Allergy or infection...
June 10, 2012 7:29 AM   Subscribe

What's wrong with my tummy? Third day of achiness and intestines not doing their job. I'm concerned I have a food allergy but I would like some input to see if I'm a hypochondriac...

I woke up with an upset stomach two days ago. It's mild but annoying. I was exhausted yesterday, but that is most likely from the previous day (I had a 12-hour outside shift at work, walking quickly for a majority of it). I woke up a few times last night with loose stool, and this morning my stomach is again bothering me. I also have a mild yeast infection.

I am concerned that I have a mild sensitivity to gluten or yeast. I had food allergy testing 8 years ago and at the time tested as allergic to yeast, but I know allergies can change by not eating that substance for several months. I had pizza yesterday, which may have prolonged the discomfort. I also usually get an upset stomach when I have milk, and I usually drink almond milk, but had to buy regular milk for my coffee because the store was out of almond milk. But I'm usually ok with small quantities of milk. I can't remember having anything out of the ordinary the day before this started, though I did have more bread than usual a few days before it started.

So is it possible this is an allergy? Or more likely that it's a mild viral infection? I've had nausea, but extremely mild, which is why I don't think it's viral.

Another point to note is that I added meat back into my diet after almost a year of not eating meat (but I was eating seafood) because I was diagnosed as iron deficient.
posted by DoubleLune to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)
 
Best answer: Have you had a recent panel of food alergen testing? If not, you might want to do it. There's a difference between an allergy and a sensitivity. Most of us discover things that disagree with us and steer clear of them, or eat them and endure the consequences.

If testing is too costly, try an elimination diet. (It's incredibly boring) This will help you discover any sensitivities, or downright allergies.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:48 AM on June 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


Best answer: It sounds to me like you are just overwhelming your system with things you haven't been eatting normally.

If you have some pepto bismol around, try taking that and see if that helps.
posted by royalsong at 7:50 AM on June 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


It could be an allergy, it could be almost anything. So far you're dealing with symptoms centered around a single point in time. Unless you get them to repeat there is no reason to suspect a pattern (like an allergy).
posted by OmieWise at 8:15 AM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]


Best answer: It's been three days? I am not a doctor, but my anecdotal experience is that that's well within the realm of non-worrisome digestive upset (as long as you don't have any serious symptoms -- rigid abdomen? Intense pain? Fever?). This could be a mild viral infection, a mild case of food poisoning, a disturbance in your natural intestinal flora, or a lot of other things. Eat bland, forgiving food for a couple of days and see if it resolves itself.

Have you been on antibiotics in the past couple months? Sometimes the stomach stuff crops up a few months afterwards. Probiotics might be helpful and probably wouldn't hurt.

If it persists, then you go see a doctor.
posted by pie ninja at 8:54 AM on June 10, 2012


That sounds like how I would have described my feeling before my appendix burst. I felt like it was something bad I ate for two weeks. I only went to the doctor because I was having trouble sleeping from it.

So if it sticks around, go see a doctor.
posted by BeeDo at 9:01 AM on June 10, 2012


Best answer: Did you have cheese on your pizza? If you're lactose intolerant (suggested by the milk) then cheese will also cause you problems and pizza has a surprising amount.

Anything else that you haven't eaten in a while?

For what it's worth, upset stomach and the dire rear are generally more symptoms of an intolerance than an allergy. Intolerance means that eating a specific thing is going to be unpleasant because you can't digest it properly, but it generally won't be long term harmful. Allergy means that eating (or sometimes just being around) a specific thing is going to go very poorly (e.g. hives, trouble breathing, swelling) because your immune system is going crazy.

In general I would suggest that you stick to whatever you eat on a regular basis for the next few days. You can then add new or uncertain things one at a time and pin down what is actually a problem.
posted by anaelith at 9:08 AM on June 10, 2012


You're lactose intolerant and you ate a pizza and drank milk in your coffee. You have diagnosed problems with yeast and you ate food containing it. You ate red meat for the first time in a year.

Frankly, I'd be shocked if you didn't have an upset stomach.
posted by J. Wilson at 9:53 AM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]


Yes, it sounds like you are having responses to food intolerances/sensitivities that you're already aware of. Agree with everyone who suggests another allergy panel and/or an elimination diet if you want to take a more current inventory of what foods you are sensitive to.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:18 AM on June 10, 2012


Response by poster: Just to clarify:
The yeast intolerance was supposedly addressed by cutting out yeast (and other things that reacted) for 3 months and then gradually reintroducing them. I don't usually have a problem with foods with yeast in them. I eat pizza from time to time and if it bothers me its for 30 min max.

I eat a lot of cheese and don't have a problem with it. Milk I normally have mild discomfort for maybe 30 minutes, but not always.

I started eating meat 4-6 weeks ago and haven't had a problem. I originally cut it out because I was having digestive trouble from it, but that seems to have resolved in the interim.

Also, I can't think of anything I ate prior to the onset of this that I've ever had trouble with, except for the larger-than-usual amount of bread a couple days prior. Although I suppose its possible that I still have a very minor sensitivity and having too much triggered it, and then just being extra sensitive causes the other things to flare up. I don't know if it works like that, but it makes sense.

I like the idea of an elimination diet, or might even get testing if it persists. I'm concerned that somethings been triggered and will be a bigger problem now than its been. However, I'm not ruling out the possibility that something else is wrong because I haven't been able to eat at all today.
posted by DoubleLune at 10:32 AM on June 10, 2012


Are you taking an antifungal? Even 'topical' for vaginal yeast infections can give some people some amount of stomach/GI upset.

Also nth the allergies aren't intolerances thing; but GI symptoms are generally not *allergies* and GI problem foods will generally not show up on an *allergy* panel. The Cleveland clinic's page is a good outline.
posted by cobaltnine at 11:32 AM on June 10, 2012


Try some Good Belly and see where that takes you. It has done wonders for me!
posted by bkeene12 at 8:19 PM on June 10, 2012


I have occasional mystery problems like this, and things with red sauce are often a trigger. I have only narrowed it down to this: there is either a variety of tomato, or some kind of cooking method, that triggers it. If I eat jar sauce like Ragu types of things, instant agony. But if I make my own with tomato paste, usually nothing.
posted by gjc at 6:58 AM on June 11, 2012


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