Whey Isolate - Nausea/vomiting after ingestion

Jordan,

My girlfriend has been experiencing stomach issues after she drinks whey protein isolate. Approximately 30-45 minutes after she consumes the isolate, she complains of very bad stomach cramps accompanied with the urge to throw up. She describes it as feeling like there is a knot sitting on her stomach and she feels she cannot digest the isolate. This is not just during her period.

She can eat an entire Noosa Yoghurt (a big 8oz container) with no issues and can also eat a few cheese sticks as well as an 8oz glass of skim milk with no issues. We have tried some interventions like drinking the protein slower instead of slamming it down all at once - which made no difference. We have also tried a few different brands; whey rx, myprotein, and BPI ISO - which made no difference.

The odd thing is that I frequently make her waffles that have a scoop of whey isolate in them, and she tolerates them fine with no issues whatsoever.

Have you ever experienced/heard of this issue from clients or have suggestions?

Her stats:
5’7"
135lbs
31" waist
29 years old
No history of any digestion issues
No known alergies

I have no idea. Might need to be worked up through an Allergy/Immunology specialist.

This suggestion makes no real sense, but have you tried whey concentrate rather than isolate? I usually have a whey/milk/coffee shake on an empty stomach each AM, and will sometimes get nausea a little while after. It does seem to be worse with a whey isolate than a whey concentrate/isolate blend from the same brand.

it seems like the opposite should be true, but hey, worth a try no?

Is she chugging it down? Sometimes if i chug, I get some stomach discomfort, especially if I gulp a lot of air in with it. Have her sip it over a few minutes and make sure she’s not gulping in a lot of air.

Yea, aerophagia will get you every time.

I prep my whey protein several hours before drinking in the refrigerator. You get a nice cool drink without the air. You can also add some milk for desired consistency. :slight_smile:

She has tried taking 45 minutes to drink 8oz of water with the whey and she still gets sick. It appears this is not a common problem as no one else has experience this issue. She is going to take a few weeks off to see if she gets any similar symptoms when the whey is 100% removed from her diet