Any tips for bloating? Please help!

[Frosty66611]

I suffer with bad IBS and have had all the tests to rule out anything more sinister (blood tests, colonoscopy, CT scan, pelvic scan etc). I’m lactose intolerant so avoid that as much as possible and I also don’t have alcohol or caffeine. I try and limit things like sugar, greasy fried foods and too much fruit too. I’ve tried the low fodmap diet and it didn’t make much different to the horrendous bloating I keep suffering with.
I’ll wake up in the morning with a flat stomach and then go to bed with a rock hard bloated (to the point I look heavily pregnant and at least a dress size bigger). I get very gassy too.
I take a probiotic, kefir and also a turmeric supplement (meant to be good for inflammation).
Do any of you have any other tips as it’s making me miserable. I’m currently lying on the sofa with a huge bloated tummy :-(

Do you eat bread?

I have no magic cure but I hear you...i get it exactly the same and I’d like a magic cure too. Have you tried peppermint tablets? I take them sometimes but I’m rubbish at remembering, not really sure if they help or not tbh! Meant to be good for digestive issues.

I get that if I overdo carbs. Eg toast in morning, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner.
To get rid of it, and this bit is bad, I would make myself sick. ( sorry,
( to get rid of some of the undigested food.
Then drink peppermint tea to help with digestion, walk around, get on floor and do yoga stretches to try and get it all moving...

@Jane not too often. I’ve had a blood test for celiac and it didn’t show anything although maybe I’m still a bit intolerant to gluten. I feel like everything is making me bloated :-(

Oh yes and hot water bottle on belly and some paracetamol if too painful.

@weem I haven’t tried the capsules but I drink peppermint tea by the bucketload. I’ll try the capsules! Have heard activated charcoal capsules are good too but apparently they can interfere with the contraceptive pill which wouldn’t be ideal

Digestive enzymes from Holland Barrett. If they help you can get an idea of possible reasons

I think sometimes a certain combination of food can trigger bloating but it's so hard to figure out!

Celery is good for your digestion. Just chew a stick of it.

Cut. The. Carbs.

It can be air-swallowing, for example (not just when eating) and breathing retraining exercises help greatly if it is.

This book is brilliant - different solutions for different problems: www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/search/ref=dbs_P_W_auth?_encoding=UTF8&author=Dr%20John%20Hunter&searchAlias=digital-text&tag=mumsnetforum-21

Have a look at people's symptoms in the reviews.

Gluten for me, I've finally sadly come to realise that. It bloats me like crazy to the point where even my face swells up if I'm say in Paris eating lots of lovely baguettes. I cut it out about a week ago and feel great! ... also try skipping dinner once in a while to give your digestion a break.

Gluten is my worst enemy! If I stop eating it my stomach deflates within a week. I’m relatively slim but if I eat lots of it I look 7 months pregnant 😩

I could have written this. I start the day looking fairly normal and then by 4pm I look 6 months pregnant (no exaggeration). I have IBS too but there doesn’t seem to be a specific trigger (carbs/gluten/sugar/etc) as it happens most days I’m at work.

Then today it didn’t happen for the first time in ages and I wondered what I’d done differently. The only thing I can think of is that I almost always wear a dress and tights to work but today I dressed down a bit and wore jeans instead (unusual for me).

Is it crazy to think that my tights could somehow be making me horrifically bloated?!

Another one here saying gluten, I have IBS and can't tolerate gluten, I blow up like a balloon if I have any.

www.fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom-factsheets/irritable-bowel-symptoms-ibs

Lots of info here.

Drink water to flush it all through. My sympathies OP.

It may be endometriosis

I cut out the sugar, cakes, pastries, a lot of bread(except the odd slice of wholemeal, processed foods, pasta and stick to a plain and simple diet...I found that made the most difference.
I drink epsom salts(for the magnesium) only a quarter of a teaspoon in a large pint glass with a small amount of vimto added to hide the bitter taste....this works really well.
Upping my fluid intake has made a big difference, but don't drink tea, coffee or fizzy drinks.

Peppermint can make digestive issues worse. So can Kefir (for me).

Aloe vera juice before food might help, a good quality pure juice, not a 'drink'.

Supermarket bread is also a problem, it is made with soya or chickpea flour in addition to or in place of wheat, and both of those cause bloating.

I would stay away from aloe vera juice - it can have a laxative effect.

I'm in the same boat as you, OP. Have been my entire life. No idea what's going on. Have you been tested for small bowel bacteria overgrowth?

Laxatives
Apple cider vinegar
Pro biotics

I had really bad bloating recently and constipation on and off - but the bloating was the worst.

Recently I’ve been drinking hot water - first thing in the morning and then another once you’ve “been”.
If you can, half an hour before eating and one hour after.

It’s really helped my digestion and keeps things moving - I feel like it’s really helped me, maybe worth a try.

I’m currently taking digestive enzyme, plant based, they are working

I was the same until I cut out gluten. I also fast for 16 hours, from 12 noon until 6am. I'm not half as bloated bit things like lentils and chickpeas still irritate my stomach.

I don’t think that encouraging the OP to make herself sick like one person has suggested is great advice!