Extreme wind

[XDjames]

Wind seems to be a major feature of my IBS, and often takes over my life. Sometime it feels like an ulcer being poked, sometimes it's debilitating high pressure, it can be excruciating and I can't even think straight, and when it comes out, when I can get it out (all kinds of yoga poses), it's like a canon going off and very antisocial, and the after-ache. Windeze (simeticone) is no use (only paracetamol does anything) , I try to follow FODMAP diet and am really struggling to work out where it comes from. Was it the foolish spoonful of peas, was there too much wheat in the bread and so on? Anyone with similar experience and comments on what helps them most welcome.

[Luisa22]

I get wind too, and it is just a feature of my IBS that started the first day my IBS started. Mine is weird. When I wake up and get out of bed I let out about 2 or 3 of the biggest godalmighty farts you can ever imagine. No smell to them at all, just the hugest trumpeting noise!

Then for some weird reason that's me done for farts for the rest of the day. I might let out one or two more tiny ones in the evening but that's it for 24 hours. So basically the 15-25 farts that "normal" people are said to pass every single day as a normal healthy thing. happen to me more or less all at once first thing in the morning.

Most times the wind doesn't get trapped but it's awful if ever it does. It hurts. And like you, I will try anything to shift it, yoga poses, walks, anything. Peppermint tea doesn't really help. Lying down flat and massaging my tummy can often help and a warm bath, but even those don't solve its cause or anything

My morning farts have even made me start laughing. So I guess that's one good thing. But the smile is wiped off my face if any of them get trapped.

I have no really helpful suggestion for reducing them and don't even understand my own or why mine do what they do all at once like that. It's a mystery I just live with.

[711debbie]

Heating pad or hot water bottle and maybe lots of fennel tea or just chewing fennel seeds. Also, charcoal tablets are supposed to help. When I get trapped wind, I just try everything!

[Campoverde]

Try going gluten free. No wheat It has helped me a lot. I still have wind mostly in the evenings but not every day.

[villages2]

Just read your post, can I suggest what I take for my " windy " episodes for you to try. Firstly I dont eat anything spicy not even a mild curry, if i really fancy one I make it myself. Ok so I drink peppermint oil, just 4/5 drops into a warm not hot , glass of water. I buy mine online but make sure it's pure peppermint oil for digesting and not the food flavouring. Worth trying.

[Gizmo6 in reply to villages2]

Many years ago I would take peppermint capsules with success. I now have acid reflux the peppermint is not good. I do have peppermint and liquorice tea that can help but not always.

[Evonne02]

Unfortunately it's a massive part of my Ibs too. Mine has settled down since being prescribed Peppermint Oil Capsules as it calms the stomach. I have lots of months without it happening then it pops back up for a few weeks. Sometimes I can go over 12 months without incident and it comes back again. In addition I was advised to also drink 3 cups of Peppermint Tea. Like you, I have no control over it especially when giggling, laughing, if I need to shout, bend over, clear my throat, getting dressed, etc. On many occasions it just lasts for what seems like up to 2 minutes with such a force that I cannot believe it was inside me. It affects my bowels as it forces me to run to the loo and I pass a multitude of pebble splash poo which is always darker than normal. And I do get a lot of pain with it too. I've been told it's all part of Ibs which is a forever changing health issue. FODMAP Diet doesn't work for me as the problems came back to whatever triggered the issue when reintroduced again. I hope you can find a happy medium as this Ibs is no joke. All the best 😍

[XDjames in reply to Evonne02]

Thanks, I'll try peppermint tea, not just Colpermin. These days morning is the worst, if the pain doesn't wake me up, when I do wake it's excruciating until I can blast it out, then it builds again for an evening dose.

[E3178]

I am beginning to realise that roughage upsets me with wind and bloating. I had some salmon with new potatoes in their skins courgettes in skins with spinach yesterday. Within 10 mins the wind startedAnd I now I am feeling horrible with wind in my back, no appetite, fatigue etc.

I was awake in the night with it too.

I don't think my system can digest healthy food options and find I feel better on ready meals of rice based options.

I have bought some digestive enzymes but am scared to try them as last time I took them I think I felt worse.

I may try the potatoes without skins today as I need to know exactly what to avoid in future.

.

[XDjames in reply to E3178]

Yes, roughage (aka fibre) can be bad. All those veggies are supposed to be low FODMAP but items on the 'OK' list can trigger it for me (e.g. peanuts). Fish is always safe.

[Luisa22 in reply to E3178]

Yes, I always have to skin everything. I found there are some foods I can still eat, which I thought upset my tummy. All I needed to do was peel them! So now I skin everything...courgettes, cucumber, definitely potatoes (scraped isn't enough), even those little new ones. I can even eat asparagus so long as I have the patience to peel every stalk with a very sharp knife. The only things that peeling doesn't help with are most fruits, and tomatoes whuich upset me anyway, peeled or not.

Skins on things don't just make me feel too windy, they give me a too-frisky bm the next morning.

[Gizmo6]

Hi I'm the same the windsettlers help somewhat. I've just started on buscopan my bloating wind and constipation has improved. I do also need to be careful with my diet. Too much sweet and high fibre foods make it feel worse. I exercise regularly that doesn't make any difference. I sometimes take bicarb with water that does help but as its sodium I try not to take it. I do hope you find something to help ease the gas. It's horrible my worse time is in the evening.

[XDjames in reply to Gizmo6]

Buscopan never made the slightest difference as far as I could tell. The sweet things can be tricky to navigate; I love chocolate and biscuits, not sure they all love me though!

[Gizmo6]

I'm ok with small amounts of chocolate I'm fine with dark chocolate. I'm ok with plain biscuits. Anything with dairy is no good for me.

[Skyline4]

Yes I agree wind is my ongoing issue. I sleep ok but when I get up I have so much wind and usually cannot eat or drink for a couple of hours and the discomfort is horrible. The other day I used one of those soft bags you can heat in the microwave and it seemed to help release the problem gradually. I really was delighted with how it worked. Usual indigestion remedies don’t resolve it and I can’t take omeprazol etc as it makes my neuropathy in my gums a lot worse - and doesn’t seem to help anyway.

My GP and GE who I saw said to avoid the constipation so I use cosmocol or docusate or mebeverin (GE advice). I think I find fibre an issue so I try to go low fibre and mostly gluten free. Haven’t tried fybrogel yet, but I might give it a go.

I have ok days sometimes but also bad ones when I spend time waiting for it to improve. I am fortunate in having an understanding husband - though he is unwell himself. It must be really difficult if you feel alone with all this.

For me this is a grief process. I have to accept what is happening and let go of who I was in the past. I guess that is easier because we are in our late 70s and we try to focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t. I feel sad that I can’t really enjoy a meal out - or even having a coffee with friends. But I can be with them and manage with something more unexciting (boring!) to eat or drink - and I notice I’m usually not alone doing this! I feel if I accept the situation I can then deal with it a bit better and get on with my life as it now is. Apologies if that sounds naff, but that is where I am now and I’m fed up with pretending I’m fine when I’m not, so that’s how I’m dealing with it - acceptance, not denial.

[XDjames in reply to Skyline4]

Not naff at all; IBS has all but driven off my 'mojo' and I totally get the grief element: Like many, my career (now winding down, I can keep my hand in on what I chose to) depended entirely on the efforts I made to in effect 'get out there' (literally, hands on running projects). Now I just have to wait until I'm OK to get out and later in the day I think very carefully about when and how to go out to eat. This comes and goes, so I remain positive, I have the luxury of being able to do things if/when I feel like it, on the spur of the moment (country walks are really good), and my problems are tiny compared to many.

[Liz1234ty]

Hi, I have tried all sorts of medicinal stuff that has not helped. The biggest improvement I have seen is by slowly slowly slowly identifying food triggers and avoiding those foods. Low FODMAP diet helps many but was useless for me. Instead cutting out eggs, diary and soy has helped a lot as have probiotics, but its not a cure and my excessive wind and other symptoms can still frustratingly vary for no reason that I can find.

[XDjames in reply to Liz1234ty]

Thanks. I do wonder about probiotics. There's no slam-dunk proof I can find and it seems you need to try many different types, which seems like random and expensive desperation. Also I've seen suggestions to try, persevere as it might get worse before it gets better, to which there's no answer! Yes, frustrating to be unable to control.

[Liz1234ty in reply to XDjames]

Yes, I tried several probiotics that either made things worse or did not work before I settled on Symprove which I tiltrated slowly so it did not make me worse but did take about 8 weeks to work (I tried a 3 month special offer) and i now take a shot of it every morning. It definitely helps me BUT it is expensive. After several GPs and 2 Gastros told me to 'put up with the symptoms as there is nothing they can do further to help' desperation kicks in. If you do try probiotics my advice would be to try something that you can start on half a dose (ish) and then slowly increase and something with some scientific studies to back it up.

[pttespresso]

For me it was cutting out ultra processed foods, and eating mostly vegetables and beans instead that put a stop to it. I feel like my insides have changed, and now have more tolerance when I do eat something ultra processed. I also try to make my own sweet treats (energy balls essentially) out of dates, almond flour, chocolate chips, dessicated coconut, as I find shop bought cakes can have an impact on me the next day

[XDjames in reply to pttespresso]

Thanks, although I struggle to detect any correlation, that sounds like a sensible approach and there's not a lot good to be said about UPFs. Alas I was turned against veggies by experiences of appallingly bad school meals and still can't stomach many of then. Among ones I like, corn and beans don't like me for sure so it's to the Low FODMAP fruits and small set of veggies I turn. I have the luxury of a wife who enjoys cooking and makes wholesome stuff so I don't do a lot of UPFs, but I'm a sucker for chocolate (trying to do the dark stuff mainly) and biscuits.