To think Diet Coke caused my visit to A&E?

My late husband who had a PhD in chemistry wouldn’t allow coke (the drink!)in the house.Always said nobody would drink it if they understood the ingredients and what they can do to you.

Have you ever had acute gallstones? The GP will send you to a and e if you present with gallstones and a fever (I know because I've been sent just last week) however you don't KNOW it's gallstones until you KNOW.

Acute, severe, abdominal pain is absolutely a reason to visit a and e.

It is when the person doesn't know where the pain comes from or what it's caused by.

Coke gives me severe stomach pain i cannot drink it at all

Yes but gallstone pain can be agonising and you don't know what it is for certain esp. the first time even if you may suspect you know.

If I got agonising pain I would definitely go to AE. it's an entirely reasonable response.

Ha, an employee of a cola company that uses aspartame says it’s harmless. And bears sh*t in the woods and the Pope is Catholic. Meanwhile back in reality, 92% of independent (of the industry) studies say aspartame has adverse health effects. You can Google it….

Dp actually works for a cola company and they say that the aspartame thing is a bit of a myth to be honest. And to be fair it’s very unlikely that Diet Coke has resulted in abdominal pain at all

Complications from gallstones absolutely are an a and E job though. My mum and sister have both ended up extremely unwell due to gallstones moving out of the gallbladder and into pancreas and liver making both very unwell. My sister was on the critical list and my mum ended up in resus.

OP - were the pains low? I only mention as also perhaps see if you can get a pelvic scan

Years ago - I had what A&E suspect was a twisted ovary. I kid you not but the pains were like labour pains to the point that A&E suspected I had a hidden pregnancy. Like period pains times a million percent. Doubled over. Couldn’t move. I was on gas and air whilst waiting to be assessed. It did twist itself back in the time I was in A&E. Worst pain, other than labour pain, that I’ve ever had. Literally no other symptoms though. Just throwing this other potential out there (sorry!)

Gallstones are something that is referred by a GP. A gallstone attack is painful, but not an A&E job. You don't even know if the OP has gallstones - it could have been gas. Either way, she's clearly OK now, as all her results were fine and she's typing on Mumsnet. So, not an emergency 🙄

Also, you probably mean, "Retching".

That's amusing, seeing as I don't have all my bowel 😂
Funnily enough, I'm just not a baby who goes to A&E with stomach pain.

"Now, I have one friend that swears she will never ever drink Diet Coke as it “rotted her stomach” to the point she needed surgery (I’ve messaged her for some more info!!!)"

😂This sounds more like a Sun or DailyMail Story, I think were all dying to find out how it rotted her stomach and you fix a rotted stomach. Please comeback with more info 😂😂😂

How much Coke did you drink? If it was 1 can and you don't usually drink it, then personally I wouldn't say this was the culprint.

If it was 5 cans and it was the sugar version and you don't usually drink it and don't usually have much sugar in your diet then may be.

Gallstones are not a tummy booboo.

I have chronic pain and disabilities HOWEVER acute abdominal pain, so bad you can stand and are vomiting and wretching could be anything from gallstones to liver failure to appendicitis, why WOULDNT you go to a and e with that?

Your/my personal normal amount of pain from chronic conditions is very different, I can now even go 'wrlk that's my gall bladder clearly, I'll take my meds and if in 5-6 hours it's worse or I have a fever I'll go to a and e as I've been instructed' the first few times with the pain that made me want to die with no known cause? Absolutely you go to a and e

You don't know whsts causing the tummy " boo boo" my son had bouts of sickness a couple of years ago
One weekend he wasent very well and collapsed on the Sunday night ,the paramedics immediately diagnosed him with Diabetes and he was in DKA which is life threatening he was in critical care within an hour where they found he had acute necrotizing pancreatitis, which had led to Diabetes.

https://www.newsweek.com/common-sweetener-damage-gut-diarrhea-1893734
While the study (www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1366409/full) featured in this article focuses mostly on neotame, neotame is chemically related to aspartame and the study itself goes into some detail explaining that neotame, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners can adversely impact gut bacteria, damage the gut, and cause a range of symptoms. These things are to be avoided.

I can believe you've never experienced extreme gut pain such as you might get from trapped wind, gallstones, kidney stones etc.

@Lalalalalalalaaa One can of any drink is not going to 'rot your stomach' that is impossible. For your stomach to rot, you would need to cut off the blood supply. If you'd done that, you'd not be posting here.

People who drink huge amounts of fizzy drinks, sugary or articifical sweetener, might well experience some stomach issues and gut disorders - that is from the excess quantity rather than the drink itself. Consume an excess quantity of anything and you're likely to do yourself harm!

Apparently the new covid varient Has gastric issues as one of the symptoms, did they test for covid?
Both me and my dh had some kind of virus a few weeks ago which included stabbing pains in my stomach
It crossed my mind it may have been covid.

Don't reach out to the lady who thinks diet coke burned a hole in her stomach, that's next level crazy.

Maybe if you drank it too quickly you'd get trapped wind?

Otherwise, the fact you're fine with coke zero refutes a lot of the suggestions here. For example, I have IBD (as someone suggested) so caffeine can be bad - but you would know that already and it wouldn't be this specific and ok with coke zero.

There is actually such a thing as abdominal migraine too (although mainly occurs in children).

Do you really think it would be allowed on the shelves if it ruined stomachs in the way you suggest OP. Yabu.

My daughter gets migraines from artificial sweeteners. So I wouldn't be surprised if you could have something similar but abdominal.

Are you the poster who's doctor said fizzy drinks had caused their heart condition?

Clearly, that’s why you described it as tummy boo boo, whatever that is!

Don’t tell people when they should or shouldn’t attend A&E, you’re not medically trained to do that!

What you’ve got is irrelevant to anyone else.

HTH!

Was the pain high up in your stomach? This sounds like just like I was 10 days ago, it’s likely gallstones. I ended up in A&E in the morning, painkillers given & bloods fine so told to go home & take paracetamol. I have never experienced pain like it in my life & although it sounds dramatic I genuinely thought I was going to die & ended up at the out of hours GP 4 hours later. The right medication & a sleeping tablet & the pain was gone by morning. I went to my own GP who assessed me & has referred me for a scan said the stone blocking the duct is what causes the pain & the pain is gone when it moves. It’s triggered by something you’ve consumed.