Hello!
To be clear, I am seeing my doctor in 10 days and plan on bringing this up. I figured I'd reach out here to see if anyone else has experienced this as my googling session turned up a bunch of possible causes that I have no clue the fidelity of.
Basically, March/April were extremely stressful at work. My usual stress reaction has always been stress-eating, but this last month it has veered more into nausea/feeling sick territory. I tried to reduce stress by limiting screen time at home, spending more time outside, trying to relax and do hobbies that bring me joy, etc. It seemed to help for about a week as my sleep was better, but then the sick feelings came back.
I had bought a bag of the premade mild Kimchi from Publix and had started eating a couple spoonfuls a day thinking it might help my gut. I think it did the opposite -- it caused a lot of bloating and the runs. And around then, all sugar substitutes (which had NEVER given me a problem before - I typically had it daily in protein bars or once a week a diet soda) were triggering these horrific headaches and making me super nauseous. Like curled up on the couch, unable to really move except to go to the bathroom, lights off, etc. It would start literally within minutes of eating/drinking something with aspartame/sucralose/etc and last for 3-6 hours depending how much ingested.
I'm now finding I'm getting a similar reaction with peanuts and soy sauce. A headache that meds won't abate, indigestion, nausea, and fatigue.
Sugar substitutes, soy sauce, and peanuts have never bothered me before. Why are they now? Is it because I introduced Kimchi (fermented probiotic fiber-heavy food) for a week? Is it from stress?
For further clarification, I don't normally eat a heavy fiber diet, nor fermented foods, which is why I'm wondering if it was that? But I had been feeling sick from stress prior.
I am 29F and fairly active (I work a desk job 4x10s, but I do go to the gym 4-5 times a week doing cardio and weightlifting). I am lactose intolerant and do not eat dairy.
And yes, I have started keeping a food diary.
Any insight is appreciated ❤️