My Stomach Hurts like Hell. Now What?

My Stomach Hurts like Hell. Now What?

Stomach ailments are kind of an occupational hazard. Tums, Rolaids, etc., do me no good. I need something else, something more.

In LAX earlier this year, waiting for a flight to Taiwan, I was sitting in a long row about four seats from another guy, about my age, like me, dressed all in black (as old guys do). On the loudspeaker, someone announced something like “Sveltlana Kornisky, please report to gate 10. Your Aeroflot flight blah-blah to Kiev is leaving.” This message was repeated about seven times, at which point I looked over to the guy, and his look reflected mine, I’m sure, and we were both thinking, I know, “Can you believe this Russian nitwit is going to miss her flight?” We both smiled.

Turned out, we were seated next to one another on the flight to Taipei. When he saw me order a Taiwanese beer, he started telling me how he was from Taiwan, but now he’s a rich guy in Texas. He goes to visit his mom in Taiwan a few times a year, hitting the night markets specifically for stinky tofu, which I evinced a keen interest in trying.

“Here,” he said, handing me a small long box with Chinese characters on it. “I take these with me whenever I visit Taiwan. You’ll need them.”

What he gave me was Po Chai (pronounced Poe-Che), a stomach remedy from Hong Kong, no longer available in Taiwan (I’m guessing after the Hong Kong handover to PRC, relations between Hong Kong and Taiwan got chilly fast).

I used them in Taiwan; they worked; a few months later, I bought a box – a beautifully designed box – in Hong Kong. Under $10. An incredible bargain, based on packaging alone.



Last month in Mexico, something bad inhabited me. Just for one day, as it turned out, but I was having a rough night and an uncertain morning. Over about eight hours, I took almost a full box of Po Chai (the cigarette-sized box in the pic above contains ten smaller boxes, each containing something like 100 very small pills).

When I arrived at the cooking class I was scheduled to take at Chiles and Chocolate, a cool little catering service cum café in Huatulco, I was messed up. I told my hosts, Jane and Alfredo Patiño, what was up and going down; they had an armamentarium of home remedies (it’s Mexico).

Alfredo made me a tea of guaco, a vine, from which one can make a tea or simply throw in mezcal. This is an old folk remedy.



Jane fed me a teaspoon of aloe goo, cut out of the cactus spike (I did not know that was in there). She warned me it would taste terrible. I slammed it back, so I’m not sure what it tasted like. Also an old folk remedy.





Upshot: no upchuck. By noon, lunch; by dinner, mezcal.

What do you take when your tummy is in tumult?

OTC Prilosec.
If I ever meet the person who invented Prilosec I'll kiss their bare ass at the corner of State and Madison during rush hour.

Nothing as interesting as you do, obviously My favorite bartender years ago clued me into the concoction of agnostura bitters and soda--he knew me too well. It works. Not nearly as cool as yours though.

Po Chai pills were a staple in my family's medicine box when I was growing up. Vomiting? No problem. Tummy ache? Diarrahea? Piece of cake. My dad even took it after a night of heavy business drinking...

CrazyC wrote:Po Chai pills were a staple in my family's medicine box when I was growing up. Vomiting? No problem. Tummy ache? Diarrahea? Piece of cake. My dad even took it after a night of heavy business drinking...

According to the box, the stuff also reduces fever and problems related to intoxication and over-eating. Some on this forum may relate to those conditions.

CrazyC, tell me: is it correct to refer to this medicine as Po Chai Une (not sure about transcription here, but when I mentioned Po Chai to Chinese speakers, I got blank stares; to be understood, I had to add the Une, which I believe means like "pill," right?)

I take STOMACH CHI and I'm fine. http://ohco.com/stomach-chi

Susy B. wrote:I take STOMACH CHI and I'm fine. http://ohco.com/stomach-chi

Are you my sister-in-law. Fair question, right?

With my amazing array of post heart "event" medications, my stomach is not as agreeable as it used to be and I take Prilosec (generic) but the forum I participate in for women with heart disease, where this is a frequent topic, often has participants recommending aloe vera gel as you had in Mexico. They seem to find that the one marketed by "Lily of the Desert" is the most useful (no idea myself, just passing along info) and suggest making sure you chill it with ice before knocking back a shot a day instead of a pill.

YMMV

Siun wrote:With my amazing array of post heart "event" medications, my stomach is not as agreeable as it used to be and I take Prilosec (generic) but the forum I participate in for women with heart disease, where this is a frequent topic, often has participants recommending aloe vera gel as you had in Mexico. They seem to find that the one marketed by "Lily of the Desert" is the most useful (no idea myself, just passing along info) and suggest making sure you chill it with ice before knocking back a shot a day instead of a pill.

YMMV

We have an aloe plant on our front porch. I don't think you need a product that's "marketed"; you just need a plant, or just a leaf; I saw a bunch of leaves at Familia in Berwyn this afternoon. As seen in the first photo of Jane, you can cut into the leaves and extract the natural jelly; calling it a "gel" makes it sound artificial, and if yours is, that's a problem. One spikey frond would probably last all summer. . I must needs harvest ours as a tummy palliative. Perhaps manana.

HI,

If I have no place I need to be, I prefer to tough it out. I want whatever-it-is to leave my system. Sending interference to plug the flow can be counterproductive and may prolong whatever-it-is grip on my system.

If I need to move about and I am not throwing up, I may use Imodium.

***

I had a friend whose sad moment of distress came on a flight from India to Heathrow. There was a line to the airplane's toilet. He marched to the front with a desperate look on his face. He asked to go next or they risked his going right then and there, he was allowed to go next. At Heathrow Airport, an ambulance crew met him at the gate taking him to the airport's hospital. I don't know how he was processed, though he was very grateful to have them there.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI, If I have no place I need to be, I prefer to tough it out.

I had places I needed to be. A cooking class. If I'm sleeping in and staying at home, I can have a bad belly for a day or more. I actually appreciate it. Incredible route to weight loss.

I'm also an Imodium-as-a-treatment-of-last-resort person for the same reason as Cathy2--when you take Imodium, it takes longer for your system to flush the bad bug.

Alka Seltzer, Pepto, bitters with soda and ginger ale are all among my standard treatments for stomach problems. Gas-X and powdered Rolaids (maybe discontinued) are handy for minor issues.

My doctor once told me that if you take high doses of liquid Pepto (twice the regular dosage at the interval specified on the label) it actually has mild antibiotic properties. (Or maybe it's more accurate to say it will kill some bad bacteria in your gut.) The downside: Ringing in the ears (due to aspirin content, I believe). I always pack a huge bottle of liquid Pepto when traveling to 2nd and 3rd world countries.

Ginger tea sometimes helps with cramping/gas, as so some yoga positions.

When I'm prescribed antibiotics, I usually take acidophilus and other good bacteria to help the bad stuff in check. Regular consumption of yogurt (make sure it contains active yogurt bacteria!) also helps.

My stomach hates spicy foods, but my mouth freakin' loves them; as a result, I often find myself sweating & groaning from stomach unhappiness.

When this goes down, I'm also usually in the tough-it-out/let-it-pass(literally) camp, and, like a few folks here, only turn to Immodium Advanced if I have to be out & about away from dependable restroom facilities, and I need the discomfort to go away in a hurry.

I recently stumbled onto Maalox Advanced, which takes care of the worst of the gas/bloating, and seems to take the edge off the chiles burning in my stomach. Still, I usually reserve this stuff for those times when I wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach in shambles.

Khaopaat wrote:My stomach hates spicy foods, but my mouth freakin' loves them; as a result, I often find myself sweating & groaning from stomach unhappiness.

When this goes down, I'm also usually in the tough-it-out/let-it-pass(literally) camp, and, like a few folks here, only turn to Immodium Advanced if I have to be out & about away from dependable restroom facilities, and I need the discomfort to go away in a hurry.

I recently stumbled onto Maalox Advanced, which takes care of the worst of the gas/bloating, and seems to take the edge off the chiles burning in my stomach. Still, I usually reserve this stuff for those times when I wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach in shambles.

Last night I ate too many chiles arboles. Ice cream seemed to help extinguish the fire.

Ginger. It can be raw, or crystallized. Easy, natural, & delicious.

zoid wrote:OTC Prilosec.
If I ever meet the person who invented Prilosec I'll kiss their bare ass at the corner of State and Madison during rush hour.

Be careful with Prilosec (omeprazole) if you take Lipitor or other statins. I was hospitalized last year as that combination led to a magnesium deficiency as I was suffering from a variety of muscle cramps.

jlawrence01 wrote:

zoid wrote:OTC Prilosec.
If I ever meet the person who invented Prilosec I'll kiss their bare ass at the corner of State and Madison during rush hour.

Be careful with Prilosec (omeprazole) if you take Lipitor or other stains. I was hospitalized last year as that combination led to a magnesium deficiency as I was suffering from a variety of muscle cramps.

Thanks for the info. Fortunately for me I'm not on any medication and only use Prilosec occasionally, but it sure works when I do need it.

Not every so called tummy ailment is the same. Having suffered through hospitalizations for both diverticulitis and antibiotic induced colitis (which are really colon disorders) I have relied on some "natural" stuff to help things. If taking antibiotics or traveling to another country where I might get sick I would surely take Florastor as well as Immodium with me. I have also taken aloe vera leaf (not straight from the plant) to sooth things. Sometimes a shot of brandy will calm things down or something like a small amount of Pernod. My grandfather would swear by a shot of blackberry brandy. Oddly, sometimes Coca Cola helps calm my tummy. If I am going to eat a larger meal mixing many different kinds of foods I take digestive enzymes and they seem to help keep things calmed down. Some people swear by ginger or peppermint tea. I am usually not a fan of things like pepto bismal or tums. I have taken Pepcid and Prevacid in the past when the doctor believed I had reflux. Those Chinese pills are intriguing, hopefully they do not have any side effects.

chgoeditor wrote:I always pack a huge bottle of liquid Pepto when traveling to 2nd and 3rd world countries.

My husband is a huge Pepto fan...
It seems like every time he travels he ends up buying a new 2.9 oz bottle and bringing it home.
We now have a medicine cabinet full of 2.9 oz bottles of pepto
we call it the "insert last name here" Collection

LOL

David Hammond wrote:CrazyC, tell me: is it correct to refer to this medicine as Po Chai Une (not sure about transcription here, but when I mentioned Po Chai to Chinese speakers, I got blank stares; to be understood, I had to add the Une, which I believe means like "pill," right?)

Yes, in Cantonese. The more accurate phonetics should be Bo (like in Kung Fu Panda) Chai Yun... Not sure how popular it is in mainland China, since the only times I had seen or heard it being referred to is in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore...

I do many of the already mentioned things from time to time but sometimes a shot of Anisette does the job.

I got for Pepto or Immodium for serious problems the next day, but simple upset stomachs and things like that I just have a shot of malort or Unicum or some kind of bitters. I've been lucky, as I've never experienced heartburn (that I know of) or anything other than an "overly full" type of queasiness in the stomach.

Got to say, liquor has never appealed to me when my stomach is not happy. I do believe, though, that alcohol probably serves as a prophylactic to kill some belly badness before it gets too out of hand -- thus when in Mexico, I try to drink as much tequila and mezcal as possible so as to avoid stomach distress. Once distress hits, however, I can't bear the thought of booze. Perhaps, though, I should push through the revulsion and just take a shot.

My better two thirds says that her family always used ZMO which was sold in her grandfather's backwoods country store.
After having read the ingredients she was forbidden to ever take it internally, but she slathers the stuff on any cut/wound/rash/sore muscles.
Actually sort of funny - it was invented years ago around the corner from me. Since the wife loves it, I took her up to the old factory when it was a deli/wine store. http://www.z-m-o.com/ Thinking that the company was going under I bought her a lifetime supply for $1K for an anniversary a coupel of years ago.

Now what I use is something that I do not know the name of. Just a bag of herbs steeped in tea that I get from a local Thai shop. Tastes foul, but usually works fairly quickly.

David Hammond wrote:thus when in Mexico, I try to drink as much tequila and mezcal as possible so as to avoid stomach distress.

I tell my wife exactly the same thing.

Binko wrote:

David Hammond wrote:thus when in Mexico, I try to drink as much tequila and mezcal as possible so as to avoid stomach distress.

I tell my wife exactly the same thing.

I should have added "distress and to ensure domestic tranquility."

David Hammond wrote:

Siun wrote:With my amazing array of post heart "event" medications, my stomach is not as agreeable as it used to be and I take Prilosec (generic) but the forum I participate in for women with heart disease, where this is a frequent topic, often has participants recommending aloe vera gel as you had in Mexico. They seem to find that the one marketed by "Lily of the Desert" is the most useful (no idea myself, just passing along info) and suggest making sure you chill it with ice before knocking back a shot a day instead of a pill.

YMMV

We have an aloe plant on our front porch. I don't think you need a product that's "marketed"; you just need a plant, or just a leaf; I saw a bunch of leaves at Familia in Berwyn this afternoon. As seen in the first photo of Jane, you can cut into the leaves and extract the natural jelly; calling it a "gel" makes it sound artificial, and if yours is, that's a problem. One spikey frond would probably last all summer. . I must needs harvest ours as a tummy palliative. Perhaps manana.

I'm guessing using the gel must be some kind of holistic "give something that causes the symptoms to treat the symptoms" approach, because unprocessed aloe very contains aloin, which is an irritant laxative. In fact, aloin was used as an ingredient in laxatives until the FDA banned it, because it's so irritating. Aloin can over stimulate the bowels, causing cramps, severe diarrhea, electrolyte imbalance, and dehydration.

It doesn't have to be processed to use it externally, but it's not a good idea to use it to self-medicate at home.

Oh -- and while it's not 100 percent foolproof, I find that taking acidophilus for a couple of weeks before I travel and then the whole time I'm on the road helps me avoid most GI problems. Not always, but almost always.

I get the acidophilus pearls -- largely because they're enteric coated (i.e., they don't dissolve till they hit your intestines) but also because a month's supply is not much bigger than a credit card, so easy to pack.

I also usually pack grapefruit seed extract (usually just says GSE on the package). Antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal -- and, unlike antibiotics, it actually boosts the beneficial bugs in your gut, even as it kills your enemies. Take it if anything even makes me nervous.

Then bismuth (pepto bismol-type) tablets, with something like Immodium as a last resort. But I've only needed to take Immodium maybe twice in multitudes of trips to odd places.

There are something like 500 types of aloe vera, and I'm guessing some are maybe more suitable for eating raw. The ones on display in the food section at Hispanic grocery stores would seem to be edible in some way and there a lot of recipes out there for raw aloe (e.g., http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/07/aloe-vera-recipes/ and http://www.whyaloevera.com/aloe-vera-recipes.html.

Nonetheless, I think your point is well-taken, Cynthia: best not to eat the gel out of random aloe vera plants.

toria wrote:Oddly, sometimes Coca Cola helps calm my tummy.

Not odd. Coca Cola contains a bicarbonate buffering system - basically its a mild form of Alka Seltzer, so it reduces stomach acidity & makes you feel better. Any type of soda water or carbonated soda will have the same effect (not seltzer though, no bicarb). Ginger ale acts the same way & has the added impact of the ginger, if its made with real ginger.