Last night, after I had all my daily carbs, I came up with this indigestion from Hell! I had nothing in the way of Tums, etc. to take for it and it hurt so bad I thought for a while I was having a heart attack. Anyway by 1:00 am I was desperate for something to make this go away. I ended up drinking a full glass of whole milk! It did help. I finally went to sleep but so much for my carb count yesterday. Since I started this woe, I am experiencing indigestion a lot. Granted last night was the first time it has got so bad I couldn't stand it. Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a natural, low carb way I can combat this? Please advise a.s.a.p.! Thanks Anita

Anita,

What did you eat yesterday and at what times? Let's try to see what did this to you.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Hi Maggie, well lets see. It wasn't my best of menu's but here it is.
Breakfast
3 Saltine crackers with 1 oz cheese.
snack 2 slices american cheese.
skipped lunch for lack of time
Dinner
3 boneless pork chops
salad with lettuce tomato 1 slice cheese bacon bits
Ranch dressing.
I didn't get in much water yesterday either.
What do you think? It seems like everytime I have a salad I get indigestion. I have already layed off the cucumbers and green peppers. I hope it's not the lettuce doing this to me. If so I am in big trouble.
I sure could use some help. Thanks Maggie.

WHOA! way too long between meals and not enough water makes digestion UNLIKELY to be comfortable. I eat 5-7 times a day to keep insulin levels stable and aid digestion while drinking a gallon of water[ not counting any other drinks ]. Those changes alone will change everything.

I think you also didn't eat enough variety yesterday. You starved yourself until nighttime, then shocked your system with all that meat, fat and fiber, while somewhat dehydrated. I agree with ripley, try to eat more in the morning and at lunch; and try to add some lowcarb veggies to BOTH those meals, not just to dinner.

Spreading your fiber and water throughout the day keeps your digestive system working all day long (raises your metabolism too), dilutes your natural digestive acids, keeps your insulin levels more leveled out, and keeps your body from thinking it's starving when you finally do eat! Also you get all those good vitamins, enzimes, etc that help in every way, including digestion.

I know it sounds strange to eat veggies at breakfast (and many people are quite successful without doing this, but they aren't complaining about heartburn either), so try maybe a veggie omelet or scrambled eggs with slightly precooked veggies and see how that feels to your tummy... don't forget to drink a glass of water maybe before you eat. I throw in some mushrooms, chopped onions (or onion powder), a little garlic, maybe green peppers, whatever you like into a scrambled egg or three. (I buy that prechopped garlic in the little jars and keep it in the fridge-or you can use garlic powder.) If you want, you can saute the veggies in olive oil, then add the eggs and scramble it all up, or let it just kind of sit and make a fritatta out of it, or dump them out and cook the egg and then stuff it with the veggies. Or, if you think it's the fat that's setting off your heartburn, try parboiling the veggies before adding them to the eggs - just boil some water hard, throw in all the veggies at once, boil like crazy for about a minute, then drain into a strainer. When you get the egg however you want it, throw in the veggies and either fold it over or scramble it up.

I started out this way, and now think nothing of eating leftover veggies from the night before - cauliflower mashed up with butter and cream, steamed broccoli with melted butter drizzled or some shaved parmisian cheese, whatever is sitting there - I've even been known to eat leftover slaw along with my eggs!!

Also if you want cheese for breakfast, try eating it on a piece of low carb toast, like my mom used to make in the toaster oven (I love Atkins rye bread for this). That has a LOT more good fiber than saltines, has more good nutrients, and probably fewer carbs while giving your body more to "chew on" (more volume).

Hope this isn't too "preachy" but I have suffered occasionally from this kind of indigestion, and I know what you mean about feeling like a heart attack...it's really scarey - sometimes standing up real straight and drinking a couple of glasses of water and then walking around for 5 minutes helps me shake it off...

Good luck!

Cathy

Anita,

You might want to get your gall bladder checked out. Often, a gall bladder that's been getting "sick" for years, will react to a fat challenge such as the dinner you describe after practically fasting all day, with some serious pain and indigestion.

You might want to visit your dr to look into it.

In the meantime, you've gotten some good advice about eating throughout the day. BTW, saltines are a particularly bad choice of food under any circumstances. They start turning to sugar when they hit the saliva in your mouth.

HTH some.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Hi again, just had one last thought -- try different varieties of lettuce and see if maybe the particular kind you used in the salad was what set you off.

My dad always had terrible indigestion followed by cramping whenever he ate iceburg lettuce... but any other variety - romaine, boston, etc - was no problem. Just another idea to try.

Cathy

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>it hurt so bad I thought for a while I was having a heart attack <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

As soon as I read this I thought, like Maggie, that it may be your gallbladder. When I was having attacks that is what it felt like. I think you need to get it checked out. It does not get better without treatment. Mine went out on me after I loss 30 pounds. They say losing weight helps to trigger it.

I hope you feel better!


Susan ( AKA Northwest)
207/172/160/
size 16/12/8
LC since 4/03

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a natural, low carb way I can combat this? Please advise a.s.a.p.! Thanks Anita<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll not belabor a cause of your dyspepsia, but I will sometimes get heartburn and a simple home remedy is baking soda. About 1 tsp dissolved in an 8 oz. glass of water should do the trick. Carb count zero. Though if you are on a sodium restricted diet, I would recommend you not do this regularly. Also persistent heartburn (more than two or three times a week) should be brought to the attention of your doctor.

FTW

Information gladly given, but safety requires no unnecessary conversation.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...wner=RedLegg46

LC - 7/3/03
290/219.8/169

I know you only ate 3 of them, but I'd bet that the saltine crackers are the cuprit. As Maggie states, they turn to sugar.

Sugar will cause indigestion. Believe it.

Case in point: my boss and my husband both went low carb last year. They both had extreme acid reflux and indigestion. After having stayed low carb for two weeks, the indigestion disappeared to the point that my boss no longer had to take prescription meds to fend off the nightly bouts, and John no longer consumes Tums from the jumbo jar. Their culprit was the sugar. The reason I state that is because they both consumed large quantities of Coca Cola, as well as flours in bread and crackers. Taking the sugar out of their diets made the indigestion go away.

Completely.

This same thing happened to me. When I now ingest sugar, in whatever form, I wind up having indigestion. When I eat clean, there is no indigenstion whatsoever.

Again....as advised earlier....please see your doctor if you think you are having a heart attack. Do not wait to post it on a message board. Go immediately to an emergency room.

That's my two cents.

April
352/212/180
Down 140 pounds
32 to go...

I thought it sounded like Gall Bladder too. I had attacks when I was pregant with my 2 oldest boys. The first time I had one, I was sure it was labor. I would go to the Dr. Let him/her run some tests...It is always better to be safe than sorry.

400/335/200