Stomach acid and diarrhoea in early pregnancy

[CheriePipi]

I'm eight weeks pregnant have had diarrhoea and stomach aches since last Wednesday. I feel absolutely rotten especially as I'm also suffering from nausea and tiredness. My doctor, however, seemed to think I was overreacting and wasn't very sympathetic until I mentioned that I have a sensitive stomach at the best of times.

She has prescribed me something that should help but I still feel a bit concerned about what she said. I've probably spent too much time at home worrying about this but can anyone out there reassure me? Have you been suffering from this and has it disrupted your work etc?

Hello CheriePipi - all I can say is that I had a bit of a nightmare with my stomach at exactly the same stage as you (v.similar issues) and it did get better. For me I think the major problem was the fact I have IBS and when I was feeling at my most nauseous I had to resort to eating lots of wheat. I found it started affecting my sleep quite a bit but it did get an awful lot better (it was probably particularly bad for a few weeks) and is no longer a problem (I'm now 23 weeks). I also found the doctors weren't particularly sympathetic/interested! I found my work was mostly affectly indirectly because I wasn't sleeping well so was tired.
I really hope yours improves too - I'm sure it will (I know I felt pretty desperate!).

If you've got IBS (which is a seperate issue to a wheat intolerance fwiw) then you're going to have issues when your pregnant - it's normal for your GI tract to go a bit haywire. Eating more high soluble fiber foods (e.g. white rice, potatoes, bread if you're not intolerant) and avoiding IBS triggers (high fibre foods, fatty foods, additives, coffee, etc) might help.

I have IBS and suffered with diarrhoea in pregnancy. I got stressed as so many people told me I would be constipated. I ate an absolute mountain of breakfast cereals and this was probably making it worse. I am not pregnant at the moment but am now on a cereal fibre-free diet recommended by a consultant, so what japhrimel says makes sense.

Thanks so much for your responses. I don't have IBS or wheat intolerance, I just seem to be prone to stomach bugs and aches, especially if I'm stressed or anxious. I just hope this medicine helps the acid as that is the main problem - not nice!