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

[Lalalalalalalaaa]

At the weekend I was so unwell I rang 111 and ended up in A&E with severe stomach cramps that lasted days. I was really worried- they came in waves like period pain but when they kicked in a was bent over double and unable to move. Really scary.

Doctors were great but everything (bloods, urine) came back normal. I’ve been racking my brains to see if i ate/drank anything that may have caused this and this morning I suddenly realised that Diet Coke is the out of the usual thing I had on Friday- my symptoms came on after drinking it. I don’t usually- my husband got it as Coke Zero was out of stock. I also generally don’t drink a lot of fizzy drinks but was tired, saw it in the fridge and took it to work.

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!!!)

How likely do you think it might be that Diet Coke has caused this reaction? Has anyone else ever had awful side effects?

I’m scheduled in for an ultrasound but wondering if something like that will even show anything up if it’s that…

I doubt it was the diet coke, especially if it was just one bottle/can.
My DH can't drink fizzy drinks at all. He used to drink litres of coke a day (at least 2) and it's messed his stomach up but not as badly as your friend. But just one drink wouldn't cause that reaction.
Hope you get to the bottom of it .

Rubbish, for all the OP knew it could’ve been acute appendicitis, not a tummy boo boo, how dismissive of you.

I’ve had similar to the OP and my husband almost called an ambulance. It was worse than childbirth pain wise and I did pass out. Was told I silly for not going to A&E by medical professionals when I went back to work (in a hospital).

By the way aspartame is safe unless you're suffering from a very rare condition or drink it in excessive amounts, most side effects have been noticed when the subject was subjected to very high amounts.

I pass out daily from pain. Still not an A&E issue.

It could be the aspartame - but you have that in your usual drink.

I'd advise keeping a food diary for a while - and then if you have any further attacks you have a record to help you work out what may be the cause and to show HCP.

We can make false connections - so it's possible it's not the diet coke - but honestly in your shoes I'd just avoid and keep a food record for a while just in case it happens again.

You weren’t in a different area, were you? I got this from drinking the water in London once.

i'm drinking one as i read the thread, still fine so far

sorry this happened to you op, but it's very unlikely like others have said, this type of mass product is tested to the limit

in the past few years I have become really really intolerant of certain artificial sweeteners. I get cramps, nausea, diarrhoea, and just feel really out of sorts. I did some exclusion testing myself (rather than with a medical professional) and drinking sugar free drinks was always the trigger. Oddly I seem to be able to tolerate coke zero so I think it has a slightly different chemical make up.

I have never ever, even as a child likes the taste of sweetener. cant stand anything low sugar. Infuriatingly since the sugar tax has come in drinks that are NOT sugar free also have sweeteners in so you have to be really careful

My sister was in and out of a and E for similar symptoms describe here as a teenager and was told to not go to a and E by her GP as it's just stomach pains. The last time we had to pretty much drag her there and I'm so glad we did as when she arrived she was septic and only given 50:50 odds of surviving the night and the family was gathered to her bedside at 3am. The symptoms that day weren't that different to the dozens of other times we had taken in. She was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis caused by gallstones and was critically ill for 3 days.
The issue with abdominal pains is there are dozens of reasons that in hindsight probably didn't need a and E but there are also some that mean you can get very unwell very quickly and without tests you don't necessarily know which group you are in. She had been regularly attending a and E for 3 years before they checked her gallbladder and identified the cause of her frequent pain.

Presumably you know what’s causing your pain? But someone with severe doubled up pain, doesn’t know the cause.

So therefore perfectly reasonable to attend A&E, appendicitis is not to be ignored for instance, nor severe head pain that’s out of the ordinary (friend had a brain haemorrhage).

So please don’t give medical advice on a forum.

Unless you were drinking a gallon a day for years I don't think it's likely. I mean you could be sensitive to the aspartame or whatever they put in there. But it wouldn't make someone need a hospital I don't think?

Either way it's best you don't drink it again as it may not agree with you.

I drink regular coke a couple times a week, used to drink two litres of pepsi max/DC a day as a teen! My stomach is fine as far as I know. It's supposed to be bad for your bones though, any cola. I do have osteoporosis. But nobody ever told me coke causes it. So it might not even be that much of a link.

I had to stop drinking fizzy drinks altogether as they made me feel so fucking ill. They are full of crap and sweetners so it’s not surprising if some people react badly to them

It's possible I guess if you react badly to something in it.

Not sure why anyone would drink the "diet" versions of coke or pepsi. They are disgusting.

Pepsi Max and coke zero taste much better.

But- at Easter weekend I may have when I was with family. (Can’t remember but will try and check) A family member is also unable to have sugar and made a sugar-free dessert which contained artificial sweetener. I had some and suffered with bloating and mild cramps for the next fortnight (again, I assumed maybe a reaction to fish that I had eaten or over-indulging)

The artificial sweeteners that cause abdominal pain are usually things like xylitol and sorbitol, which can be fermented by gut bacteria to form a lot of gas (but not for a fortnight). The artificial sweeteners in Diet Coke are aspartame and acesulfame, which wouldn't have this effect. Things like phosphoric acid are also in Coke Zero, so it's unlikely they can be blamed.

Coke Zero ingredients: carbonated water, colour (E150d), acid (phosphoric acid), sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame-K, enzymatically produced steviol glycosides), natural flavourings, caffeine flavouring, acidity regulator (sodium citrates).

Diet Coke ingredients: carbonated water, colour (caramel E150d), sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K), natural flavourings, caffeine flavouring, acids (phosphoric acid, citric acid).

So there isn't anything in Diet Coke that isn't also in Coke Zero. Diet Coke contains about 30% more caffeine, but I'd be suprised if that caused symptoms like you described.

I didn't give out medical advice. HTH.

@Lalalalalalalaaa Could it be gastric ulcers? They can be hugely painful, and things like fizzy drinks, alcohol, coffee, citrus fruits / juice can really trigger a painful episode. If you don’t usually drink fizzy things then maybe this one drink really aggravated them. Have you been on a course of antibiotics or anti-inflammatories recently? In my experience they can trigger ulcer problems, which can then be worsened by the drinks above. I am not a doctor by the way, but I have had ulcers (that seemed to appear after a course of antibiotics), and I had to cut out all of the drinks / fruits above, whilst taking omeprazole to get rid of them - but they healed within 4 weeks, which was a relief.

I don’t think it’s that unlikely. It’s full of awful artificial sweeteners that must be bad for you. But then so is Coke Zero. Definitely shouldn’t be part of anyone’s standard weekly shop.

They’re both disgusting too.

Fizzy drinks like coke etc are terrible for your digestive system, but it's doubful a can of diet coke would cause symptoms like this as a one off, but it could have irritated something already there like gastritis, for example.
I had cramps similar to what you describe towards the end of my holiday and the first couple of days of being home. I'm v careful with my diet normally because of acid reflux, but obviously on holiday I wasn't eating my usual diet (although still had no fizzy drinks/alchohol etc) and my stomach reacted quite badly with cramps after eating. Once I was home I ate v plain food for a couple of days and it was fine - or back to its usual state!

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.

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!

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

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

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

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

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.