2 1/2 years OUT-GASSY & bloated ALL THE TIME

[DSDana]

Help please. I've tried everything. Adjusting my diet, internal deodorants, even carbon lined panties. What's a girl to do? So embarrassing! Terrible smells of gassy flatulence that sneaks out. HELP!

 

[hilary1617]

Sounds possibly like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Perhaps ask your physician if a round of Flagyl is in order?

Of course, if there is a possibility that you are lactose intolerant, avoid lactose or use lactaid . They hide skim milk powder in so many foods these days! Also avoid sugar alcohols, sweeteners ending in "ol" like sorbitol and mannitol.

All the best!

 

[Larra]

A brief course of flagyl could make a world of difference.

 

[southernlady]

Agree with the flagyl BUT you also need to identify problem foods.
List of possibles: flour carbs, corn meal carbs (this is mine), lactose, anything ending in -itol in the ingredient list, any -ose in the list, onions.

 

[bearmom]

One thing that helps me avoid SIBO type issues, is good probiotics, and if you do a round of antibiotics like flagyl to get things back under control, you absolutely need to take probiotics after that, since most gut flora (good and bad) get killed off, and you want to give the good guys a head start, or you may have a bounce back if the bad guys repopulate (especially with zero competition).

 

[LindaDarnell]

I went through this a few months back, posted here, and found that a strong probiotics does wonders!! I found one that has 50billion per dose at Walmart, and took a double dose 2x a day for about a week, but saw results within the first 2 days!!! Now i take my probiotics daily!! If im gassy now, can usually narrow down the reason like too many sugar carbs. But tge flatuelence has improved over 90%

 

[Marquis Mark]

I went through this a few months back, posted here, and found that a strong probiotics does wonders!! I found one that has 50billion per dose at Walmart, and took a double dose 2x a day for about a week, but saw results within the first 2 days!!! Now i take my probiotics daily!! If im gassy now, can usually narrow down the reason like too many sugar carbs. But tge flatuelence has improved over 90%

Is this the one you're referring to? How much do you take a day now?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Renew-Li...are-Probiotic-50-Billion-14-Capsules/48070149

 

[LindaDarnell]

Is this the one you're referring to? How much do you take a day now?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Renew-Li...are-Probiotic-50-Billion-14-Capsules/48070149

So sorry I didn't reply. Im not on here as often!! My apologies..yes that's the one. I also like one named foftify. When I i initially started, I went through 2 bottles very fast doing 2x in the AM and 2x in the PM. But it helped! Now I just do 2x in the evening and it works well. If I feel out of balance occasionally, I'll up the dosage again but usually only for a day or so.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

There is a breath test you can take to see if you have SIBO. Turns out I do. (And probably IBS-D as well.) Causes include gastro surgery, BUT ALSO aging, proton pump inhibitors, opioids and other stuff I don't remember.

Essentially, food stays too long in the small intestine and starts to ferment...causing horrendous gas and bloating.

There is no easy cure and restricting the diet is essential to get relief.

My GI doctor recommends VSL#3 probiotic...the pharmacy keeps it in the fridge and it costs about a buck a day. He also had me try a peppermint thing that didn't work as well, but cost as much.

The diet is HORRID. Instead of a nice, healthy, high fiber diet...the opposite. They call it a Low Fiber/Low Residue Diet. Nothing that has seeds. Or whole grains. Few fruits...mostly cantaloup. Few veggies, mostly overcooked carrots, mashed potatoes...oh, and get this...tomatoes are okay if you remove the skin and tbe seeds. (What the hell is left?) You can START with a Low FODMAP diet, that might help...but it wasn't enough for me.

On bad days, btw, my waist can increase FIVE INCHES and my weight goes up 6, 7 or 8 pounds.

My best advice. Get tested so you know what you're dealing with. Good luck.

 

[Marquis Mark]

There is a breath test you can take to see if you have SIBO. Turns out I do. (And probably IBS-D as well.) Causes include gastro surgery, BUT ALSO aging, proton pump inhibitors, opioids and other stuff I don't remember.

Essentially, food stays too long in the small intestine and starts to ferment...causing horrendous gas and bloating.

There is no easy cure and restricting the diet is essential to get relief.

My GI doctor recommends VSL#3 probiotic...the pharmacy keeps it in the fridge and it costs about a buck a day. He also had me try a peppermint thing that didn't work as well, but cost as much.

The diet is HORRID. Instead of a nice, healthy, high fiber diet...the opposite. They call it a Low Fiber/Low Residue Diet. Nothing that has seeds. Or whole grains. Few fruits...mostly cantaloup. Few veggies, mostly overcooked carrots, mashed potatoes...oh, and get this...tomatoes are okay if you remove the skin and tbe seeds. (What the hell is left?) You can START with a Low FODMAP diet, that might help...but it wasn't enough for me.

On bad days, btw, my waist can increase FIVE INCHES and my weight goes up 6, 7 or 8 pounds.

My best advice. Get tested so you know what you're dealing with. Good luck.

Doesn't a round of Flagyl fix this?

 

[southernlady]

Doesn't a round of Flagyl fix this?

If it's bad enough, a round of antibiotics may be in order. But avoiding antibiotics when you can is ideal.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Doesn't a round of Flagyl fix this?

Sorry about the length of this...

It can get me to the place where strict adherence to dietary restrictions (meaning I live on tri-tip, steak and eggs, ham and cheese omelettes, deli ham rolled around string cheese, and such) can provide relief. I love that stuff, but...no side orders...no toast, no bread, no veggies, no fruit. And that regime will HAVE to be my almost permanent diet.

IOW, a few days of Flagyl can make it possible to occasionally leave the house...but if it's to go to a restaurant, I must order ala carte...lol.

AND...there are those...morons imho...who actually go to a pet store or shop pet meds online and buy something called "Fishzole" which is the same drug, but not prepared for human consumption.

My problem with this behavior is that there are only three drugs on the market with a CHANCE of curing c diff, a horrid disease which now kills more people than AIDS, and Flagyl is one of them. Flagyl will cost about $2/day, Vancomycin will cost about $70/day and Dificid will cost just under $400/day. Most regimes start at 7-10 days. People who use Flagyl so they can "eat anything" may be producing a c diff community that is resistant to the only drugs that can actually cure c diff.

Tha means that after having non-stop diarrhea for, probably, weeks, your doctor FINALLY tests for c diff, and then you do about $20 worth if Flagyl, then about $700 worth of Vanco, then about $4000 worth of Dificid, over a period of another month or so while having diarrhea ten, fifteen, twenty times per day. (And no sleep.)

Maybe those girls who LIKED science class DianaCox Larra kirmy southernlady can explain the problem with "the Flagyl solution" better. And full dislosure, I'm on it right now, with medical supervision.

(PS...I don't disagree w/Larra re Flagyl for the OP...mine is a diagnosed chronic thing and I'd be on Flagyl all the time.)

 

[DianaCox]

IF - in the average DSer - adherence to a reasonable diet low in fartogenic foods does not provide adequate relief from horridly smelling, uncontrollable, socially unacceptable gaseousness, THEN a round of flagyl may be in order, IF you can get a cooperative PCP to prescribe it. In DSers, a "reasonable" frequency is one round every three months, if necessary.

I went through a period of time for about 18 months were a quarterly round of flagyl, coupled with consistent use of good probiotics, was necessary. And then, for some reason, it didn't seem necessary anymore. A combination of not having people around, not caring, or things getting tolerable, I think, but I haven't used it in at least 2 years, maybe 3.

The recommended dosage is and timing is all over the place. I take a minimal amount. 250 mg x 2/day for 10 days. Many people are prescribed MUCH more. Within hours, the gas is better. It is tempting to keep taking it prophylactically to get a free pass on carbs, but let me reiterate what Spiky said - THAT IS A BAAAD IDEA, both for yourself and for others.

Currently, I am not having to go out much, and have been on a baked beans and chili kick (not simultaneously). I could probably heat a small town with my emissions, but I know how to stop it. And it would never occur to me to take my stockpile of flagyl to tone it down - the solution is amend my eating.