Liver pain

[OGPapi7]

Hi Everyone , has anyone ever dealt with pain in the right side rib area after changing diet ? I’ve recently switched to a keto diet and I keep getting a full pain on my right side that comes and goes , overall my blood sugars are good but since diet change this pain has been getting me down , any ideas ? thanks

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi Everyone , has anyone ever dealt with pain in the right side rib area after changing diet ? I’ve recently switched to a keto diet and I keep getting a full pain on my right side that comes and goes , overall my blood sugars are good but since diet change this pain has been getting me down , any ideas ? thanks

Hi there. This could just be your body adjusting to your new eating regime.

Whilst we think our bodies just produce whatever is needed to digest our food, on demand, the reality is our systems produce digestive juices and enzymes based on recent activity. It's one of the reasons an eating blow-out, even if it's only much more of what we usually eat, can lead to a bit of indigestion.

Whilst your liver is indeed on your right hand side, so is you gallbladder, which could be objecting if you have introduced much more that than you have been used to.

Please don't think I am diagnosing you with anything. That would be inappropriate, and against our forum rules.

I hope you get to the bottom of things, bit if it persists or concerns you, then being checked out can never go amiss.

 

[OGPapi7]

Thanks for the reply , yeah I think it is the diet change , Eating a lot more healthy fats etc now so just going to monitor it over the next week and seek further advice if it persists

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Are you on statins?

 

[OGPapi7]

Hi. Are you on statins?

No

 

[OGPapi7]

Hi. Are you on statins?

Howcome ?

 

[Arsenal79]

I to are getting this problem with that side of my stomach after starting lchf have had this since September due to covid have been trying to get this sorted out but just gets pushed aside I have developed other symptoms with it now right shoulder hurts with it and I'm getting stinging over body after I eat this has now become a regular thing along with headaches I am now in the process of putting a complaint into my doctors has I'm not receiving the care I should be with this problem hope yours have sorted itself out keep well and stay safe.

 

[Oldvatr]

Thanks for the reply , yeah I think it is the diet change , Eating a lot more healthy fats etc now so just going to monitor it over the next week and seek further advice if it persists

I get similar pain when constipated coz the lower bowel loops around and when it clogs it can give localized pain behind the stomach. When starting LC especially keto you are advised to increase fluid intake, and also increase electrolytes to help the adjustment during weight loss activity where you tend to lose fluids

 

[Cocosilk]

Hi Everyone , has anyone ever dealt with pain in the right side rib area after changing diet ? I’ve recently switched to a keto diet and I keep getting a full pain on my right side that comes and goes , overall my blood sugars are good but since diet change this pain has been getting me down , any ideas ? thanks

Did you get an answer to this?

I've been low carb for a couple of years after having gestational diabetes but recently upped the ante and went higher fat /lower carb than I had been, and suddenly I was having this dull ache under my right rib and realised something was going on. Bit of googling uncovers folks talking about having gallbladder attacks after going keto. Some have just the dull pain come and go and I think it could go on for weeks while the gallbladder flushes itself out. But if you have stones in your gallbladder (which apparently are caused from eating sugars and not eating enough fat to keep the thing working, the bile concentrates and becomes stones after a while) then if any of those stones happens to be large enough to block the ducts and you start eating fats again and flush them through, you can end up with a proper gallbladder attack and lose your gallbladder. But I've heard low carb doctors saying that keto is still the better way to address gallbladder issues because the fresh bile helps dissolve the stones slowly - but just to go easy on the fats at first. I'm not sure if an ultrasound can assess our risk of whether any stones present prior to starting keto could block the ducts. I've only been having this pain for a week or so myself but it's got me slightly concerned too.

 

[Geordie_P]

I get some tenderness around the ribs, especially on the bottom right rib, as a result of inflammation from high cholesterol. My situation may be different as I have had some heart issues as well, but it may be a factor if liver or gall bladder issues are not at play.

 

[Daibell]

As a bit of feedback ref my 40 week old question about statins, my wife had a severe liver reaction to starting statins. She had previously had Hep A which may have partly explained this. The stupid and ignorant GP started her on full dose. It makes the point that statins can be dangerous if used in the wrong way

 

[Oldvatr]

Did you get an answer to this?

I've been low carb for a couple of years after having gestational diabetes but recently upped the ante and went higher fat /lower carb than I had been, and suddenly I was having this dull ache under my right rib and realised something was going on. Bit of googling uncovers folks talking about having gallbladder attacks after going keto. Some have just the dull pain come and go and I think it could go on for weeks while the gallbladder flushes itself out. But if you have stones in your gallbladder (which apparently are caused from eating sugars and not eating enough fat to keep the thing working, the bile concentrates and becomes stones after a while) then if any of those stones happens to be large enough to block the ducts and you start eating fats again and flush them through, you can end up with a proper gallbladder attack and lose your gallbladder. But I've heard low carb doctors saying that keto is still the better way to address gallbladder issues because the fresh bile helps dissolve the stones slowly - but just to go easy on the fats at first. I'm not sure if an ultrasound can assess our risk of whether any stones present prior to starting keto could block the ducts. I've only been having this pain for a week or so myself but it's got me slightly concerned too.

I like your description here - it what I have read too. I was getting an ache under the bottom rhs rib recently, as well as some signs of heart distress. I found out from a blood test that my sodium level was too low which seems to fit in with the heart issues, but the other ache has now gone away. Could have been constipation, or a small stone. but it was just a vague discomfort, not a climb up the wall shrieking pain. My sodium levels have risen a bit too, so I seem to be resolving quite nicely. Was worried it might be kidney failure which would make an operation dicey. ( my kidneys go on strike after any anaesthetic even the contrast dye in the MRI).

 

[Cocosilk]

I like your description here - it what I have read too. I was getting an ache under the bottom rhs rib recently, as well as some signs of heart distress. I found out from a blood test that my sodium level was too low which seems to fit in with the heart issues, but the other ache has now gone away. Could have been constipation, or a small stone. but it was just a vague discomfort, not a climb up the wall shrieking pain. My sodium levels have risen a bit too, so I seem to be resolving quite nicely. Was worried it might be kidney failure which would make an operation dicey. ( my kidneys go on strike after any anaesthetic even the contrast dye in the MRI).

Gosh, it gets scary when your organs start to talk, doesn't it? Especially the heart. When you get heart distress, is it painful or more palpitations? I'm pretty sure I know what kidney aches feel like too and I've had the one recently but mostly after the pain meds for my last c-section.
Are you allowed to eat more fat for constipation? Or is that still contraindicated for heart issues?

 

[Geordie_P]

The big giveaway for me that it was my heart was that the pain radiated into my jaw. I mentioned to my doctor that it was my jaw and ears that hurt most, and he clocked the problem right away. Of course, it could be different for other people, but jaw pain was the red flag for me.

 

[Oldvatr]

Gosh, it gets scary when your organs start to talk, doesn't it? Especially the heart. When you get heart distress, is it painful or more palpitations? I'm pretty sure I know what kidney aches feel like too and I've had the one recently but mostly after the pain meds for my last c-section.
Are you allowed to eat more fat for constipation? Or is that still contraindicated for heart issues?

To eat or not to eat Fat is the question. The NHS nutritionista will probably side with the minimal fat brigade for heart health, but there are some who advise differently. The one I follow is Dr Aseem Malhotra, who is a heart consultant at Guildford Surrey hospital who advocates a low-carb version of the Mediterranean diet. He is often on daytime TV to balance up the argument vs the PHE representative. He has published his own book on the diet, which is called the Pioppi diet, named after the Mediterranean town that uses it and has significantly low rates of heart issues in the population. Not pasta, but fish is the major shareholder in the diet. It is noteworthy that Ancel Keys based his early work on this same town but came to different conclusions. But he was not a heart specialist. In fact, he was a zoologist, /He lived in Pioppi from 1858 to 1998 during which time he did the 7 Countries Study. Pioppi is the home to the National Museum of the Mediterranean Diet, but the NHS version is not based on their work because the original diet advocates natural oils and saturated fats,

As regards constipation, more fat breeds more bile being passed to the lower colon (gallstones optional) and thus more fibre being broken down to feed the gut fauna and enzymes, thus breaking it up and keeping it moving. Win win IMO.

 

[Cocosilk]

To eat or not to eat Fat is the question. The NHS nutritionista will probably side with the minimal fat brigade for heart health, but there are some who advise differently. The one I follow is Dr Aseem Malhotra, who is a heart consultant at Guildford Surrey hospital who advocates a low-carb version of the Mediterranean diet. He is often on daytime TV to balance up the argument vs the PHE representative. He has published his own book on the diet, which is called the Pioppi diet, named after the Mediterranean town that uses it and has significantly low rates of heart issues in the population. Not pasta, but fish is the major shareholder in the diet. It is noteworthy that Ancel Keys based his early work on this same town but came to different conclusions. But he was not a heart specialist. In fact, he was a zoologist, /He lived in Pioppi from 1858 to 1998 during which time he did the 7 Countries Study. Pioppi is the home to the National Museum of the Mediterranean Diet, but the NHS version is not based on their work because the original diet advocates natural oils and saturated fats,

As regards constipation, more fat breeds more bile being passed to the lower colon (gallstones optional) and thus more fibre being broken down to feed the gut fauna and enzymes, thus breaking it up and keeping it moving. Win win IMO.

Oh good, so fat all the way then. Maybe some citrus peel to dissolve the gallstones a little and keep up with a certain amount of fat and cross fingers no big stones come out and block things up.

I have heard about the Pioppi diet and Aseem Malhotra, but thanks for the tip! If I lived near the sea and could get good fish, I'd surely be eating more fish, but farmed salmon is about as good as it gets where I am so I only eat that every other week. Plus I live with a Serb so pork bellies are more on the menu for us Hopefully lard works just as well.