PriO

I was wondering what is causing my stomach cramps. I ride for about 5-6 miles and I can feel my right side of my stomach cramping.
The only difference is that I've been eating 1 Powerbar prior to riding and a beer a hour before. Could this be the reason?

royalflash

I am not a doctor (and know nothing about you such as age etc) but when you ride (or do any exercise really) the blood flows away from the internal organs such as the stomach into the large muscles such as in the legs. This means that the stomach does not have much blood left to keep the digestion process going and also to keep the mucous production process going. Mucous production is important for protecting the stomach from digestive acids which will irritate and eventually destroy the stomach lining. Beer contains alcohol and will also irritate the stomach lining. If you are getting stomach cramps after only 5-6 miles it sounds to me like you have a developing stomach problem like an ulcer. This may not be a huge catastrophe unless it gets out of hand so I would suggest going to the doctor and getting checked out and maybe getting a course of proton pump inhibitors like cimetidine. If the ulcer thing is confirmed and persists you could think about getting a Helicobacter pylori test.

As I said though I am no doctor and if you need medical advice I would look to sources other than this forum

good luck

PriO

whoa whoa whoa ulcer? dont scare me now. im only 20 and these past days ive been drinking 2-3 beer cans a day. im probably going to stop soon but if this problem persist after i stopped drinking, ill see a doc.
thanks royal

royalflash

as I said an ulcer is not such a catastrophe and they can heal up on their own- beer will aggravate them so maybe you should give the beer a rest for a while and see how it goes-stress is also bad and to be avoided

slvoid

If you're 20, you probably shouldn't be drinking and biking either. If I drink the night before, I lose about .5 mph the day after on a metric century.

PriO

Yea, im definitely going to stop. I didnt know it would affect riding this much.
My gf bought a case(12) of Milwaukee's Best at the supermarket that was on sale for 4.99$.

raanders

I'll take that beer off your hands, son. ;-)

zensuit

For what it's worth, powerbars did that exact same thing to me..a banana would be better, I suspect

royalflash

have you got any food allergies such as to nuts or anything- this could also produce stomach cramp type symptoms- (Powerbars may contain nuts apparently)

Iron Chef

Beer gas?

bmph8ter

Maybe the beer is dehydrating you. Perhaps some additional water would help. Mine cramps really bad on some rides, sometimes to the point I want to vomit. I think it's because I can't relax my muscles though.

DVDaze

I get that same thing if I eat pizza the same day I ride... I don't know if it is the cheese or what but it makes me want to die. I've solved the problem though... I just don't eat pizza anymore.

PriO

Just did a 25mile ride today and stomach cramp free. No beer or powerbar today

ahuman

just drink more beer until the pain goes away!