bars and said they should not be causing what I am experiencing, except perhaps the Vit. C! She said to cut it back to 1000 a day and I have to go see her again on Friday morning. I'm hoping my blood pressure was high just because I had just done my 30 minute cardio workout followed by 10 minutes in the steam room...anyway thanks for your concern, I wanted to update you.

Forgot - I'm also going for a lactose tolerance test on Friday.
AJ

Good luck AJ. Hope everything turns out ok. I know what you mean about the sugar alcohols. They tend to mess me up if I have too many.

Let us know what the doctor finds out.

Wanted to let you know, my problem was lactose intolerance - I had the test, which actually came back OK, but on my follow-up with the doctor a week later, she said it was unusual and that I was borderline so I was able to get away with having dairy products the way I used to eat - so after getting really sick on Sunday night/Monday morning after having Grey Cup (Canadian football final) hot wings with blue cheese and Swiss cheese on a hamburger patty, I cut out ALL cheese from my diet yesterday, and lo and behold I was finally OK for the first time in over 2 weeks yesterday and so far today. I'm thinking that it was OK to eat cheese once in a while before, but on Atkins I've been having at least a bit of cheese with just about every meal or snack (sprinkled on my salad, cream cheese on celery, hard cheese for snacks) and I guess the intolerance finally caught up with me. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't come back, and I'll try to eventually add some cheese back in small doses later on. On the good side, I'll be cutting back the calories too!

So anyone else out there who's lactose intolerant - what is a good substitute for cheese?

I would still cut out the SA's. There are different kinds of SA and some cause stomach upset in some people, while others effect other people. Also I've noticed they have an accumalative effect. If I have a SF chocoalte once in a blue moon, no prob, but if I start having them to regularly, the upset stomach sets in.

For lactose intolerent there is sofu cheese you can get. The best hting to do though may be to stay away from dairy products completely for a while. There is life beyond cheese. When you are in OWL you can try adding in small amounts of yogurt or keifer as these may not effect the stomach as badly due to low lactose.

Soy slender is a great LC soy milk with 1 net carb per cup and it tastes great. You might look into getting some of that.

I know dairy can be addicting. Read the chapte rin Atkins on food intolerences. He talks about how the food we can't tolerate is often the one we crave the most, kind of like a heroin addict. You feel great for a little bit, then it hits. I know for me I love dairy. I love cream, cheese, cream cheese, and so on. But too much and I definetly stall and bloat up like crazy.

I am lactose intolerant too but lucky in that it takes a LOT of cheese ot make me ill... even the smallest amount of milk gets me FAST! I am sorry...but at least you know your problem and I think once you are used to life without cheese you'll feel a LOT better!

I am so sorry about your tummy trouble. Get yourself checked for C-difficile bacteria, just in case. I had it once, after a run of antibiotics months earlier for a sinus infection, and before the newer and better test for C-diff was created. I suffered with it twelve weeks, after which time I was hospitalized for dehydration, cramping, and diarrhea, where it still wasn't diagnosed. They thought it was ulcerative colitis. Finally, after a biopsy and the coming online of the newer C-diff test, the C-diff was diagnosed correctly at the beginning of my thirteenth week. There is a pandemic of it going on right now. The right antibiotic cleared it up very quickly. Ironically, what started it also cured it. Good luck.

This thread is 11 years old... I think the OP either recovered or... Hopefully recovered. :-)

That's HILARIOUS !!