Mystery bowel issues making me pretty miserable.

[SpanishFly]

So I am pretty much constantly full of bubbling gas in my abdomen. The sensation I get is that if I manage to get rid of some of it, it instantly bubbles up again. It sometimes gets trapped under my right ribcage or the centre of my chest. Either way, it's uncomfortable/painful, often difficult to expel and can make my clothes too tight. This has been getting worse, and I can't see any pattern with specific foods. IBS is what I've been told, but when I look at low fodmap diet, I'm already pretty much avoiding most of those foods already - and this gas is constant, ie I don't have flare-ups

Medical history is -
Gallbladder removed 6 or 7 years ago.
Hysterectomy 5 or 6 years ago.
Had gastritis 18m ago.
Have a degree of fatty liver, so have deliberately lost 2 stone since Jan and am now 2lb off target weight.
Currently taking omeprazole 1x daily.
Currently on HRT patches (10 months)
Blood tests show no anemia, no B12 deficiency, no coeliac, no autoimmune issues, high MCH.
I have taken digestive enzymes for a month, which inc ox bile. I thought I had a little improvement to begin with, but none now. And I took psyllium husk caps for a week, which changed nothing.

Any suggestions, ideas as to what this could be or how to help would be so much appreciated.

I started having gut issues after my hysterectomy (laparoscopic BSO TH) - I've always wondered if they were connected.

Have you tried symprove? It’s expensive, but I had symptoms like yours for a decade (no exaggeration), and it sorted it out completely. I think I took it everyday for three months ish.

I haven't tried that, no. I was taking Actimel daily and also drink kombucha, and neither of those made a difference. I'll look up symprove. Thank you x

Re: probiotics, I think kefir has helped me, but sauerkraut made everything worse!

I have a glass of V8 or prune juice every morning. I'm currently on an elimination diet.

Cutting out gluten was definitely helping until the sauerkraut episode!

Ugh that's such a shame. I've tried kimchi, and I don't think it makes anything worse but definitely doesn't make it better.
Re your elimination diet, are you removing one thing at a time to see what happens, is that how it works?

Have a look at mast cell disorders / histamine intolerance .
A low histamine diet may be beneficial .

@SpanishFly, yes I am starting with gluten-free for a month or so, then I might try dairy-free. Got nothing to lose.

Gastro-enterology tested me for celiac but no-one seems to know the result yet - it's not showing up on my GP online records and Gastro hasn't rung. Even if it's negative it could still be NCGS.

I tried other probiotics and they did nothing. I think a lot don’t survive into the gut.

I’m experiencing pretty much similar symptoms. I’ve had IBS for 20+ years but since hitting my mid 40’s it’s so much worse. Almost constant bubbling, gurgling and grumbling guts both in stomach and bowel area. It leaves me feeling so uncomfortable and nauseous and takes away my appetite. I am low fodmap, dairy free and gluten free but it’s not having much of an impact. I had a clear colonoscopy, endoscopy and ct scan late 2019 and told it’s just IBS and to basically get on with it. It’s miserable.
I also have some gynae issues (uterine polyps and ovarian cysts) not sure if that is making things worse or if it’s Perimenopause. I just want to find a way to control it.
I am off to buy some coconut milk kefir today and see if that improves things.

My DH has been doing low fodmop diet. The way it works is you cut everything out for a couple of weeks until things settle / symptom free then reintroduce foods by group. It helps you pin point what foods are causing you issues. You can then avoid or restrict those but otherwise eat normally. You're not supposed to stay on it forever or you might not be having a balanced diet.

DH has found that too much bread is an issue and so are garlic and onion, which are often hidden in things. To get things to calm down he had to go caffeine free, alcohol free, no bread, no tomatoes, no potatoes, for a good few weeks. He's since found he can have things like tomatoes, potatoes, and lower amounts of bread, caffeine but needs to have these in moderation.

The app 'spoonful' is good for checking if something could be a trigger. Things like stock, gravy and pre-made sauces are issues for DH as they have onion powder and/or garlic.

I was talking to a friend/colleague who has had no end of gut trouble, she'd been referred to a specialist, he advised her super healthy vegetarian diet with loads of whole grains, lentils, beans etc is just bunging her system up and everything is inflamed. He recommended easy to digest things like white rice, white bread, potato waffles, less veg...

Just sharing the little I know anyway. Good luck hope you get this sorted.

Have you been tested for h.pylori?
Low stomach acid? Has basically same symptoms as high stomach acid, and GPs throw omeprazole (or other 'zoles) at everyone these days but if you have low acid it makes it worse.

Probiotics gave me a silent stomach for the first time in 60+ years. They are less effective now but still help

Really glad to have found this thread, had full abdominal hysterectomy 2 years ago, went on to Oestrogel HRT. Stomach issues started 10 months later. Exactly as you are describing, constant pain and rumbling, now also getting really bad back pain and all my bras are too tight, despite weighing less than before! Have tried Buscopan, Actimel, Nexium, Tums, you name it! Nothing works except paracetamol to kill the pain. Anyway, had ultrasound and blood tests last year, all clear. Year later I couldn’t take the pain anymore, so literally just had MRI bowel and CT colonography. Currently awaiting results. Will update this thread once I get my results. If they are clear, I really am starting to believe these are just typical menopausal symptoms and we just have to live with it… let’s see….

So, scan results show what they call Symptomatic Uncomplicated Diverticular Disease. I reckon this may be a typical issue with women of menopausal age, maybe made worse by having a hysterectomy, which surely must impact on the location of the all the remaining bits inside! So, I hope this post helps you if you are worried about similar symptoms, but it appears that in this instance nothing to worry about. But… always worth getting things checked out in my opinion…
just to complete the picture, I am 54, no other illnesses, normal body weight for height, very fit. I guess I will just have to take out shares in Paracetamol!! Good luck to everyone else in this thread.

I shall be following this thread as I am currently dealing with similar issues. MRI yesterday.

I had my gallbladder out last year and hoped some symptoms would improve after that but they didn't and I am now getting very long bouts of mild nausea and fatigue to add to the wind, bloating etc. Fortunately I am not getting much in the way of pain since the gallbladder came out, save for some very painful intermittent twinges on the right.