Severe Bloating Stomach Issues

The Gride

Hi All,

Just looking for some advice or if someone could point me in the right direction.

I suffer from severe bloating, cramps, indigestion, acid reflux, gas, constipation etc and it is really affecting my lifestyle. I know that certain foods trigger these symptoms especially starchy foods i.e. bread, pasta, pizza, potatoes etc so I have cut these out from my diet but I like to have a treat at the weekends which results in severe bloating and cramps (really not worth it to be honest but I love them). Other foods like onions, garlic, sauces, wheat based cereals also give me very bad acid reflux so also try to limit or cut out these foods. I have also had to stop drinking beer and cider as it does not agree with me. Spirits like Vodka aren't as bad but still have an affect.

I have been taking probitocs everyday for the past 6 months (started Symprove this week), I eat very plain (as I have no other choice) and I work out 5-6 times a week so relatively fit and in good shape. When I am not bloated, I feel great and would be quite tonned but once I am bloated all definition in my stomach goes and I feel twice as big as I would normally be, it is so disheartening.

I got a scope in the last year and was diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori. I took the course of antibiotics which the doctor told me would clear it up after 2 weeks but the antibiotics did not do anything at all and I am getting worse not better. I have been tested for coeliac which has come back negative but it is the wheat based foods that really trigger my stomach.

Just wondering if anybody suffers from similar problems and what you have done to help improve it? Is there any home or natural remedies that can be taken or if you would recommend any gastro specialists?

Thanks in advance

s7ryf3925pivug

Low fodmap diet - which you're already doing from your post, but brocolli might also be a nono and similar veg.

colpermin

iguana

You could try using alternatives to pasta and pizza. I find pasta disagrees with me so I switched to lentil flour pasta. It's denser than regular pasta, so the texture is different if you eat it by itself but if you cook it in something like a pasta bake or in sauce it's great. There are alternative pizza bases too. The most commonly available in shops though is cauliflower, so that might still cause you problems. But you could try making your own from something you know is fine for you.

WAW

Try Betaine HCL with pepsin. You may have low stomach acid. Worth looking into. You can do a home test yourself using the above supplement or look up Dr Jonathan Wright. If you don't have the issue, then at least you know. The test involves eating a high protein meal with the HCL and seeiy how you react ( simple explanation).Low stomach acid sometimes results in symptoms that are typically mistaken as be too much acid and treated as such which just compounds the problem. I'm no expert, just have read up on it.
But if it's mainly carbohydrates you have the issue with, then perhaps you should look at gluten?

liquoriceall

You said you took the treatment but you haven't said if you were rechecked to confirm it was gone

Ashleigh1986

Hi the gride.... I feel your pain.
Have had the same symptoms for over 10 years .
Keep going back to doctor .
Tests after tests. Tablets after tablets .
It's a major part of my life .
Some days I struggle to get out of the bed .
I've lost over 2 stone recently , Im down to 14 stone , which is my ideal weight for a 6 foot male .
Yet it hasn't changed a think regarding my stomach .
Even writing this post I can hear it churning away .
At this stage I've given up finding out what's the problem here .
I'm waking up in the middle of the night with severe gas .
Sometimes when I feel good I'm afraid to eat anything in case it all starts off again.
I wish you well on your journey to finding what's your issue .

ardinn

Somethings are doing it - an elimination diet will find the cause(s)

Have a look at this and apply the same level of strictness, start by eliminating everything, then add things back.

Worked for me! You just have to forget about eating the shyte you love, if you dont, you will be tuck the way you are! Either or - up to you!

antix80

It sounds like your gut bacteria is all over the place and unfortunately it's usually not something that can be fixed easily.. think of all those nasty chronic conditions like coeliac and crohn's disease. Recently they're being linked to badly behaving bacteria.

The most obvious thing is to find what foods are triggering the bloating. I'd second the idea to try the elimination diet. Google it. For 2-3 weeks you just consume the blandest of foods. Eliminate common allergens, but also sugar, saturated fat, caffeine and alcohol. If you see an improvement (fingers crossed you will) over the next few weeks you slowly reintroduce food an keep an eye out for foods that trigger bloating or any other symptoms.

Be sure not to over-train as this can also upset gut bacteria, and keep stress to a minimum.

anacc

Download the FODMAP app from Monash and use that to guide you in an elimination diet as others have mentioned. I was able to figure out what my triggers are and now rarely suffer the kind of symptoms that you describe. I spent a fortune on gastroenterologists and dieticians to help me find the problem when eventually one dietician told me to do this and I was finally able to find the sources of my issues. Good luck.