Bloating

[mamaherrera]

I have great days and bad days and it's very frustrating for me. Some days my stomach is fairly flat, and other days i Look three months pregnant, and gain 3 pounds. I can't say it's from milk or just from gelatin, or any specific thing, because I have milk and gelatin daily and some days I look fairly flat (stomach)> so how the heck do I pinpoint what it is or what combination of stuff it is,because if it were milk (for example) I would be bloated like that daily,right? Or if it were sugar or whatever.

 

[Such_Saturation]

Do you eat potatoes?

 

[CellularIconoclast]

Do you think it's gas or fluid buildup?

 

[mamaherrera]

no not eating potatoes, did have two bananas yesterday. but this happens every so often, like every 3-4 days. I've increased salt and . . . I'm on day 15 of my menstrual cycle, so I'm drying up/ hoping to be progesterone heavy I hope. I can't say if it's gas or fluid, but my stomach looks. . . . pregnant and feels heavy.

 

[CellularIconoclast]

It makes sense to remove highly fermentable foods if your bloating is caused by bacteria overgrowth or malabsorption issues.

When I was having bloating problems it was helpful for me to keep a log of foods, and figure out which (if any) seemed to correlate with the bloating. I eventually realized it was fermentable vegetable and fruit fibers causing the most problem, but I was okay with starch. Bananas and plantains were the worst culprits.

Another thing I noticed is that the threshold for tolerance of a problematic food seemed to change day to day, and would be very low after a bloating event and get higher the more time had passed. I think this had to do with lingering bacteria overgrowth and intestinal damage from the previous bloating event.

There are other causes of bloating like symptoms such as liver failure related ascites, and inflammation of the intestines. Personally, I would go to a doctor for lab tests if nothing else but that's up to you of course.

 

[mamaherrera]

well I more think it is related to what I"m eating. . . since starting Peat I've been having this influctuation of bloating, so it's due to the change in foods. What are other fermentable veggies?? And perhaps it was the fruit fiber, the bananas. . . . and it has been more gas than water, I think

 

[CellularIconoclast]

What are other fermentable veggies?

I think you have to figure this out yourself with experimentation, because it depends on the specific bacteria species, and conditions in your gut. For me even carrots seem problematic.

You can google for lists of "FODMAP" foods which are supposed to be fermentable, but I don't see that there's any real logic or theory behind these lists, and each list contradicts the others. There's also the specific carbohydrate diet list but it also doesn't seem very consistent to me: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/listing/

 

[smithjohn020001040]

You can try some exercise to ease your bloated feeling. I have a friend that always do some sit ups whenever she is bloated. I find it funny but she really gets bloated free after several minutes. Also, do breathing routine so that you can breath out your excess air inside your body.

 

[mamaherrera]

when you say breathing, do you mean the bag breathing?? I did walk last night, and today my stomach is back into it's normal look. Now to find what caused it!!

 

[Peata]

I also have had this problem for many months. It's a lot better but not entirely gone.

You probably have talked about the matter on another thread by now, but I just came across this one. Did you find a resolution to the bloating?

 

[mamaherrera]

I still get it from time to time, but I'm still concerned as to whether or not I'm allergic to milk. I wonder how and where you can get tested for milk allergies, because I do see it as causing many symptoms that I get at times, like diarrhea and bloating. And my biggest concern is it causing malabsorption. THen I won't be getting all my vitamins and minerals that I so need, especially now that I'm breastfeeding. Why do our bodies have to have these weird responses to food?? But the other day I only had milk in the morning, and the next day I was bloated all day, so I don't think it was from the milk.

 

[Peata]

My bloating reduced greatly when I stopped drinking milk. (I still use all other dairy and use some milk in cooking). I think I could get away with a cup or two per day of milk if I were to replace something else I drink with it instead of adding it (meaning more liquid) to the liquid I already get each day. But I really don't like to just drink milk - I prefer other beverages.

But not drinking milk is not a guarantee I won't bloat. I had been doing so well with not bloating after I quit drinking milk. Then a couple weeks ago I bloated up toward evening for no reason I could discern. My clothes became tight, my belly bulged out like I was pregnant, and I couldn't walk comfortably. It was very discouraging.

Looking at cronometer (which I decided to keep using for now) and thinking to how I feel when the bloating incidents happen, something I can see that *might* have anything to do with it is too much protein over carbs. It *might* also happen if there's too much fat over carbs too. Basically not enough carbs seems to be a factor each time I've bloated since I started making note of it recently.

The only other thing that seems to contribute to the bloating is just too much liquid over a relatively short span of time. For example, a Coke with a meal, then a few cups of coffee after... might give bloat.

The good thing is, I can usually walk it off, or just be active enough and it will go down without too much time passing.

I dunno, just trying to figure it out, not sure if I'm right on what's really causing it for me.

 

[mamaherrera]

Yes that's how I am, I can't figure it out either, but it's no fun when I am planning to go out somewhere and I can't fit into my pants. I also get the diarrhea if I do too much liquid or too much milk.

 

[Peata]

Yes that's how I am, I can't figure it out either, but it's no fun when I am planning to go out somewhere and I can't fit into my pants. I also get the diarrhea if I do too much liquid or too much milk.

Same here.

 

[Blossom]

It does seem challenging to get to the root cause of the issue. I'm sure the root of the problem can be different from person to person too. With that said I think it's great to know what has helped others deal with or resolve bloating. That's a great idea Peata to use the cronometer to help pinpoint what's going on. Sometimes I take a little baking soda in water which will cause me to burp out excess gas pretty quickly. It's not fixing the problem but it does ease the discomfort.

 

[mamaherrera]

what causes me more discomfort is the diarrhea, and it's too bad that I can't take more advantage of the benefits of milk.

 

[iLoveSugar]

So where do you get most of your carbs Peata?

 

[Peata]

So where do you get most of your carbs Peata?

sugar (in coffee), carrot, banana, prunes, Coke, honey (stirred into greek yogurt), chocolate, a serving of grain (could be rice, noodles, english muffin, etc.), potato. Sometimes another fruit.

Now and then a cookie or something with low pufa ingredients (such as fat free Fig Newtons). Occasional Gatorade.

 

[iLoveSugar]

Do you bloat from skim or lowfat milk also?

 

[pboy]

curious mamaherrera, drinking OJ or other acid fruits on occasion? often times acid overload even from fruit causes bloating and diarreah...ive been through that in the past many times and I know how it can ruin a day. Try taking a day off from acidic fruits, a few days and see if that's the problem, you might just need some time away from the strong acids to buffer back down. Hope this helps. Indeed it could be helpful to leave out some things each day so you can get an idea more intimately of what might be the cause. Ive not taken gelatin so I couldn't know if that's a potential culprit. Sometimes too much salt too quick can provoke diaareah also, its actually a technique employeed by yogis to do a complete bowel clear out. If I had to guess though, its probably too much acid from the fruits...based on the description of what is happening