New & would appreciate any advice on the below

[S2017]

Hi everyone,

I am new on this site and I have been struggling with a few things and am hoping that you all can help.

For starters, I am very gassy and uncomfortable, not all the time but most times. For example, when I take greek yoghurt, onions, garlic, ginger, cruciferous vegetables, bread, etc... I get bloated and have a lot of flatulence and the smell is terrible (tummy sticks out, makes me look pregnant). This includes eggs and milk that causes putrid flatulence. I never had this issue 3 years ago so why am I suddenly reacting to everything?

When I take a lot of meat, I feel like the food just 'sort off just sits in the tummy and takes forever to process'? Not sure if this makes any sense but its how I feel. My idea of a lot of meat is say I have a lamb burger for lunch and chicken breast for dinner, for me this is already quite a bit.

I know the above are known to be gassy foods. What I want to know is what changed, if I could tolerate a bunch of them 3 years ago, why am I now reacting to not one item, but everything? Also (sorry I know this is TMI, but the gas smells bad, very gaseous and it makes me scared as I don't know if I have a serious issue or is this just IBS).

Also is this IBS/IBD/SIBO/yeast overgrowth? How do I find out? Has anyone done private testing and how much did it cost? Can you share the links as I find dealing with Dr's frustrating and slow.

Last time I had this, they put me on omeprazole which work temporarily. fyi - I have had acid reflux and have to avoid chocolates, caffeine, tomatoes, orange juice, etc.

What am I suppose to eat? I am getting so frustrated and I am also wandering if there is a link between acid reflux to the above?

I take probiotics but I don't see a major change. How long do they take to work?

Sorry that this is detailed but I need help to get rid of this issue. I would really appreciate any advice on how you improving your condition and links for any testing info or anything else that may be relevant.

Thank you very much for reading my post.

[Popps2]

Hi. So sorry you are feeling so uncomfortable. I also get very bloated, look pregnant at times, cramping and gas😕. . There is the York test that looks ato in tolerances but it is expensive.I have not used it and don't know how accurate it is but I'm sure others on the site may be able to comment from their experiences. I saw a dietician who talked about fodmap diet and this has helped me. Onions, garlic, chocolate, cous cous are a big trigger for flare ups for me. The thing with stomach issues is that they can come on so suddenly. I don't know what triggered my ibs. I know in some people it can be food poisoning or stomach bugs that can trigger it. I would suggest you see your gp and get some stool and blood tests done if you have not already just to get a diagnosis. I hope that helps a bit and hope you start to feel a benter soon. X

[Mishka123]

I would start following the Low Fodmap diet and see what happens.

[S2017 in reply to Mishka123]

Okay I've started that, thank you.

[Albertina_G]

I am not sure but I think so its IBS you should do some test and get a confirmation of what you are suffering from. You can eat all vegetables except cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli, lean meat, and seafood. These are the foods that will help you with acid reflux and IBS.

It can take around four weeks for probiotics to work and it should have strains that help with IBS.

[S2017 in reply to Albertina_G]

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. Sorry but I was a little confused about lean meat and seafood? Are you saying to take them or avoid?

[xjrs]

Have you been formally diagnosed with IBS using blood and stool sample tests? If not you need to ask for these tests:

nhs.uk/conditions/irritable...

By the way, please do not employ any private nutritional / functional therapists - I spent up to £4.5k last year on their fees, recommended foods/supplements and I was made much more ill - they told me I had SIBO when I didn't - the tests for SIBO are not accurate.

Assuming you are diagnosed with IBS, here is some information about IBS that I have shared with others in this group in case any of these tips are of interest to you:

IBS can be due to a number or combination of factors - these can be stress (including stress from early life experiences) which impacts the communication between the brain and the digestive system. There are lots of free webinars online at the moment regarding mindfulness meditation which might help. Plus you can ask to be referred for CBT or something similar to reduce anxiety - I would have thought online appointments are available. Exercise can play a major role in IBS in terms of reducing stress, helping your gut microbiome and regulating bowel movements.

There is also not absorbing certain types of carbohydrates called FODMAPs very well, the residue ending up in the colon and bacteria feeding off them causing symptoms. Ordinarily feeding gut bacteria is a really good thing - when you feed good gut bacteria these produce by-products that have great health effects in the gut and throughout the body. However, in some people with IBS bad bugs might have the upper hand over good - these bad bugs may cause symptoms such as excess gas, pain or disordered bowel movements. There is an interesting infographic on this here:

gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/....

This is why it’s worth trying probiotics such as Alflorex (which has been scientifically studied for IBS) or Symprove to crowd out the bad bugs and make their numbers die down. If that doesn't work you can try the FODMAP elimination and reintroduction diet. This is normally under the guidance of a nutritionist via GP referral - this may not be possible at the moment so you can read about it online. If you download the Monash University FODMAP app and Kings College fodmap apps, they will tell you which foods contain FODMAPs and in what quantities. You can eliminate all FODMAPs for 2 weeks and then introduce each type of FODMAP one at a time starting in small quantities, increasing over a 3 day period and wait up to 4 days for symptoms. I go much slower than this - only introducing a small amount (1/4 to 1/3 of a normal portion size) of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms for longer and then try to increment again . I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced very slowly and your bad bugs are under control with a good probiotic. Ideally you want to eat as many FODMAPs as you can since they are good for your health. Many people with IBS don't have diverse gut bacteria - it has been found that people who lack a diverse microbiome are more prone to diseases in general. In the long run, if you can get your symptoms under control, the ideal situation is to have a very varied diet - lots of different coloured fruits and vegetables, a variety of protein and carbohydrate sources including cereal fibres. This may seem a long way off, but with the right treatment all of this is possible. Last year all I could consume to control my IBS was white rice, protein and limited low fodmap veg. Using the approach above (particularly introducing Alflorex) I am now able to consume far more foods - more than I've ever dreamed of including wholewheat bread which is unheard of for me.

If you are also suffering from pain, you may be suffering from visceral hypersensitivity (functional abdominal pain) - there is info about it here:

iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorder...

It is where the brain interprets the normal activity of the bowel as pain - this is due to a wearing down of neurons in pain control centres of the brain which can be caused by PTSD, neglect or abuse in childhood, extreme stressful events etc. The first line treatment is nerve pain agents such as low dose amitriptyline. There is a theory that being on something like amitriptyline for 6-12 months can help the pain control centre neurons to regenerate. Note that amitriptyline can cause constipation, but this can be helpful in people who are diarrhea dominant. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate these. Linaclotide (for IBS-C only) & Alflorex have helped me with this intestinal pain.

You may also find assistance with anti-spasmodic medication such as mebeverine (Colofac) or enteric coated peppermint.

You can find some info on self management here:

theibsnetwork.org/the-self-...

If all of the usual IBS remedies fail and you are experiencing diarrhea, it is worth getting tested for BAM (Bile Acid Malabsorption), which can cause constant diarrhea - there is a separate test and treatment for that. Good luck.

[S2017 in reply to xjrs]

Hi,

I have just seen this and firstly, thank you so much for the info! I really appreciate it and will need to digest this. I will also try getting tested, rather difficult depending on which GP picks up but I need to find out. Will hold off first with private testing as I may just end up wasting a lot of money and still not figure out the issue.

There is a lot of info here which I appreciate. I will go through it and would you mind, if I come back to you if I have any specific questions that I think you might be able to help with?

Once again, thank you!

[xjrs in reply to S2017]

Thanks absolutely fine S2017.