Diet Soda, IBS & Back Pain Connection?

**Cele** · 02-26-2007, 08:21 PM

This is just too weird. I was diagnosed with IBS back in 2000. It has sent me to the ER on average of once a year despite taking meds daily. The last two months I've had some terribly painful flare-ups. The pain will start in the gut but then my back (I'm guessing near the kidneys) will go into spasms too.

I'm starting to see a correlation between the back pain and drinking diet pop, but I don't know if it's a true correlation or if my IBS is just being a pain again. I'll be seeing my GI doc next week and I'll ask him, but I'd really like to know if this has happened to anyone else.

When I say pain, I mean the double-you-over kind. There is something going on in there.

**AheeK** · 02-26-2007, 10:20 PM

Yikes, that does sound painful. I hope the appt goes well and the doctor figures out why the pain is so bad. Do you drink a lot of diet pop? Would it be hard for to give it up if the doctor told you to?

**acidcookie** · 02-26-2007, 11:11 PM

I wouldn't doubt this link at all. Diet soda contains (usually) aspartame which is not something the body is equipped to digest. I know diet sodas get to me in a way that feels like a mild version of how my lactose intolerance would act up if I ate ice cream.

Your body specifically may have a reaction to it. Cut it out and see what happens.

**kaykwilts** · 02-26-2007, 11:38 PM

I will occasionally drink a Coke Free which has aspartame in it but I won't drink anything with aspartame on a regular basis. I've read too much about the harmful effects of aspartame on the body. You need to read the book by Jordan Rubin called Patient Heal Thyself. His body was withering away from the effects of Krones disease but he started getting better once he changed how he was eating.

**ecgsmama** · 02-27-2007, 10:12 AM

I use to have gut pain all the time that would wrap around to my back and sometimes up into my chest. I stopped drinking diet soda (which is the only soda I drank) and that helped, but I still had some discomfort. At the time I was also drinking a lot of green tea with Splenda. I cut that out (the Splenda) as well and all of the discomfort is gone.

Through my own "experimentation" I realized me and sugar substitutes do NOT get along.

Now I might have one soda a month - just as a treat!

**Cele** · 02-27-2007, 12:29 PM

Hmm, interesting stuff. Yes, it will be hard for me to give up pop. I don't drink coffee, tea, etc. However, I've stopped drinking it. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference.

About a year ago I became about the phosphous in diet pop, so I started drinking regular...but the calories and sugar are just too much. I switched back to diet about a month ago.

Oh, and I've added a glass of cranberry juice each morning.

**mom2three** · 03-03-2007, 10:20 AM

Have you ever decreased your gluten intake? Are you eating more carbs than usual?

**SammeyG** · 03-04-2007, 11:03 AM

Well I don't have ibs. But I have had my gall bladder taken out. When that first flared up I had pain that wraped around to my back. The pain was so bad that I was double up in pain as well. I had to have my gall bladder taken out due to gall stones. Now it seems like that I can't get my body on a regual basis. Also I know that if I drink way to much soda that it will send my stomach in a uproar.

**mom2three** · 03-04-2007, 03:51 PM

Question - what are the ingredients in your favourite diet soda? Your body may not be able to get rid of some of the chemicals and may be causing your issues. I have a very long explanation for why that you can PM me for if you like. As for the person with the gall bladder out, it could be the same underlying problem. Two months ago, I woyuld have thought I was crazy, but all of the research I have done lately suggests otherwise.

Amanda

**mom2three** · 03-04-2007, 03:54 PM

BTW, I am a scientist by training - I have a Ph. D. in Biochemistry. My family has a history of gallbladders being taken out, IBS/IBD, reflux, lupus, asthma, eczema, etc.

**PrairieRose** · 03-04-2007, 06:27 PM

I might also be suspicious of a possible kidney stone. That double you over pain sounds very familiar to that, oh and gall stones will do that too.... . If I were you (I know you didn't ask) but I'd drink a lot of water and try to flush a stone...(now don't do what that woman did that died from drinking too much water in that radio contest or anything like that) but drink more than usual and then watch the potty..... . If you were to see some blood you could feel pretty sure that's what it is.

**Cele** · 03-04-2007, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by mom2three

Have you ever decreased your gluten intake? Are you eating more carbs than usual?

No, I haven't had any real changes to my diet. I did indeed have my gallbladder removed in 2000. The GI doc who diagnosed me with IBS told me he suspected my gallbladder could have stayed in, that the symptoms were really IBS attacks. I was shocked at the time that he point-blank told me I had had unecessary surgery.

I think I have discovered a big piece of the puzzle. About three months ago I stopped taking Nexium. I just didn't think I needed it anymore. (I know...self-diagnosing is not smart.) I started taking it four days ago and I've had almost zero pain. I see my GI tomorrow and I'll post any additional update at that time.

**mom2three** · 03-04-2007, 09:50 PM

Stopping the Nexium would do this indeed, but you still did not take care of the underlying problem if you have to go back to nexium. I still would think about a gluten free diet - your doctor might think I am nuts, but I can pretty much guarentee it will help.

**MandiDawn** · 03-05-2007, 01:11 PM

well, I have IBS also, and just last night I was doubled over in cramps and pain. Still not 100% today (or any day of me life for that matter). But anyway - if you find a cure, let me know!!! and no, I dont' drink any diet pop. I drink water all day with one MT Dew at lunch.