IBS symptoms.

[Harveyhound]

My stomach always feels like it's full of trapped gas that never goes away. I feel bloated and a lot of tension and spasms too. I sometimes have loose stools in the mornings that I find difficult to hold in. Does anyone else have these awful symptoms?

[MountainHare1]

Hi, yes these symptoms do sound familiar as I have been diagnosed with IBS.

I would advise seeing a doctor first to get confirmation that you have IBS as these symptoms also apply to other health issues.

If you have been diagnosed with IBS, then it is possible to manage your situation. I am a firm believer of not using any kind of medication as there are plenty of things you can do to manage IBS which is probably down to how well one manages stress and anxiety which affects the gut/brain axis.

Eating healthy and avoiding processed foods will help your gut. Regular exercise and spending time in nature will help reduce stress and anxiety that will in turn help your body become more relaxed and calm.

Take care x

[Harveyhound in reply to MountainHare1]

Thank you for your reply, I had an ultrasound nearly thirty years ago and was told I had IBS, tried medication but didn't work as was told I would just have to live with it. Xx

[MountainHare1 in reply to Harveyhound]

Unfortunately when you are diagnosed with IBS it probably means that you will have it for the rest of your life. I have accepted the situation and know that I will have flair ups from time but l also know that when I keep anxiety and stress to minimum then the quality of my life improves immensely! Xx

[711debbie]

For the trapped gas you can try certain yoga poses (lots of info on internet), heating pad or hot water bottle, stomach massage (again on the internet). As to over the counter aids, there is Superdrug's IBS tablets, wind settlers, wind-eze, deflatine (all in UK), peppermint oil capsules (enteric), fennel seeds to chew, and fennel tea to drink. There is just so much available for trapped wind!

[Harveyhound in reply to 711debbie]

Thanks 711Debbie, I've tried most of those medications and they don't really help. I'll try the yoga and the massage.

[MAWHELP]

I had similar symptoms and on the toilet several times a day too. I tried cutting out gluten/wheat/barley/rye and felt so much better by day 3. I’m now 4 month gf and have no stomach issues and bowels a lot better too.

[Harveyhound in reply to MAWHELP]

Hi Mawhelp I'll try that. I have done it for a short while but will try for longer. Thanks

[301246]

I do. Struggling at this moment. Wake up with it and massage the sore spot for hours. Tried all the over the counter and pricey ones but nothings relieves it. It's painful. Had it since 2018. Ruins your life this dreaded functional complaint, more should be invested into research. Hope you find something to help you.

[Harveyhound in reply to 301246]

Hi there 301246 I know I wish we could all find relief from this awful complaint. Take care.v

[xjrs]

My research into gas and bloating is further below. In terms of loose stools, what is your diet like? The best diet for the microbiome which helps to guard against IBS is the Mediterranean diet. If you have food intolerances you could try Alflorex probiotic and/or the Nerva gut directed hypnotherapy app.

Gas & Bloating

In studies, when healthy individuals are continuously fed gas into the intestines, they normally evacuate all gas without discomfort, passing more easily when a person is standing than laying down. They can tolerate 1.8 litres per hour and distension is related to the amount of gas within the gut. There is a better tolerance to gas when the gut is relaxed and if it is in the large bowel rather than the small bowel. (3)

Daily evacuation of gas in healthy people is around twenty times, depending on diet. Some foods are fermented in the large intestine producing gases, since they are not completely absorbed in the small intestine. This includes some dietary fibres, starches, complex carbohydrates such as beans and sorbitol and fructose sugars. Beans contain a compound that blocks the intestinal enzyme that helps to digest starches in the small intestine meaning more enters the large intestine thus increasing gas production through fermentation. (3)

Many IBS sufferers complain of excessive gas production, but studies have shown that the volume of gas produced by IBS sufferers is normal (1) (3) (7).

However, gas related pain and bloating in IBS sufferers may be connected to impaired transit of gas (3), resulting in gas retention and distension. However, a study using sophisticated measuring techniques didn’t find excessive retention of gas in IBS subjects (3). In contrast, the transit of solids and liquids didn’t experience significant abnormalities (3). IBS patients demonstrate symptoms such as intestinal gas retention, abdominal distension, and/or abdominal symptoms from an intolerance to intestinal gas loads that would normally be well tolerated by healthy subjects (1) (2) (3) (5) (6). Studies that involved the infusion of gas into the intestines of IBS patients showed impaired gas clearance due to abnormal gut reflexes which lead to delayed gas transit and retention (3).

It is often thought that gas is retained in the large intestine. However, a study of those complaining of bloating had the movement of infused gas tracked through different areas of the intestines using radioactive isotope. It was found that the small intestine was responsible for the impaired gas transit. Other studies found that gas infused into the first part of the small intestine, stayed there, since it was not propelled into further parts of the intestine. However when infused into more distant parts of the intestine, it cleared normally. This means that in IBS patients, the total volume of gas is not increased, but it tends to pool in specific areas resulting in a perception of distension and bloating due to IBS patients being hypersensitive (responsive to stimulation) to the presence of excess gas in these areas. Bloating relates to a feeling that can result from fullness after eating, constipation, functional dyspepsia or IBS (8). Whereas, distension relates to the increase in abdominal girth. Often this perception of distension evolves during the day and resolves overnight. Measuring techniques have found that this distension, that is a wider girth, is real and not just perceived. (3)

In healthy subjects, electromyography, which highlights electrical impulses in the muscles, has shown that there is abdominal muscle contraction in reaction to the volume of infused gas in specific areas, that is, the body adapts to the handling of the excess gas. However, in those complaining of bloating, this reflex contraction does not happen which leads to abdominal protrusion, even though there isn’t a true increase in the overall volume of gas. Subsequently, it is the abnormal control of abdominal muscles that causes the bloating and not necessarily gas in itself. (3)

The Rome Foundation explains the mechanics of bloating and distension (8):

Meals stretch the stomach or intestines causing the bloating sensation.

A brain reflex response to the sensation is to move the diaphragm down into the abdomen and relax the abdominal wall muscles.

Due to the increase in pressure, the abdominal cavity pushes out through the abdominal wall leading to distension (abdomino-phrenic dyssynergia).

Bloating and distension are independent. Some experience bloating and no distension and others have distension without a bloating sensation. The Rome Foundation may treat this with rebreathing techniques, central neuromodulators (drugs to reduce hypersensitivity improving brain regulation of the sensation to raise thresholds for bloating and pain), and less commonly biofeedback with esophageal probes. By treating the brain/gut communication bloating sensation may be reduced thus decreasing the possibility of distension occurring as a reflex to the bloating. (8)

10%-30% of healthy individuals experience bloating often, frequently or greater than 25% of the time meaning that bloating is not just limited to IBS sufferers. Some people who have gained weight might complain of bloating perhaps due to a reduction in volume into which abdominal contents can expand due to abdominal fat stores. As mentioned, weakness in abdominal muscles may also play a part. A third of patients complaining of bloating are unable to do one sit up. In addition to abdominal exercises, physical activity generally may help bloaters. (16) Theoretically, if part of the issue is connected with abnormalities in the gut/brain connection, gut directed hypnotherapy apps such as Nerva may help.

Latterly it has been suggested by scientists that gut microbiota hydrogen and carbohydrate metabolism may be altered in patients with IBS, which contributes to gas formation and abdominal pain (19).

Continued below..

[Harveyhound in reply to xjrs]

Xjrs thank you for the information. X

[xjrs]

Probiotics & Gas

Many probiotics contain Lactobacillus spp. or Bifidobacteria spp.. These bacterial strains not only inhibit Clostridia spp. which produce gas, but they also tend not to produce gas on fermenting carbohydrate themselves. (4)

A study of women aged 18 to 65 who suffered from IBS with abdominal pain, bloating, straining and incomplete evacuation where daily given one of 1 × 106 colony forming units (cfu); 1 × 108cfu; 1 × 1010cfu i.e. differing amounts of Bifidobacteria infantis. 1 × 108 cfu, improved abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating, passage of gas, straining, bowel satisfaction, and feelings of incomplete evacuation significantly more than placebo although the other two doses were not better than placebo. No dose significantly improved stool frequency. (5)

Medications For Gas

Products such as Rennie Deflatine and Wind-eze contain Simeticone which can help with trapped wind and bloating by bringing together the small gas bubbles in the gut to form bigger bubbles, allowing trapped air to pass through the body more easily. (9)

Tips For Controlling Gas

There are tips for controlling or relieving gas here: (10) (11) (12) (13) (14). Note that the last reference contains a recommendation for clove oil. However, there is a suggestion that clove oil is potentially toxic (15).

There is a further section on Treatments Options – here (3), which some may find useful, though it is clear that more research is needed.

(10) International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders: Tips on Controlling Gas

iffgd.org/gi-disorders/symp...

(11) International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders: Treatment of Gas

iffgd.org/gi-disorders/symp...

(12) Amber J. Tresca, Medically reviewed by Priyanka Chugh, MD: Moves to Relieve Gas, verywellhealth.com, updated on April 27, 2020

verywellhealth.com/tips-for...

(13) Dr. Victor Marchione: Yoga and sleeping positions to relieve gas and bloating, belmarrahealth.com, March 30, 2017

belmarrahealth.com/yoga-sle...

(14) Jayne Leonard, Medically reviewed by Saurabh Sethi, M.D., MPH: How to get rid of trapped gas, medicalnewstoday.com, January 25, 2020

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

[Linpin63]

Hi Harveyhound, I am new here and just seen your post. I suffer from pain daily, and have alternating constipation and diarrhoea. Some evenings I am in so much discomfort and feel bloated. In the morning I need a poop quite quickly after waking. It's ao wretched

[Harveyhound in reply to Linpin63]

Hi Linpin, it's such an awful condition . Does your bloating and discomfort ever go? I don't have constipation but I do have diarrhea most mornings. The pain and bloating really get you down. Take care.

[Linpin63 in reply to Harveyhound]

Hey Harveyhound, I have bloating most days,chichester get worse in evening. I regularly have pain and almost constant constipation. I hate this sometimes debilitating condition we suffer from.

[Linpin63]

Hey Harveyhound, I do get back ache, most days and I have pain to varying degrees every day and I do know its always worse when I am anxious or stressed. I hope you stay as well and positive as you can x

[Harveyhound in reply to Linpin63]

Thanks Linpin63.x

[Skmercedes]

I've been like this or 3 weeks now. Finally got some ease this morning. Instead of adding peppermint cordial to boiling water I poured cordial into a cup and warmed it in microwave 1 minute. 2 x buscopan and this warmed cordial followed by 3 charcoal capsules after breakfast and no pain or bloated stomach or trapped wind all day