What to do about stomach bloating?

[BlueMoose]

Any suggestions?

Thanks!:)

[wallycat]

Bloating like PMS type feeling or gas-y? or ??

Many reasons...many possible solutions....
if it's for you and you want an RD perspective, feel free to PM me :)

[BlueMoose]

I don't know.... I posted about a month or so ago about having stomach problems. I don't know if you remember. Well, I've been doing ok lately. But since yesterday I've not been feeling well again. I'm pretty sure what set me off was some frosting I ate on a piece of b-day cake. Now tonight I'm feeling totally bloated, but not really gassy. I think I'm just going to have to go back to eating really small amounts at a time and having NOTHING that's really fatty. I'm feeling really frustrated tonight!:mad:

[wallycat]

Bluemoose,
Have you had a recent physical?? Here are things that can make a female bloaty-gas-y...

1. gallbladder--gallstones
2. ovarian cysts/tumors
3. irritable bowel
4. Food allergies/intolerances

These are just a start...
if you think it is fatty food, are you experiencing pain in your upper right quadrant or possibly towards your back? If yes, it could be gallbladder. If you've dropped a large amount of weight recently, that could cause gallstones.

Bloating can mean different things to different people...are you still nauseaus? or just feel full and big? any cramping?
Any of these could point towards a different condition.....

Ovarian cysts/tumors can make you feel very full quickly and can make you nauseaus and even cause heart-burn. When I had my dermoid, I was nauseaus for almost a year. I also know when I ovulate because of some of these symptoms. I am careful to make sure these are cyclical. If so, maybe that is all you are experiencing...but keep an eye on it.

Irritable bowel is notorious for causing gas and bloating. Cramping and spastic type pain is also very common. Irritable bowel can develop at any time so simply because you've never had it does not mean you can't develop it.

FOod intolerances are also very common. Celiac/sprue type intolerance (wheat) was thought to be rare, but the new research points to it being more prevelant than thought.

If frosting did you in and you suspect fat, then it could be gallbladder...most docs won't operate unless you present with chronic pain/cramping and/or jaundice. People can live with gallstones for years and years unless they become symptomatic.

Not sure I've offered anything that will help here, but at least some ideas on what to watch for and decide if it should be investigated. I sure hope you feel better soon.
Nothing worse than a bum belly :(

[claire797]

My guess is that it's extra salt or perhaps the result of eating broccoli, cucumbers or some funky cereal. Besides the frosting, is there anything else you've been eating a lot of?

[Chefzhat]

Chrissi - I've been having troubles lately as well - and it is frustrating. My doc is suspecting gall bladder but since my symptoms come and go we've decided to just live with it a while.

I have managed to find an eating plan that works during those time - lots of broth soups, no bread, no meat, no butter. Olive oil seems to be okay. Not so much raw, crunchy food either - so my veggies get steamed a bit prior to eating. No orange juice either.

Are you feeling better today??

Debie

[memartha]

Debie and Bluemoose... Sounds like irritable bowel syndrome to me. Not that I'm an expert; but I have experienced what you are going through. Check out Dr. Weil.com or eatingforibs.com and see what you think. Triggers include stress, fatty foods, dairy products, high-fiber foods like raw veggies and some fruit, caffeine. It comes and goes depending on your stress level and diet. Hope you both feel better soon. I have found alot of relief with a modified diet and some attempts at stress reduction. Martha

[DocAgocs]

Here's the non-RD perspective, which isn't of any less value than the RD persepctive, in my opinion: any of the things WallyCat mentioned are good pursuits and you should get some dagnostic tests from your MD. A few things that can cause the problem that he didn't mention and the second one is the I think is more likely because of what you felt triggered it (frosting...sugar....on a cake...sugar...):

1) Have you been out of the country lately, eaten wild game or anything else out of the ordinary, drank water on a camping stream that was filtered on the spot, taken antibiotics, etc? If so you could have gotten a parasite or some other nasty bug that is metabolizing things in your GI tract differently from usual and causing the gas/bloat.

2) This is quite likely based on your description of the cake and icing... it could be a simply matter of the pH being out of whack in your GI tract. Your GI tract should be slightly acidic, which fosters a good environment for the good bugs and a bad one for the bugs that don't belong there. For a variety of reasons, the pH can raise (become less acidic). This sets you up for a bad balance between good and bad bugs, and when they break down sugars and starches the process is a bit different and creates a lot of gas and bloating. The fix is extremely simple: just re-acidify your GI tract. This is typically done with a product that has some enzymes and things to bring the pH back down. Very gentle, very simple, usually you take the product a few times and you see results then you finish out the bottle and you're done.

My favorite product for doing this is Standard Process Zymex which is $25 for a bottle of 150. Thorne Research makes some good products that do the same, and so does Metagenics. I'm not sure about stuff that can be bought over the counter, but you can easily find Zymex online if you want to from doctors who sell online (I'm not one of them).

I can't tell you how many patients I've had with similar problems and the fix is quick, easy and cheap. But, I'm not an RD (Real Doctor), so what do I know?

[BlueMoose]

Thank you so much for all of your responses. They're all very helpful!:)

[clairea]

Originally posted by memartha
Debie and Bluemoose... Sounds like irritable bowel syndrome to me. Not that I'm an expert; but I have experienced what you are going through. Check out Dr. Weil.com or eatingforibs.com and see what you think. Triggers include stress, fatty foods, dairy products, high-fiber foods like raw veggies and some fruit, caffeine. It comes and goes depending on your stress level and diet. Hope you both feel better soon. I have found alot of relief with a modified diet and some attempts at stress reduction. Martha

Ditto. I experienced similar symptoms and was diagnosed with IBS. Definitely see your doctor, though, to rule out other causes.

Claire

[DocAgocs]

FWIW, "IBS" is a pretty generic diagnosis that generally doesn't get patients too far. It's one of those things like "Well, you've got IBS. Too bad. See ya in a year." There are ways to rein in IBS symptoms and even clear them up altogether, mainly having to do with dietary choices. The symptoms of IBS are (from 17th ed of Merck Manual):

"Bouts of symptoms that occur at irregular periods."
"Onset in late adult life is rare."
"Symptoms occur in the awake patient and rarely rouse the sleeping patient."
"Symptoms can be triggered by stress or the ingestion of food."
"relieved by defecation"
"bloating, mucus in stool, varying pattern of form or stool frequency"

This is pretty indicative of any bowel condition. Also, current medical treatment is "supportive and palliative" but if you have IBS you can clean up your diet and see fast improvements. IBS is not so much a "thing" as it is a group of symptoms (i.e. a syndrome). The bowel tends to get into states of feedback loops where a problem starts and fets perpetuated by the conditions. If you break that feedback loop you solve the problem, and it isn't tough to do.

But, based on the small amount of info in the original question, I would not think this is "IBS" but rather an acute bowel dysbiosis (imbalance in the bacteria) or pH problem, both of which are extremely easy to deal with without medications. If it's a dysbiosis I can recommend a couple of nutritional and herbal products or if it is the pH it's simply a matter of taking one supplement for a short period of time. Of course, because your symptoms could be caused by anything, get some things checked out by your primary care provider, but be cautious of a diagnosis of IBS. It's overused and standard medical therapy is currently not well-equipped to deal with it.

[heeter]

I use to have horrible stomach bloating. It was very uncomfortable. I posted on this board asking about probiotics because of the research I had done, and specifically from a website www.ibsgroup.org, probiotics were suggested. I started taking them after a series of tests from my doctor that came up empty as to what was causing my problems. They've worked. I do take them everyday and I've not had the seriousness of bloating that I had prior to taking them.

[DocAgocs]

Proviotics can be helpful whether you have IBS or not. They simply crowd out the bad bacteria. The way to address this sort of GI problem is three-fold:

1) You must return the bowel to its optimal condition. That means a pH that is low enough that good bacteria enjoy it and multiply, as well as do their job of digestion and vitamin production, while bad bacteria leave or die.

2) If there is a shortage of beneficial bacteria, you need to replace them with probiotics. This shortage can happen because of ppor diet, higher than optimal pH, after parasite or yeast infestations and after antibiotic use.

3) You have to feed the good bacteria so they are healthy. Taking probiotics is good, but taking something to feed them at the same time is really good. Slippery Elm bark is a great nutritive source for probiotics.

In true cases of IBS the initia strategy should be to reduce the permeability of the bowel using fiber and an herb called Boswellia which has been shown to be extremely useful in IBS. Then reduce irritants to the bowel that the person may have food allergies to while soaking up the excess toxic fluid that is sitting around by using bentonite clay. Once things come around focusing on a diet that eliminates most of the stuff that can irritate the bowel (artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, etc) will usually keep the bowel in normal conditions without medication, herbs or anything else.