Does anyone have trouble with bloat after eating?

[Natura]

I think I have no HCL acid in my stomach. Even a cup of tea or soup bloats me.

Is this part of lupus? Or some unrelated digestive problem? OH my! If one more thing goes wrong with me....

last night I could hardly climb the stairs to go to bed. I was exhausted, my legs hurt. I told my husband I need a one story house. I cant go up stairs sometimes. And it seemed to be when my abdomen was very bloated.

I am finally insured and trying to find a rheumatologist. Worst part, cant move for Another couple of years till girls graduate.

[happytulip]

I used to bloat after eating. Now I put 10mls of cider vinegar into a mug of boiling water and add a teaspoon of honey. It helps my digestion.

On another note, (pardon me but my medical brain kicks in), bloating can be caused my a number of things. Maybe a Helicobactor pylori infection in your gut, for example? It might be worth doing a stool sample, not if you are on omeprazole though as it can affect the result. Bloating in females should not be ignored as it could be a symptom of something or nothing. I do think that you should really consider seeking a medical opinion, reassurance is a great thing!

Let us know how you get on.

[Natura in reply to happytulip]

Waiting for an appt..hope to see a rheumy soon.

[weathervane in reply to Natura]

Hi there , i have IBS and can suffer from bloating. I take peppermint capsules once a day -- up to 3 times if bloating is bad, it does mKe a difference

[Charliebear68]

Hi,

I suffer terribly from bloating - I find milk irritates me but not every day! Try to drink lots of water to flush it out of your system and I drink peppermint tea too.

However, definitely get it checked out just to be sure.

Good luck 👍

Charlie x

P.S. I'm right with you on the ' if one more thing goes wrong...'

[Natura]

Thank you everyone. I dont eat dairy anymore. And gluten. But, I have been cheating with the gluten from time to time. I drink warm lemon water in the morning to kick start the liver I read somewhere. I am going to get some peppermint capsules. And the vinegar idea is great too! Thank you

[4373 in reply to Natura]

After drinking the lemon water, please be sure to completely rinse your teeth with non-lemon water. The acid in the lemon will destroy your tooth enamel. Daughter of a dentist.

[Natura in reply to 4373]

Good to know. Didnt know that. Makes senses. I got my first rheumy appt in April. I guess I should make a list of my symptoms.

Thank you

[nanleighh in reply to Natura]

Be careful with the peppermint if you have reflux, mint and chocolate can cause esophageal spasms if you are prone to them like I am. I hope you get help with your GI issues. Mine come and go and are much better if I eat good clean unprocessed foods and stay away from triggers like dairy and chocolate. XO

[Freckle1000]

I'm glad you're seeing a Rheumatologist. Hope he provides a complete investigation. I kind of live on the serious end of the SLE spectrum at this point in my life - so my advice is probably a bit gothic - but make sure he checks your kidneys & all things digestive - eg Liver, pancreas function, bile duct emzymes etc etc etc. Just to be on the safe side.

If the wait for your Rhematologist is a bit long - go to your GP and ask for these checks.

[Natura in reply to Freckle1000]

Thanks Freckle. I was on the low end 3 yrs ago. I already had scarred kidneys. Now my liver is bothering me. I aleady know I have intestinal issues. And clotting. Just found out I need to see a GP first. Ugh! Looking at seeing a rheumy in 3 months probably.

[Natura in reply to Freckle1000]

Hi Freckle...dont know which GP to choose. I dont need referrals with my insurance. I just mad an appt with hepatologist cause I have so much liver discomfort. They got me in for a. Appt next week. Thank God. Only 2 hepatologists on the entire island. Unbelievable. My dad had liver problems too. Wow, I got some pretty bad genes from both sides.

[Freckle1000 in reply to Natura]

Hello again,

I've had SLE Hepatitis. Its easy to cure - just the usual.....more immuno-suppression. Not that I'm hoping you have autoimmune hepatitis, but at least if it's this it can be fixed pretty quickly by medications.

I've found a lot of doctors underestimate how much SLE can effect the digestive system or don't even know or understand that it can. I had a mild argument with a professor the other day about it - and had to explain to him its attacked my stomach lining, effected my pancreas secretion, bile ducts and liver. (No GP letter type situation) Its not the first time I've had to explain this to a Doctor. Unfortunately they don't always take my information with good grace.

I live in an isolated town in Australia and here the GPs can test the basic's - liver, kidneys - the lot....unfortunately sometimes I've had to be 'very assertive' with them and literally tell them to do it.

Don't forget those kidney's though. All these are easy pathology stuff a GP should be able to handle.

I don't always show a spike in my lupus markers when I have internal organ involvement - the antibodies are hanging around the internal organs - not in the blood stream - so testing the internal organ function first can be very handy. Biopsies have been very helpful for me if the cause of internal organ dysfunction is a bit nebulous. With me the biopsies always come back 'Lupus'.

[Natura in reply to Freckle1000]

Thank you. Your comments were very informative. Especially when the bloodwork shows fine. They should listen to our symptoms. This dr seems familiar with lupus when i mentioned to woman on phone. Interesting that the anti bodies hang around organs.

I am not thrilled about going on medicine, but if its going to attach my organs, i need help.

My kidneys showed up scarred years ago in a sono. The report said scarred. And my GP at the time said to me, "that doesnt mean they are".

I get the fight for testing that you had to argue. It seems to be that way everywhere.

[Freckle1000 in reply to Natura]

Yeah. About 3 years ago my ANA's anti dsDNA ect. only rose a little - not enough to startle my specialist - but I was suffering a pretty full on renal flare. Took the biopsy to convince them that it was happening. (he'd also left the numbers a bit too high for too long)

- hence my kidney fixation. I tend to think anyone with SLE Lupus should have their kidney function tested just as a routine act.

Many moons ago I was winging to my Rheumatologist about catching every cold and flu under the sun when I wasn't taking much in the way of immuno- suppression. He pretty much told me my antibodies where hanging out in all the wrong places as apposed to being in the blood where they could fight of colds etc.

I don't know how common it is ? but I read that its possible for SLE patients who are usually blatantly sero-positive to have a kind of sero-negative dip with internal organ involvement as the blood tests don't reflect whats happening internally.

Really hoping you don't have to take medication.

And yeah....I was in a similar situation with two ultasounds showing a inch round mass in my uterus. They went in to have a look and found nothing ???? My GP had to explain that it would have been impossible for them to miss it with the procedure they performed.

All very tricky. Sometimes its hard to know what to believe.

[ijeasike]

My mum and i have issues of bloating. My mum has more issues, she stoped milk, we take hot lemon after every meal. My gp suggested charcoal tablet but we couldnt find any in the pharmacy so i went online, i found one and my mum started using she chewed it after every meal. Her fart smelled less and she felt better also her tooth stopped bleeding when she brushed. Unfortunately she had to stop it cos the tablet had icing sugar and my mum is diabetic. But i found bamboo charcoal powder it doesn't have sugar. She puts half a tea spoon in hot water in mug and drinks it half an hour b4 meal. I also use it for my teeth and facial mask. It has removed all the black heads on my nose.

It will be good to talk to ur doctor and get checked out. Hope u get better.

Take care and God bless

Regards

Ijeasike xxx

[Natura in reply to ijeasike]

Thank you Ijeas..all good to know. Didnt think about charcoal. My daughter has rosacea, and reall y bad blackheads on her nose all the time. I will look for this product for her. Hope the family is all well....🙂

[Hidden]

Hi I have had bloating for as long as I can remember, but recently it is so much worse. I can start the morning with a relatively flatter stomach as soon as eat breakfast, no matter what my stomach swells. I get stomach pain, which then goes to wind pain and then the inevitable!! I have had IBS I was told, I'm on Ompreasole for acid reflux, and have bouts of the runs, then constipation mainly due to iron meds. The new rheumy, due to anaemia investigations thinks I have colitis not IBS. I thought some distention was due to being unfit, but by the evening my diameter goes up by 3-4inches. I have thought about changing diet again but it does seem to make much difference. Whilst typing I have bowel pain after eating home made chilli, no additives with brown rice. Cant seem to win.

[Natura in reply to Hidden]

Hi johare..I find I cant eat beans at all. Dont you feel like you are on such a restrictive diet, there isnt anything you can eat? Sometimes i feel like that. I am already dairy and gluten free. So frustrating. My mom had ulcerative colitis. I am seeing rheumy in a month. Will see what she says. Thanks for sharing.