gurgling, gas and swelly belly

[lawoman]

Hi everyone
For a year I've had this stomach issue, which Dr's have yet to diagnose-- anything I eat makes me gassy, bloated and uncomfortable. No pain, no problems with bowel movements, just a stomach that sounds like a sci fi movie, ridiculous amount of noise and can feel pops of gas, and lots of farts. What helps is taking 1/4 of Ativan tablet before I eat, then stomach is calm and bloat is less uncomfortable, though still will fart ( ive always done that though so that doesnt worry me). Ruled out reflux, parasites, etc. Anyone have anything similar--again, ANY food causes this effect, and there is NO pain or change in my 2-3x a day poo habits. I just sound like a sewer, gurgel, glop, gulp, and swell like a pregant woman-- I swell before I poo, too.
Sigh.

[mifegr]

Hi, I'm a nutritionist.  You need to have a test done called a Heidelberg Gastrogram. (google this).  It is not done by traditional doctors.  I would have this test done if I were you even if I had to fly out of state (it's hard to find doctors who have the machine for this test).  Good Luck!

[canby07]

I've been trying to research a lot about things before going to my doctor because she doesn't seem to ever listen to me, like she's wishing she was in Hawaii or something (frankly, I don't blame her on that one). :-)Anyways, I get severe, knife like cramps about 3 or 4 inches below my bellybutton, usually when I need to pass gas or bm. It's even worse if my bladder's full too. It feels like it's in my vagina or other "parts" and around the inside of my anus at the same time. Sometimes it gets stronger and stronger until I think I'm gonna pass out, then finally starts to fade away. As soon as I can move again, I make a run for the bathroom. That definitely helps, but there's still a general soreness. It's normally about a week before my period, which has always been regular. What's wierd though is sometimes I have it, then I can go a few months before having it again. Lately, I've experienced a new symptom where I feel really nauseous if I need to take a bm, especially during, and my appetite isn't what it usually is. Now my intestines are gurgling a ridiculous amount and my gas has quadrupled, quite smelly too! :( Anybody have ideas??? That would help so much!

(My doctor, last time I saw her for this about a year and a half ago, said it was most likely my hormones changing, which can cause things like constipation. That just doesn't seem right to me. Oh, and most the time I have pretty mucousy bowels.)

[TheFallenChampion]

Sorry for not posting sooner.  "The treatment" that I had been awaiting was a hysterectomy.  To make a VERY VERY VERY LONG story short, my gyn, who I wish would burn in hell FLAT OUT LIED TO ME AND DENIED ME OF THE HYSTERECTOMY 8 DAYS BEFORE I WAS SCHEDULED TO GO UNDER THEN KNIFE (AFTER I'D BEEN SCHEDULED BACK IN FEBRUARY, TWO MONTHS EARLIER).

FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO FIND ANOTHER GYN WHO DID MY HYSTERECTOMY.  

LET ME SAY, I AM ONE MONTH POST OP RIGHT NOW AND MY IBS/EXTREME FLATULENCE IS GONE...

BUT THAT WAS EASY TO PREDICT, BASED ON WHAT I WOULD ENDURE BETWEEN MY LAST POST ON HERE......... Hindsight is always great, but sh!t, there you have it folks - I attribute my G.I. to menstrual/reproductive functioning.  I made that post on March 22.....

Three days later, on Mar 25, I awoke feeling well!!!  For ONCE in the past several weeks, I did not wake in excruciating pain from trapped flatulence, nor did I awake with that horrible shaky, hypoglycemic feeling that drove me to down 1000-2000 calories in a single sitting.  I even smiled at my mom before she left for work to tell her that I felt well!  

I then went to make breakfast - prunes, oats, and egg whites… …and I didn't overeat.  While I was overjoyed not to have consumed 1000-2000 upon arising, (as I had over the course of the previous two weeks, during which my caloric intake had averaged well over 3,000 calories/day), I wondered what was different.  I hadn't made any changes to the foods I was eating; there were no sudden changes in my life or situation.  What was different?  I felt so well for once and I wanted to continue feeling good... I wanted to know!  I wanted answers dammit...

...I wondered for not more than a minute, before getting answers, alright....  Just after eating, I experienced an excrutiating stabbing/tearing sensation in my abdomen (near my uterine area).  It had been years since I'd had a menstrual cycle, but I hadn't forgotten the feeling; I made it to the bathroom just in time to save my underwear from the clots of menstrual blood that came out of me.

I immediately called my gynecologist and, although driving off the road three times on my way to her office, (whihc was 40 minutes away), as knife-life cramps stuck, I somehow managed to make it there without hurting myself or someone else in the process.

JUST LIKE WITHOUT THE MENSTRUAL PERIOD - MY FLATULENCE MIMICKED MY MENSTRUAL CYCLE (proving that, even with amenorrhea, it is still possible for one's hormones to cycle to some extent and get the horrible symptoms); for I was free of flatulence for 3 days, before it gradually started building up, coming to head and then cumulating in the onset of another menstrual period, 30 days later.

Well, my heart goes out to anyone who suffers from this.  My hysterectomy (w/ removal of both ovaries, fallopian tubes, and cervix), literally CURED me of my digestive ailments.

[georgie439]

Wow, thanks, jaybay, I never new that endo or ovarian cysts could cause gas??!!!

My recent ct scan showed the "one" I had on the right resolved, never felt it, but I have several lil ones on the left "new" weren't there 8 mths ago! I go for reg ct scans for cer- watch protocol.  
I just saw my gyn, had pap, but that has nothing to do w/ ovary's/endo  right??
I know really nothing abt gyn.
All I know is I had a baby late in life 41, and she was breach, and the scar still
hurts today from the c-section?
Would they have seen endo in there?
My partner, who witnessed 2 others from former marriage, said "I didn't look right"
I'm kinda thinking out loud, but I wonder if they right a report on the c-section surgery like they do for other procedures!!
Never saw that gyn again.   ................anyway thanks JayBay

[TheFallenChampion]

I have it much worse - like you, I get EXCESSIVE [lower intestinal] gas every single day.  Unlike you, my gas is extremely painful.  It's gotten to the point where I can no longer work out or ride my horse or do many of the things I love.

Interesting (but comforting to know), like you and other have stated is that I have horrible gyn issues.  In fact, one fameous doctor I've seen was CONVINCED based on several of my symptoms that I have endometriosis.  

Though back to my gas problem, or rather, it's ORIGIN: Summer 2005 a (former) endocrinologist pressured me into taking estrogen/progesterone meds.......... despite the fact that I explained to him (nearly frantic) how I had had terrible adverse reactions to these same medications just over a year earlier.

Well, somehow, he scared me into taking these meds... within half a week they once again triggered excessive overeating (5,000 - 8,000 calories/day); incapacitating cramps; fatigue that caused me to be bedridden.... and near complete loss of bowel function (1 BM every TWO weeks).  

Needless to say, I stopped the meds within 9 days of having started them; however, my bowel function never returned to normal.  I saw several GI docs who were either clueless or wrote my problem off as a 'sluggish gut' or (even worse) told me it was 'all in my head.'

I then found a supplement that literally saved my life (oxypowder).  While I have not been constipated (in the common definition of this word), I am now "consipated" with gas instead [of fecal matter].

I have tried almost everything in the book to mitigate the gas or simply to help expel it.  Unfortunatley, nothing has worked long term (or even offered any significant relief).

A few things I've tried [i]seem[/i] promising.... however, I was never able to continue with them for long enough to determine their effectiveness (due to simultaneous stimulatory effects on my menstrual cycle).

After years of suffering, my doctor has finally agreed to offer me a treatment that I have been begging for, for years, which I've am schedule to receive within the next 4 weeks.  I do not want to disclose this treatment, but I will certainly report back, in terms of its effectiveness.

[lawoman]

I do have endo, a fibroid, and ovarian cysts, but have had for awhile and they are not moving or doing anything. Gyn is watch/wait type, put me on BC which works for the gyn problems. And this stomach thing started way after I started the BC pill so I dont think thats it, either.
I hear you Stephanie with the audible gut noises-- really embarassing, esp in a library, lecture, etc. I sound like a horror movie about alligators in the sewer!UGH!

[Ms_Makita]

Hi,I was just going to post with same question.I do the same thing,I never use to do it,it started 8 months ago.I do have pain,but my stomach/bowels constantly "rumble",even after good bm,very noisy,and I cant pass gas ,but maybe 1-2 times a day,so it must be trapped gas.Anything I eat makes it worse.It's humilating,when in store waiting in line it started acting up when my 3 yr old niece loudly said "wow auntie your stomach farts too"...lol..
   Only thing I could think is gas getting trapped in bends/loops of the intestines,have you tried gas x? are you female? I agree with Jaybay if your female could be gyno issue,as I have ovarian cyst/possible endometriosis.This didnt start till I have had this cyst for months..something to look into.Good luck to ya
               Stephanie

[Jaybay]

Hi.  I'm assuming from your posting ID that you are a woman?  Have you approached your symptoms from a gynecological standpoint yet?  Certain gyn conditions like endometriosis can cause gastro problems, and every time I had an ovarian cyst working, I got the same thing: bloated, gassy, and generally painful.

Since you don't appear to be getting anywhere with a GI approach, it might be worthwhile to at least rule out any gyn problems.