Stomach Pain

After having read some similar posts, I don't think that my situation was addressed by these other answers, so here is my problem: I have lately been experiencing some fairly uncomfortable stomach pain, that lasts about an hour after I have finished the shake. I do not have diarrhea or constipation, and there is no nausea, just pain, and it seems that the pain is gone after the shake has left my stomach; yet it causes me no intestinal distress: no pain, discomfort, bloating, nothing! It has been in about the last two weeks or so that I started having this pain.
 
I have been taking Almased as directed for about 8 weeks now, and I have had great results: I have lost 12-15 pounds during this time, which is very encouraging and I really want to keep going. In fact, it is the only thing that has actually worked for me. I have one shake for breakfast and one for lunch, and a reasonable dinner. I rarely eat fruit on the diet, and have lots of fresh veggies, a small amount of lean meat, and make sure the grains I eat are always whole. I have never had any problems being lactose intolerant, and in fact I can drink milk/eat dairy with no negative effects; however I tried using Lactaid with the shakes to see if that reduced the pain, and it did nothing to help. I usually mix my shakes this way: 6 scoops of powder (I am 5'2" and 150lbs now) with 10 oz bottled still water and 2-3oz unsweetend almond milk/or occasionally skim milk, with a pinch of cinnamon for taste. I don't mix oil with the shake, I find it fairly unpalatable that way, so take a supplement instead.
 
I really don't want to stop, because it has been so effective for me, but I am losing about 2 hours out of every day because I am so uncomfortable, and being a stay at home mom to a 4-year-old and a full-time graduate student, that time is precious!
 
Any advice would be most appreciated!

Hello helee3,

I'm sorry to hear about your stomach pain. When did the pain exactly start, how long have you been on Almased at that point?
Did you change anything in your diet during that time, e.g. went from liquid diet to eating solid foods again?
It is fairly uncommon to have stomach pain from Almased since it usually helps with that.  It is also strange that the stomach pain started after using Almased.

I would suggest stopping with Almased until your symptoms resolve. Then restart with 1 Almased shake per day mixed in only bottled water, nothing else added. This is the most neutral way and will give us a better idea if your stomach pain really comes from Almased or coincidentally from something else.

I know that you don't want to get off Almased at the moment but I don't see another way of trying to figure out if the pain really comes from Almased or not.

Let me know if this is helpful.


Silke

 I have stopped taking Almased for now, and I am just eating regular meals for now. I will give Almased another try in a week or two, and see how I react to it then. However, after posting my question, I did try one more shake with just bottled water only, and I had the same stomach pain. Is it possible that I may have developed a sensitivity to soy? Just wondering.
 
Thanks.

Hello helee3,

You may be sensitive to soy or it could be something else that happened coincidentally. I think your plan is good, to stop with Almased for now and retry it once you feel better.

Let us know how you are doing.


Silke