Desparate! 24/7 Very Loud Intestinal Noises

[dgirl24]

For over 10 years I've had horribly loud noises that come from the intestinal area, which is getting worse and worse. It's almost constant. When I touch the area where the noises come from (it varies, there are a couple different noises), sometimes it feels like something is bubbling almost. My primary doctor told me there's nothing to be done about it, and it wasn't a big deal, but it is. It's taken over my life. It's all but eliminated my social life; I call into work when we have meetings, I can't watch movies with friends, can't stay the night anywhere (it gets worse at night and in the am). I've developed a phobia of silence and any situation that requires it due to this. I've cut out foods, alcohol, all in an attempt to stop the embarassment. Can anyone give me some idea of how to make this stop? I am desperate...

[neshalove]

I was having the same exact problems and I tried this last week. Do not eat anything that contains milk and I mean anything. No milk chocolate, chips with milk, cookies ice cream, cheese even if its a trace of milk NO and see if it improves after a week or two. If it does even a little then re add milk and see if it starts to happen again. This worked for me so now I'm doing a whole diet change to exclude lactose. I know it may seem silly but just try it I had the same problem too and it became worst this year. You can feel your stomach bubbling and you know its about to make the sound and stress makes it worse. Not eating milk for a while has taken away the loud growls but i still sometimes feel bloated but I hope it will go away too. I'll keep everyone updated.

[MommaMiaMia]

This problem plagued me for years. I tried gasx, muffling the sound, pretending like It didn't exist, eating more, eating less, cutting out bread, cutting out sugars, I tried charcoal capsules....this is not normal sounds and if your doctor tells you everyone has tummy grumbles everyone in a while, they have not had to deal with this. It's horrible! what worked for me was very strong probiotics. I got them from my naturalpath. You can find them in the fridge at a health food store; do not get the ones from the shelf of a regular drug store or grocery store. I have been without this problem for over a year and a half and it started to come back. I am taking the probiotics again and am noticing it is going away again. I wish I had taken these in University or before all those embarrassing work meetings. Just wanted to post and let you know what worked for me.

[tressley]

This has been misery for me for years, but apart from the remedies offered in this forum I've found two ways to cope with this at least partially. One is that whenever I'm about to go into a quiet situation like that, I wear a light jacket (saying the A/C's getting to me or something like that). During the meeting I slip off the jacket (ah, it's warming up) and just scrunch it against my lap to muffle the sounds. Another is purely psychological but effective. If it's a situation where I don't have to interact with anyone, e.g., not a meeting, then I wear headphones and listen to music. Silly, I know, but I find that in perfect library-type silence all I can concentrate on is that silence and that really exacerbates the situation. With headphones I quickly forget about the silence and gradually become more relaxed and comfortable. FWIW.

[Joe4321]

I suffer from this too. This condition is so embarrassing. It started right after high school. I was attending college and dropped/flunked out because of it. It was so bad that I was trying to find out if there were some type of clothing I could wear that would mask out the noises like some type of soundproof material. (Yes I got and still am desperate).. I finally gave it another try 5 years later. (What a waste of 5 years). I would eat less before class to help avoid the noises, but then my stomach would growl loudly from hunger. I learned not to do that pretty quickly. One good thing from having this was I learned to get done with tests as fast as possible so that meant studying hard and I ended up with the highest grade in the class. But my stomach noises were insanely loud. I always sat in the very back and made sure I went to the bathroom right before class. That helped a tiny bit. I'm not sure if this is linked solely or even mostly to the types of food we eat unless you have some type of allergy. I ate anything I wanted during highschool and not one time did I have this problem. I think it's a mind body connection. I'm thinking that the first time it happened it was very embarrassing and the next time I went to class I was paranoid it would happen again which in result made it happen. This then turned into a vicious cycle which I conditioned myself into. Google Ivan Pavlov dogs. It's funny the class I finished a few months ago was psychology, and I could relate to somethings taught because of this problem. However, I do get some stomach noises at home, but they are not as nearly as loud as they would be in a quiet setting nor do they occur as frequent. Honestly I would have to say 80% of the time its happens I was either thinking about it or nervous. I actually hate to say that our brains could be stimulating a reaction because that means theres no quick relief from a pill. I hope we can all get through this and I pray we do. I highly recommend going to John4660 link up there and reading his story. Good luck.

[pixueto]

I have the same problem. In a way, I think I'm lucky because I don't have some of the problems that other IBS suffers have. My condition is not painful and, apart from going to the toilet 3 times every morning, my symptoms aren't unbearable. However, those horrible noises are ruining my work life. Every time I have a meeting I feel terrible embarrassed. I completely sympathize with many of the stories here.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have eliminated sugar and bread in my diet and that seems to have helped a bit but, more importantly, I have started taking symprove and I am full of hope. Apparently, if you take it for 3 months it can reset your friendly bacteria in your intestine. I have been taking it for 4 days only and I can function much better already. I am very hopeful that this con be a valid remedy for my condition.

I just wanted to share this with you. I have no link whatsoever with this product or company and I will review it again next month so I can tell you if it still works but the first results are indeed very encouraging.

Apparently they have run some tests in Kings College London (a very, very reputable institution) and it seems to have cured 57% of the people who tried it. Because my symptoms are 'minor' but very embarrassing, I figured out that I might be among that 57% of sufferers for whom Symprove works.

The downside is that it is quite expensive and a bottle (£20) lasts just under a week!

[bow1cutie1]

I do have the same problem - Oooh gosh hear this when you are attending a Church Service and its quiet - I have lied several times that it happens when I am hungry - yet not.  A very embarrassing problem.