Horrific bloating

[FusionChefGeoff]

I've been trying to ignore this but after a week of eating crap I look 6 months pregnant, my belly is stretched and I am getting pains across the waistband area which I need to sort out pronto.

I am 41, have a diastasis recti which definitely doesn't help but am fit and in otherwise great health.

I don't drink (in recovery 7 years ) and tend to skip breakfast, have huge salad & protein for lunch then 'normal' family type meal. Before Xmas I was off the crap food but have made up for it recently with lots of toast, crumpets, cheese, choc and crisps.

If you've had bloating issues, what do you know now are your trigger foods and is there anything else (supplements?) I could try??

Start keeping a good diary? I find carb heavy meals tend to be the worst but it seems to happen randomly.

I'm so lazy I've been thinking about doing a diary for months but just don't seem able to do it!!! There should be an app I might have a look

Just take a pic of what you eat and add a caption if you have a reaction?

Mine is hormonal bloat, my stomach and chest swells up almost a dress size the week before my period and my chest especially can be very tender and painful. I have taken some kind of supplement which helped briefly but need to go the gp when things have calmed down a bit and ask for some help with it.

It is made worse by hormones I think but I'm just finishing a period at the moment which is usually when I'm at my most normal hormonally so this must be food.

It's a million times better this morning so I must have been farting like mad in the night to release it all!!!

Found a symptom / food app so will try that and see if I can spot trigger foods but still interested in anyone else's experiences so I can be alert for possible danger food

Mine is hormonal / IBS and I too can look massively pregnant. It's just so painful and uncomfortable that i kicked myself up the arse 3 weeks ago. Started doing FODMAP and have discovered dairy, wheat, chocolate, garlic and apples to be some of my worst triggers. I'm still going through the good and bad FODMAP lists and printed them off from the internet to keep me right when doing my shopping list and meal planning.

Wheat and dried beans inflate me dreadfully. Plus, if I eat lots of wheat I end up scoffing all sorts of high-sugar deliciousness (What was your list?) . Wheat totally destroys any self control I have.

I'm not coeliac according to the blood test, and I can clearly tolerate some wheat. I have a suspicion it may be the wheat fibre that's the problem, not gluten, as white flour products cause me far less gastric distress than wholemeal or wholegrain.

FODMAP helper app is very good. Also have this problem despite being gluten, dairy, egg free.
I find eating plain mashed potatoes (with a blob of marge) is good for calming the gut during an episode - low FODMAP, gluten dairy egg free etc. Innocuous food calms the gut. Try drinking peppermint tea too.

Charcoal sometimes helps me.

I am sooo sad that I am finally accepting I need to do something about this. And that that something is massively restricting a lot of foods which I really really enjoy

But then we had a New Years Eve Macdonald's last night and I was fine??? Full of shit meat, salt and carbs and wheat in the bun - but I suppose no wheat fibre (never realised there was a difference!) and no dairy.

Eaten shite again today - brioche French toast with berries, Greek yoghurt and bacon, Pringles, Indian take away and although I have a nice rounded belly, it's just food and no bloating yet??!

Mine is triggered by fatty foods like chicken skin, cheese, crackling. If you massage your bloat it will get the gas shifting, but you may be burpy or farty for a bit.

Watching with interest

Blow up like a balloon bu the end of the day and very gassy 😳

I find kefir in the morning has helped and small lunch and fruit. I have to really watch all food now, 48, and peri menopausal.

It's depressing isn't it?

Peppermint tea also helps

Also flaxseeds (whole or milled) caused terrible blasting

Bloating

I have never worked out what the trigger is and exercise seems to be the only thing that makes a real difference. I didn't know it could be hormonal - I'm sure it's been worse since being on hormonal contraception.

I suffer badly with bloating and pain but it's always caused by healthy foods that have a skin ( beans plums apples tomatoes peas etc etc and garlic onions and mushrooms) 😫.
It's no fun trying to avoid all these and it's only crap and carbs that don't effect me 😫 which isn't good for the weight.

It might have been mentioned upthread but just a gentle reminder to check out any persistent bloating with GP to rule out anything ovarian.

I think I have 2 issues - some foods definitely trigger pain across my stomach, can be quite sharp and very uncomfortable for an hour or so. Gets better if I lie down - much worse if I'm standing and have jeans / tight waistband on.

Then the other one is bloating - can get that without pain but sometimes they come together.

My bowel movements (TMI sorry) are always very normal and regular though so that always makes me question intolerances etc as surely that would result in some iffy toilet trips?

Charcoal tablets help me a lot

I was very bloated a few years ago for a month or so so I went to the GP. After a blood test and an endoscopy I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. This wasn’t even on my radar before.

My bowel movements (TMI sorry) are always very normal and regular though so that always makes me question intolerances etc as surely that would result in some iffy toilet trips?

Not necessarily. The boating can be caused by wind, without changing the consistency or frequency of your bowel movements. Or it could be caused by fluid retention, which could be caused by your body's response to a poorly tolerated food, yet would not affect your bowl movements.

My personal experience is that wheat and beans give me wind, but barely affect bowel movements. Too much chocolate OTOH, and everything explodes outwards.

Mine is hormonal (the week before my period) and beer. Which is a shame as I love beer.