Stomach problems- diet related?

Hey everyone,
I've been a vegetarian since January 19, 2008. Recently, I took a trip to New Orleans and I think I may have accidentally ingested some sort of meat or meat product. At first I thought it was random food poisoning so I had my doctor do a O&P stool sample test and he said everything was normal. Here are my symptoms: The Tuesday that I got home from being away I had really bad stomach cramps, bloating, diarreah, fever of 103 and chills. Then the next day I felt perfectly fine. All I did was drink quite a bit of room temp. water and take some Tylenol for the fever. So I went to work on Wednesday and things were fine. Then all weekend I was fine. The following Tuesday I felt the same symptoms again except my fever wasn't as high, and I was clammy and I fainted, but my stomach cramps were the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. I thought I was dying. I called an ambulance and everything. At this time I was extremely constipated and full of gas and pressure (my stomach was distended at least 3 inches from it's normal position). Then all of a sudden before the ambulance arrived, all of the symptoms went away and I felt "ok", but not 100%. That was last week. So this weekend I was very very very careful of what I ate and kept it to very mild things hoping that my stomach would correct itself while waiting for the test results. Well tests were negative for any parasites, so now I'm concerned. I'm starting to feel the symptoms again and this is going on the 3rd week. Could any of this be from ingesting meat by accident. I did it once before, and I felt similar symptoms, but as soon as I realized it was meat I spit it out and didn't eat it, I was wondering if this time I ate more than a little bit without knowing it. Honestly, I don't believe restaurants when they say something is vegetarian anymore. I think I've been lied to a few times.

can anyone give me some insight. I know I need to see a doctor, but I have been to doctors and they aren't helpful. I guess I can ask for more tests, but no one seems to be believing me anymore about this.

Also, could this have anything to do with gluten. I had cut gluten/wheat out of my diet a few months ago, then brought it back in for personal reasons. I am not sure if anyone knows if that could have just thrown my whole system out of whack.

Thanks!

 

did you ever just think you may have a Virus / aka stomach flu? If you believe doctors tell the truth about everything and really put all lab work under the CSI microscope.. its a sad misconception ..

get some exercise. dont sit slouched, drink more water - eat some bran flakes and raisins ... Invert yourself if gravity fails, stand on your head for a little bit. then try and poop again..

 

I'm a personal trainer, I get plenty of exercise, I don't have time to sit let alone slouch. I drink only water; I haven't had soda/juice or fast food for over 10 years. I do eat plenty of fiber, probably around 30-35 grams a day. I don't know what it is, that is why I went to the doctor and yes I do assume that they are actually doing the lab tests that they are saying that they are doing (and lab work is not like CSI-I'm well aware of this fact- WTF kind of statement is that anyway?). Otherwise I really don't want to know what the hell they are doing with my stool sample I left them. YES it could be a stomach flu, but it could also be something else. I have had food poison before and I have had the "stomach flu" before (which is another name for food poison, genius) and this is not the same thing. Those would have been gone in a few days. This has been going on for 3 weeks now, and it is on and off. So one day I'm fine, the next day I'm calling an ambulance. The first doctor I saw ruled out a virus and food poison. Now they have ruled out parasites (ie giardia, e.coli, etc).

I'm not asking for a diagnosis from a bunch of hippies, what I want to know is could accidentally eating meat cause this type of reaction, or should I be exploring elsewhere?

 

Im far from being a hippie sweety.. other than drug consumption..

I can not eat beef products. They make me sick. Back pain, Nerve over actions, stomach problems, tightness in abs and difficult in bowel movements.. its all possible that you did eat some Meat sometime.

The kinda statement that CSI is, doctors are in the business collecting money, the more times you are sick the more visits you must make..
like taking your car to a mechanic, if you dont know anything about cars, they can keep charging you for things that are not being fixed or misdiagnosing a problem..

Do you feel better now?

 

Eating meat won't hurt your stomach if you consume dairy products because you have the enzyme to break down the proteins. It is more psychological. You probably caught a stomach virus. Trust me, I get grossed out if meat even comes close to my food, so I understand how you feel, but it wouldn't make you feel the way you described.

 

The symptoms you describe aren't from accidentally ingesting meat. You would have been sick starting a few hours after eating it, until possibly the next day at max.

It definitely sounds more like it has to do with the gluten. The gastro distress and bloating you describe are classic symptoms of gluten sensitivity/Celiac's. Cut out the gluten in your diet and see how you feel in 2 weeks... you should probably still go in for a check up just for the hell of it if you haven't already. Good luck!

 

yeah thats what i thinking as well. But a lot of people do get sick after being veg for sometime and then eat meat. Your body is just not used to it. But I think that might be more towards vegans. And also for me just the thought of eating dairy products or meat products makes me feel sick. So maybe it also could be that?

 

Yes, it would be the vegans who would get sick from meat because of the lack of the enzyme. I've been a vegetarian for 9 years and accidentally ate meat 2 times. I didn't get physically sick, just mentally sick.

As for a gluten issue, start taking or drinking a probiotic. I caught a parasite 2 years ago. It made me sensitive to gluten. I started to drink kombucha every day, which I brew my own. It helped me tremendously and I am fine now.