I'm new to this forum and really finding it quite hard to write this as it's so embarrassing, I've not told anyone other then my doctor who simply said I've tried everything they've advised and none of the tests show any issues and so she's not really sure how else to help, I feel so helpless with this.
I've had ibs for as long as I can remember, majority of the time I can ease the symptoms by cutting out culprit foods (tomatoes, apples, oranges, broccoli, bran,, etc) and adding more vegetables to my diet. Since my diet change I have noticed a difference in my cramps, diarrhoea and constipation but one really embarrassing symptom still remains... I get really REALLY bad gas and I can not control it, at around 12pm every day my belly will start to bloat and I'll feel so uncomfortable, I try to hold the gas in but it sort of leaks out - it's disgusting and gets worse after eating, I stink and people are starting to notice, I just want to shut myself away.
I've tried the following methods to help but nothing has worked :
Activated charcoal, peppermint tea (actually makes my cramping worse), buscopan, eating slowly, breathing techniques, exercise daily, eating little and often.
Nothing is working and it's getting 10x worse, I used to be able to hide it but it's just not possible anymore. I feel disgusting, I use so much body spray, perfume and deodorant but nothing can mask the smell and I can't hold it in or 'just wait to go to the toilet' .
I'm desperate for any help or advice, even just to hear from someone going through the same issues - I feel so alone in this.
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Rocky-Road
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Okay, stop drinking all fizzy drinks, reduce alcohol intake. Stop eating peanuts, sweetcorn, Brussel sprouts and baked beans. Drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Put small mouthful of food into your mouth and chew really well. This should help you, and you should notice a difference in 7-10 days. Good luck.
Look at Optibac. If you contact them they are brilliant at asking questions and getting best one. Bioglan is good, Biokult i love can highly recommend so many good ones out there. ,
i found the probio7 ones really good i had really really awful gas. they have one of the strains supposed to help with gas ( i read a study then took list of the strains supposed to help into the shop to ask for help).
i also did the fodmap elimination diet, take digestive enzymes with every meal ,cut out fizzy drinks and drink loads of water
my gas has reduced by about 60 percent, i only get it bad before my period or if i eat something accidentaly that disagrees with me. i tend to stick to the same foods most days
Have you tried cutting out onions and garlic? That’s worked for a couple of people I know. One of them tried the whole FODMAP diet but In the end that’s what it was. All best.
I would say definitely do the low fodmap diet (with a dietitian), the foods that tend to do that are the ones high in GOS and fructans, monash university have an app where you can search a vegetable and they will tell you if they are safe or not. 90% of the time, it's the food! Senocalm IBS is pretty good at getting the gas out quickly. x
Yes it is. I had tests/scans etc for absolutely everything and they all came back clear apart from the SIBO breath test. But I had to ask for this test as it was never offered to me.
I had the hydrogen breath test which came back positive for SIBO but no action was taken. I'm in pain day and night with trapped wind and nhs hasn't an answer. Using a private nutritionist for over a year trying different supplements. Had a private stool test which showed high markers for h pylorifor which nhs said was negative.' Almost given up!
You need to go back to a gastroentologist and ask to try Rifaximin antibiotic for SIBO. Also ask to be tested again for h pylori as it showed up in a private stool test. Other than that I have no answers as I am still suffering with bad stomach aches myself. Sorry
Rifaximin not available in the UK. Seems to be an excellent antibiotic in the States but I have been told it will be years before NICE agrees for it to be available in the UK. I am awaiting result of CT colonoscopy. Hope you soon get some relief from pain yourself. I will show the stool test results to Gastro when I see him for the result of the latest test.
Do you eat gluten? I'm not coeliac but found that once I cut out gluten, well wheat really, my wind problem decreased dramatically. I still have some windy days but SO much less. Windeze or Wind Settlers (Simethicone) help too.
You might find food intolerance tests help. Most tests from standard healthcare providers only test for dairy egg and gluten. If gluten does not come up then you are sent away as normal and making a fuss. Aged seventy found out I had dairy egg grains such as wheat rye barley and banana and maize and rice. I was not normal and I was in a lot of discomfort. I have ruled out all potential allergens and am much better. I had a test for over 60 different foods and the test only came in about three years ago. Luckily I am lactose intolerant so buy lactose free milk and cheese. Low lactin/lactose can be found in hard cheese so a bit of cheddar cheese or gouda does me no harm. I eat oats but not too many or the same can happen with the gassy probs.
Log onto Alphega Pharmacy Group. They are linked to germany and france and do a smart test which takes a finger prick blood test and runs it through a computer which is interpreted by a trained pharmacist. There are hundreds of chemist branches linked across the Uk some with special services for allergy screening. You find the Alphega map locator of branches with services and check by giving the nearest town or village in your area rather than postcode as boundaries between counties may give you less addresses in your area. Each pharmacy has a number icon, which you can click on to find the local branches. You might have to look at the list of each branch services as not all will do allergies. I live in a rural part of the UK so was surprised I had one of these a few miles away. They have been brilliant closing a gap in services run by the NHS but still linked if you need referral.
That's brilliant, never heard of this before now. Will be giving this a look over tomorrow as well as starting the FODMAP diet. Thanks so much for all the help and advise.
Fodmap recommends to reintroduce the food but this can be a revolving door. Have heard of folk who were really ill after reintroducing the food.
Fibre gel helped with the runs as it absorbs excess water in the large intestine so you don't have the same problem. I take flavoured sachet occasionally. Certain fibrous foods like bran can irritate the bowel and fibrous vegetables with pea shells and beans can make things worse. Carrots and mashed potatoes might be easier for digestion. Spasm and pain can be helped with Merbeverine. Cocodomol recommended by pharmacist really helped with IBS pain. When I first started to change my diet I could only think of French bread Croissants cakes cream and all the goodies Everything I loved was forbidden. It was a cruel blow! But it has paid off.
Mashed potatoes and carrots are my go to during a flare! And white rice great advice x
You obviously have had success with the Fodmap diet. Alas Could not find out about rice and maize intolerance as these are not tested for in the UK health system, I have o use lactose free milk too..but the diet exclusion has helped.
Firstly thank you all so much for your advice and input - I'm taking it all on board and have been slowly adjusting my diet to a FODMAP diet & also looking into SIBO testing.
Since writing this, I have made a couple of discoveries, one of which leads me to believe banana's may be making my gas worse. I eat 2-3 per day but did not have one until around 4pm yesterday, coincidentally my gas was not apparent until around 4:30pm yesterday which is much later than usual (usually this issue starts mid-day) and so I am cutting banana's out to see if that helps.
Also, a really bad discovery I've made is that gin completely removes all odour from my wind. I had a gin & lemonade on a day which my gas was particularly strong - Around 1 hour after having the drink I still had gas but no odour! I tested this again last night with one small shot of gin (just bigger than a teaspoon size) and once again all odour vanished! This would be a brilliant answer but I'm really not comfortable with having alcohol everyday (my dad was an alcoholic so it's a very sensitive issue for me, I very rarely drink) and it's obviously not the healthiest answer.
So, I have done some more research and found that Juniper berries are the main ingredient in gin. Also, Juniper berries have been known to relieve bloating and digestion issues - I'm hoping these are the answer I'm looking for but i'm struggling to find a reliable supplement with Juniper as the ingredient.
Has anyone heard of juniper helping? if so, can you recommend where I can buy it for daily consumption (Not including alcohol beverages lol)
Hiya, you could by Shreddies which are flatulence filtering underwear, I know it won't solve the problem but it might help with work and social events? (they're quite expensive but so is good gin)
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