Do I have to count it if it went straight through? (TMI!!)

  • So, I woke up around 6 this morning with a really bad stomach ache. I thought maybe I was hungry (I had eaten an early dinner and I sometimes get stomach pain if I'm really hungry) so I ate a nature valley bar and water. Five minutes later, it came straight out, along with the water (ETA: as in diarrhea) ....do I count it?

    Although it may not matter since I'm scared to eat anything else today...

    I'm also trying to figure out why and there are two possibilities - one, I got travel shots on Friday or two, I went to bed really late so I took my multivitamin really late (about 7 hrs after a meal time) so maybe that irritated my stomach...help?
  • That happens to me sometimes too, when I drink coffee with my breakfast, or if I eat something too high in fat (my gall bladder is gone). I count it. There's really no way of knowing how many of those calories were absorbed.
  • Yes, you have to count it. You begin to metabolize food in your mouth, so even if the process was never completed you still have a certain caloric intake. Instead of guessing the fraction of the bar's calories that you took in, just log the entire amount to be safe.
  • You have many feet of intestine. It takes hours for food to go through normally, and then more hours when it enters the colon and the excess water is reabsorbed. That's on a normal day, so even if you have diarrhea, the transit time is increased due to increased peristalsis and less time to reabsorb the water in the colon(and spasms). But it likely was not your granola bar you said goodbye to if it was 5 minutes later. That would be some severe diarrhea, and I'm talking about if you had Cholera. So in short, yes, I would say you have to count it, but maybe try taking some immodium? If there is blood or mucus then don't, and see your doc, but if not then it's ok, and might help. There are many reasons for diarrhea, some people are more prone than others. Lucky you, you get it today! Feel better soon.
  • This may be off topic, but as far as eating today, go with the BRAT diet until you're sure your stomach is playing on your team.

    Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast - nice and easy on the tummy

    This is what my sister's gastro-doc told her to do when her colitis is acting up.