In the past month or so I have suddenly started getting digestive problems for the first time in my life, after 8 months of low carbing.
What happens is that when I eat anything, the esophogeal sensation is like there is a small lump there and afterwards a mild burning feeling...not severe, just annoying. Sometimes when this is bad, I get some stomach discomfort as well. I first noticed this happening when I was experiementing with making low carb (high gluten) bread...thought I must have celiac disease, but recent blood tests don't suggest this. Since stopping eating gluten it improved, but not altogether, and it seems to happen whenever I eat anything.

What is strange is that most people who suffer heartburn (and this is not that severe) say that lc fixes it for them...I have never had a problem with digestion in my life before. A week ago I tried to eat a bit of mildly hot curry, and also for the first time, couldn't tolerate it.

Any ideas?

Val

First, see your doctor and describe your symptoms. That's the most important thing to do.

If you think it might be 'GERD or Gastro-esophageal reflux disease', then try some of those 'over the counter' anti-acid pills like Pepcid AC. I get the things that work for "9 hours". Take some regularly for about a week and then see how you do without them. It could be just a temporary inflammation of stomach or esophagus.

But your own physician is your best advisor. Not everything is due to LCing.

Thanks for the reply,

Yes, I had mentioned this to doc, which is why he ran the check in the blood tests re celiac...

As to anti-acids, I have read on medical sites that taking them actually makes the problem worse in the long run as they disrupt the acid balance and so actually aggravate the condition long term... also the problem may not be an acid one anyway.

I will see how it goes, and if no improvement over the next month, may request a check re heliobacter (sp?) which I believe imitates these Sx.

I was just interested to hear if anyone else had experienced any of this from LCing.

Val

Val

I have the same symptoms, although mine sometimes start even before I have eaten anything.

I tried Mastic gum, a herbal remedy which is supposed to kill helicobacter, DGL (Liquorice), over the counter antacids, Slippery Elm Bark and digestive enzymes. Nothing works. I had a barium swallow to check for ulcers and reflux - nothing. The specialist prescribed Nexium which switches the stomach acid off - it had absolutely no effect on the burning. I still haven't found anything that could help. I don't have the burning all month, it seems to be worse just after my period for some reason..

Sorry I can't offer any advice. The only thing that I haven't explored yet is the possibility that the burning might not come from stomach acid but from bile from the gall bladder. Not sure if I can get a doctor to check for that.

Hope you find out what works for you.

Michaela

Michaela,

Have you always had this problem, or since Lo carbing? I am inclined to wonder if it is coincidental and if it would have happened anyway..

I am not too bad at the moment, but you can feel it sort of lurking there all the time.

Val

Hi Val:
i just spent a day in ER because of this, in my case the pain was so intense and I felt like something was chocking me, that DH thought it was a heart attack, they did a bunch of tests and consider all numbers were fine, and low cholesterol, etc, they explained that it's esophogeal spasm, which can be mistaken for heart pain. it was really scary and i couldn't figure out why I got it all of a sudden, so thank you for your post. i feel so much better now, that I'm not alone LOL. i recall that I felt this minor lump like feeling in my throat before and it felt funny when the food was going down, but this time it was just excrutiating pain, cramp like. they gave me 2 nitros and vicodin and it took care of it. the doc said that protein/fat meal requires more acid production and this excess acid irritates nerves in esophagus, and it contracts even when there is no food. i told that i don;t feel heart burn,a nd she said it's not high enough for me to feel it, but enough to irritate esophagus. i was scared to eat anything for almost 2 days after all. I've started Prevacid and it feels a bit better after a few days, but still not completely gone.
Regards,
Dina

Dina, what did they suggest to do about it...for us low carbers who eat protein and fat it could be an issue. At the moment, I am trying digestive enzymes for protein and am feeling a bit better too. What is interesting is that it was gluten flour that was the biggest problem and kicked it off. I seem to be able to eat a fatty meal, like lamb chops with not too much problem. But it always is there lurking in the background and doesn't seem to go away entirely. Of course after a while I will adapt to the feeling I suppose and it will feel 'normal'!

But what an ordeal you went through...mine was never that bad. The worst pain I have had related to eating was about two months ago, incredible stomach cramps, as if I had eaten a bowl of indigestible sponge rubber or something when I had a dish of curry and a few spoons of a bit undercooked rice at a friend's...dreadful.

Val

Hi Val:
they suggested i take Prevacid to curb acid production. also, oatmeal and bananas are well known stomack healers, which we can't have on low carb, LOL anyway, i never had it that bad before however, as you mentioned, it was on a background since I've started low carb and is still there but very mild. interesting, but a day before I ate Atkins cold cereal and the same day I've cooked some low carb pasta for dinner, both products for the first time. Pasta tasted exactly like indigestible sponge rubber or even worst, cereal was too sweet for my taste. Pasta was so bad, that I've tossed the remaining with the box right away. The cereal box was next to go, LOL and the next day I've got this horrible pain. i didn't connect these two, but may be too much soy or gluten, which is this low carb pasta is made of, not sure. I'm not big fan of low carb products, and this was last time I've bought it, after I've tossed Flax-O-meal hot cereal, yuk. I still feel very mild cramping in esophagus and take Prevacid, which takes care of burning in my tummy. anyway, try to stay away from spicy food, alcohol, strong cofee and icy cold beverages. it irritates stomack and it'll produce more acid. generally, i've eased up on carbs lately because of stomack. also, baco, sausages, and such with MSG and lot's of sodium is the worst if there is a stomack pain. it's easy to develop gastritis, and most of us have to a certain degree after 40. i'm just trying to eat mostly steamed and boiled, sauteed but nothing fried , and nothing hot or cold, less sodium and few smaller meals. dairy, especially cheese, requries more acid to be digested. so, not so good news for low carbers.
good luck,
dina

Val

I have had this for about a year which also coincides with me getting CFS, I only started low carbing in October and it has not made it worse. I have had oesophagus spasms for several years but only if I ate really dry foods such as potatoes without gravy. These spasms were excrutiatingly painful but they always went away by themselves. Luckily potatoes are not on the menu anymore....

Somewhere I read that sometimes people with celiac disease have a burning sensation in the throat. I recently cut wheat from my diet because I have become intolerant to it. Maybe other food intolerances could do this, too...

I really wish I knew the answer..

All the best
Michaela

Well, as I only have a few pounds left to lose, and those aren't really ciritcal (lost what I really had to..the rest is pure cosmetic vanity), I may get back to eating more carbs in forms like oatmeal and bananas. I am torn about cutting back fats or protein because of the other health benefits...my triglycerides were 0.79 (not sure what that is in American- but is extremely low) for example.

It probably wouldn't hurt me to eat less volume of food...have always been a glutton which this WOE can sort of pander to a bit.

Its hard to 'swallow' (pardon pun) after always believing I had stomach and digestion of iron!

Val