Pizza makes me ill
Discussion
I used to eat pizza quite regularly and also used to suffer from waking up in the early hours of the morning with severe stomach cramps. The pain is always on the left side of my belly button and if I sleep on my left side this incrases the risk of it happening. Over the last year I've eaten less pizza and as a result found myself waking up in agony far less often (almost never).
Last night we had pizza for tea, I had three slices and sure enough at 4am this morning I was woken by severe stomach cramps. Off i went to the toilet and unfortunately all that came out was a lot of trapped gas.
Cut to 8am and once again waking in agony, only this time to go to the toilet and be on the verge of the squits. This is quite common when this happens and although it's never full on diarrohea it's somewhat close (more of a porridge consistency).
Also, after this happens my stomach is in utter agony for the next 24 hours or so.
So basically, what's wrong with me? I thought IBS but reading on the net from IBS sufferers although they all seem to have similar conditions they're far worse (running to the toilet within minutes of eating certain foods, not being able to make it to the toilet, etc). I'm guessing it's not the cheese in the pizza as I eat other cheese products often and never have this issue so I'm assuming it's possibly an problem with the yeast in the pizza dough?
I was tested for H Pylori a few years ago and that was negative and the few times I've mentioned this to my GP he always says it's probably gastro-entiritis (although to be fair I hadn't managed to narrow the issue down to pizza then).
Any advice?
Last night we had pizza for tea, I had three slices and sure enough at 4am this morning I was woken by severe stomach cramps. Off i went to the toilet and unfortunately all that came out was a lot of trapped gas.
Cut to 8am and once again waking in agony, only this time to go to the toilet and be on the verge of the squits. This is quite common when this happens and although it's never full on diarrohea it's somewhat close (more of a porridge consistency).
Also, after this happens my stomach is in utter agony for the next 24 hours or so.
So basically, what's wrong with me? I thought IBS but reading on the net from IBS sufferers although they all seem to have similar conditions they're far worse (running to the toilet within minutes of eating certain foods, not being able to make it to the toilet, etc). I'm guessing it's not the cheese in the pizza as I eat other cheese products often and never have this issue so I'm assuming it's possibly an problem with the yeast in the pizza dough?
I was tested for H Pylori a few years ago and that was negative and the few times I've mentioned this to my GP he always says it's probably gastro-entiritis (although to be fair I hadn't managed to narrow the issue down to pizza then).
Any advice?
Edited by Oakey on Monday 27th July 18:55
There are a number of things it could be - cheese (maybe you're eating more when you eat a pizza than you usually would), yeast as you said, wheat, or a combination of them. It could be cooked cheese, which some people find harder to digest than uncooked. A friend of mine gets exactly this but only when she eats pizza and drinks wine. Bizarre. Pizza and no wine, she's fine. Wine without pizza, still fine. Wine and pizza, and it hits! That's the thing with IBS though (and as a sufferer, I should know), it is odd. The term IBS covers a lot of things, and the symptoms don't have to be as severe as you mentioned. Sometimes mine kick in within minutes and are pretty extreme, other times they might take a few hours to come on and last longer but not be as bad (maybe just bloating, discomfort and a headache for a day or two).
If it is just pizza you get this with, I'd say just avoid it. Sounds annoying but it could be worse - some people have to avoid all wheat and dairy products, and more besides. If you start to find it with more foods it's worth going to a doctor, though from my experience the most likely thing you'll be told is to start cutting out the most common offenders (wheat/gluten, lactose, yeast), which you can try yourself without a trip to your GP.
Might also be worth looking at how long you wait before going to bed - it might be worth trying a pizza at lunch and seeing whether you get the same effect. If not, maybe you just digest it slowly and you're getting serious indigestion...
If it is just pizza you get this with, I'd say just avoid it. Sounds annoying but it could be worse - some people have to avoid all wheat and dairy products, and more besides. If you start to find it with more foods it's worth going to a doctor, though from my experience the most likely thing you'll be told is to start cutting out the most common offenders (wheat/gluten, lactose, yeast), which you can try yourself without a trip to your GP.
Might also be worth looking at how long you wait before going to bed - it might be worth trying a pizza at lunch and seeing whether you get the same effect. If not, maybe you just digest it slowly and you're getting serious indigestion...
Thanks for the replies. the last time it happened was when the OH cooked a homemade cheese, potato and leek bake. I'd put it down to the leek as they apparently contai a lot of sulphur, however, she used mozzarella (I think anyway) so perhaps that's the cause (or maybe a combination of those ingredients).
I've not tried eating 3 or 4 slices of bread with / after pizza. Would this make symptoms worse or reduce them?
I've not tried eating 3 or 4 slices of bread with / after pizza. Would this make symptoms worse or reduce them?
I did wonder if I had perhaps written that poorly. What I mean was that if you eat a pizza at 8pm, try eating bread (or even a sandwich) at 8pm one evening when you're not eating pizza. It'd be a simple (non-scientific) way of seeing if you've got a wheat intolerance, I'd have thought.ShadownINja said:
I did wonder if I had perhaps written that poorly. What I mean was that if you eat a pizza at 8pm, try eating bread (or even a sandwich) at 8pm one evening when you're not eating pizza. It'd be a simple (non-scientific) way of seeing if you've got a wheat intolerance, I'd have thought.I have exactly the same issue.
I found that it only really happens when I eat alot of pizza, rather than the type.
it just seems tome, Im not able to digest it, get bunged up with pizza dough which leads to a bit of gas block.
so make sure you chew it all properly and try thin based not thick crust !
I found that it only really happens when I eat alot of pizza, rather than the type.
it just seems tome, Im not able to digest it, get bunged up with pizza dough which leads to a bit of gas block.
so make sure you chew it all properly and try thin based not thick crust !
To be frank I'd get to your doctor and ask for a scan / full GI series. (This will involve a camera up the bum, sorry.)
You don't say how old you are, and I'm presuming under 40, however stuff like colon cancer isn't unknown in this age group, and when it's detected is often advanced.
Hate to worry you, and hopefully what you have is just a bit of IBS, but get it checked - please. I've lost two friends to colon cancer, aged 35 and 38.
You don't say how old you are, and I'm presuming under 40, however stuff like colon cancer isn't unknown in this age group, and when it's detected is often advanced.
Hate to worry you, and hopefully what you have is just a bit of IBS, but get it checked - please. I've lost two friends to colon cancer, aged 35 and 38.
That's damned young for such cancer!oldbanger said:
To have IBS it isn't necessary to have an immediate violent reponse to eating something wrong - 12 or even 24 hours delay isn't unheard of.
As my consultant likes to tell me, "To have IBS is the medicine worlds way of telling you 'we simply don't know what's wrong with you'".IBS is nothing more than a handy catch-all statement for confused GP's.
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