Hello,
I have M.E and the associated problem of IBS, and an under active thyroid, I have had this condition for the last 16 years and have also been tested for Celiac which came back negative.
I tried Huel vanilla today for the first time as a lunchtime meal replacement, I used 3 scoops mixed with approx 500ml water.
Within about 30 mins I had terrible pain in my stomach and bloating, I don’t understand why.
Any suggestions please.
A lot of people have reported stomach issues in the early days. These tend to relax after a week or less. I personally have gone for the Unflavoured Unsweetened version to reduce the likelihood of these issues and this has worked fine. I have then added my own sweeteners, frozen fruit etc. I have also tried a flavour sachet, as these use a different sweetener apparently, and it is fine also.
Also, a number of people successfully use half and half, with UU and vanilla. I will probably try that next time. So, if possible, I would suggest perseverance for at least a week.
The thing that most readily affects bloating for me is how fast I drink it. The entire shaker in a couple of minutes: bloating, acid reflux, can barely bend over without gagging. Spread over 20 minutes: symptoms almost non-existent.
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That’s interesting, I don’t seem to be experiencing this wonderful flavour that others find 
tastes awful to me and makes me gag that’s why I wanted to drink it as quickly as possible lol.
I have ordered one of the flavour pouches and will mix in some fruit today to see how I get on and will be reducing the scoop to 2 to see if I get used to it. I will follow your suggestion to drink it slowly.
I hope the symptoms do pass as I am still in discomfort after drinking huel yesterday lunchtime.
Thanks for the tip.
Yes, tbh I thought it tasted rather unpleasant at first, and still do from time to time (my relationship to food is weird and easily affected/coloured by connotations) hence trying to drink it fast. I think part of the problem is that if you try and drink it fast (especially in a hurried this-is-unpleasant-lets-get-it-down-quickly sort of way) you end up gulping down a lot of air as well. I now quite enjoy the taste (it’s picked up ‘healthy’, ‘fresh’, ‘rejuvenating’ connotations in my mind).
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Fellow associated IBS person here!
My first three days on Huel (One 3 scoop meal per day) were a bowel revolution to put it politely. Having calculated how much more fiber I was now consuming compared to my previous eating habits I suspect that is what did it for me!
As soon as I started flavoring it and drinking it slowly with a thinner consistency everything settled down to just give a comfortably sated feeling.
Stick with it and I hope it settles down for you too!
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Hi,
I suffer from mild IBS and I definitely struggled at first. I’d recommend trying this when you don’t have to be out or will be embarrassed by it. It definitely takes a bit of building up to get used to it. e.g. once a day every other day, then every day etc. Definitely don’t rush into having a lot of it in one day.
I’d also recommend the gluten free version, which seems to agree with me more. I have issues with gluten despite not being positive for celiac. I tried normal huel at first but find the GF version much easier to handle.
It seems to help my symptoms now I’m on a pretty steady routine. I have it for lunch every day at work.
Thanks for the replies.
The sip it slowly method is working no pain yesterday, I got the strawberry flavouring which I quite like.
I still struggle with the flour like texture in my mouth even though I have been leaving it in the fridge, will try adding hazelnut milk and keep experimenting with different fruit.
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