Bloated stomach

[Hannah]

Hi,
Every morning when I wake up, I feel fine, my belly is flat and when I breathe out it stays flat.
But when I eat anything at all, it swells out like a baloon. Take today for example, all I have eaten is a cheese and tomato roll and already I'm the size of a hippo, what should I do. how do I get rid of this bloated belly,
Help me
hannah xx

[naughtybutnice]

OK... a couple of things here...

Are you in the UK or US? If you are in the UK and that's all you have eaten today.. SHAME ON YOU!!!

You should try and eat a healthy and well rounded diet. Plenty of fruit and water (they de-toxify you and help against bloating). If like me though you have IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome) it's not only a pain in the @rse (sorry..) but it's a pain in the belly too. If I eat food containing wheat my large intestine swells up and I get a load of trapped wind (pleasant for my co-workers!) But I do take wind-ease (don't tell anyone) and that does help a bit. Also don't drink fizzy drinks and try to avaid too much complex carb.

At the end of the day, us girlis tend to bloat a bit during the day anyway, but it it is painful then you should see your GP or a dietician to help you find a rounded diet that compliments your digestive system.
Oh and regular exercise helps too!

Hope you get it sorted as I symthise!

[Guest]

i have problems with bloating in my tummy as well. i have get a lot of gas and sometimes have bad constipation. i'm a vegetarian, i eat mostly all whole wheat/grain things, fruits, vegetables, soy, yogurts...i have a high fiber diet. i drink lots of water and eat several small meals and am active on a daily basis. i feel very healthy over all but i can't seem to get rid of my gas problem and it makes me embaressed at times and i'm afraid it will be even more so when i am become intimate with someone.

i don't like medication so is there anything natural out there that can help?
any suggestions?

[k9trainingbiz]

i have problems with bloating in my tummy as well. i have get a lot of gas and sometimes have bad constipation. i'm a vegetarian, i eat mostly all whole wheat/grain things, fruits, vegetables, soy, yogurts...i have a high fiber diet. i drink lots of water and eat several small meals and am active on a daily basis. i feel very healthy over all but i can't seem to get rid of my gas problem and it makes me embaressed at times and i'm afraid it will be even more so when i am become intimate with someone.

i don't like medication so is there anything natural out there that can help?
any suggestions?

Vegetables will give you a lot of gas. If you are getting so much fiber, why do you have problems with constipation?

Stress also causes the body to produce more gas - especially nervousness. Unfortunately, the more you worry about being intimate with someone, the worse it gets. I don't mean worrying about it in general, but while you are with them. Any kind of nervousness will do it, tho. Nuts also do it, of course beans. If you soak beans over night and rinse them well, it will reduce or eliminate the gas producing chemicals. If you eat or drink much dairy, this is the most likely culprit. Most people are lactose intolerant and don't know it. The body over time, loses the enzyme lactase which is necessary to digest dairy foods, so it causes bloating, gas and even diarrhea in some cases.

There is something called Lactaid here that you take before you have dairy, and it is lactase, so there's little if any problem digesting. Ask your chemist about these.

In the US, we have something called Beano - you take if you are going to be eating beans anything that can cause gas; maybe you have something like it in the UK,.

[Guest]

I can get bloated quickly after eating breakfast. I realized that I was lactose intolerant and was having cold cereal with milk. It took hours to undue, so to speak, the fluctulence. Not worth it.

[azraelle]

I have this problem too. In addition to what others have suggested that works, I have found that sugar/sweets cause lots of gas and bloating. And sugar alcohols are even worse (Xylitol/Maltitol/Lactitol/Mannitol, even Glycerol).

[Guest]

is there anything i can do without having to take supplements or pills?

i want to be able to eat without worrying about having to "make" my body tolerate it.
here's a typical day of eating for me (perhaps you can point out where i should change my eating?)

breakfast- bowl of cereal with half high protein, half high fiber organic cereal. with half a banana and skim milk

morning snack- fruit with either lowfat yogurt or cottage cheese

cup of coffee

lunch- vegetables and tofu stirfry with olive oil and spices or vegetables in a red sauce over wheat pasta.

piece of hardcandy

cup of greentea

mid day snack- piece of whole grain bread with peanut butter.

supper- oatmeal with raisins or a cup of soup

i am NOT looking to lose weight. i'm only looking to get rid of digestion problems!

[azraelle]

Cut out the dairy completely for at least a week, and see if that helps. If it does, then you know what your problem is. I had to do this 20 years ago, and it was damn hard to give up the quart or so of milk I was drinking for each meal(!) but the benefits outweighed the cravings. You might also try eliminating all wheat-based products, as it is reasonably possible you have some sensitivity to wheat gluten (as in sprue, celiac disease, IBS, etc.).

[Hannah]

Hey Thanks guys this really helps.
I am 16 and from the UK.
Since this bloating has been starting I have been quite nervous with exams and things and also the school prom which was one of my worst days of bloating. But along with the bloating I get really bad stomach cramps. Is this normal?
I have also been suffering from a mild Eating disorder so I don't normally eat that much in 1 day. Could this be a reason why I am so bloated?
I also have been drinking alot of milk recently because my mum works in a nursery and brings home cartons of milk.
I do eat some fibre cereals in the morning, but I recently I have been having constipation. Not much but a little.
Has anyone got any ideas ???
Hannahx

[Rubenesque]

Hello Friends,

I found this forum when I started searching for answers as to what to do about my bloated stomach... lately I have been experiencing more abdominal bloating and have been more (pardon me) flatulent than what is common for me.

At this point, I find that my appearance is starting to be comparable to that of a potbellied pig. And what is more disturbing, the discomfort is trying to gain control over my life.

At first I thought this condition may be heredetary, but I realise that, in this family, we may just have eating habits that don't work with our particular physiology.

From the answers in this thread it appears that most of you recommend avoiding dairy products, wheat, and certain vegetables and fruits; these foods, in addition to coffee and chocolate (too much of that!) make up my main diet!

So, what to eat?!

Have any of you found some good web pages or books that list foods and recipes for diets with little or none of the above-mentioned problem-causing foods?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,

Rubenesque (more so than desired)

[Guest]

i cut out dairy and i haven't had problems with constipation anymore. i'm trying to vary my diet and introduce more variety everyday which also seems to be helping. it's kind of tricky though when i cut out both meat and dairy. uugh

[Shayanne]

I went looking for a remedy for my problem and came across this site - I hope it isn't too late to make a comment?

I have been eating fruit only in the morning for the last two weeks - on at least four occasions I have had really bad stomach cramps towards the afternoon, and lasting all day. It is embarrassing - not from flatulence but more my stomach is sticking out like a pregnant woman!

Has anyone else had this problem? I am concerned I am not getting enough fibre, or something or the sugar in the fruit is too much for my stomach

Would hugely appreciate any solutions? comments?

[azraelle]

I have had similar symptoms. Fruit on an empty stomach, e.g. for breakfast, is very bad--the acid in the fruit (or fruit juice) irritates the lining of the stomach. Your symptoms sound very much like you have the beginnings of an ulcer. If you think you must eat fruit for breakfast, always accompany, preferably precede, it with some protein--such as a couple of eggs.

[k9trainingbiz]

I have to interject here; if she had the beginnings of an ulcer she would have a burning type pain in the stomach, which is just below the breastbone, and it would have no effect on the bloating.

[azraelle]

Not to disagree, but I have had an intermittent bleeding ulcer, usually brought on by taking ibuprofin on an empty stomach, occasionally by eating citrus on an empty stomach, and the symptoms are NOT a burning pain, but the worst gas cramps you have ever had, and they get worse, not better as time passes, and the only things you can do to relieve it, and then only partially, are to literally put yourself, stomach down, on top of a barrel so that your entire weight is supported by your stomach and abdomen on the barrel, and willing yourself to relax. Eventually the pain diminishes. And you vow to never, ever, take an NSAID for pain again. I learned that acetominophen (Tylenol) actually does work, if you take aproximately double the recommended dose on the bottle. The pain, as I said, FELT like really bad gas cramps, and bloating. I may not have actually been "bloated", but that's what it felt like. I am a long-term (over 30 years) GERD sufferer, I know the difference between burning pain, and ulcer pain. The pain also sometimes felt like it was eminating from the mid back, as well as the abdomen.