What Do You To Solve Trapped Gas?
#311009 - 07/11/07 10:49 PM
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I apologize if this title was a bit detailed, however I didn't know how else to accurately describe the topic.
I'm having a problem with trapped gas.
I know I have it and I know it is what most days has me feeling bloated and uncomfortable walking.
I took people's suggestion and did a little tinkering on my own.
1) I do a hard jog/run once a week at the gym after workouts, followed by a jog the other three times a week a go.
-I run for whatever the highest intenisty is for 10-15 minutes, and will continue to raise the speed and time as I get more adjusted
-This along with the jogging leads to 30 minutes of cardio a week to go with working out
2) I changed my diet to the following
Meal 1
-Oat bran w/applesauce
-Egg white beater omlet (only on days when working out)
Meal 2
-Turkey sandwich
-Spinach
Meal 3
-Egg protein shake (only when working out)
-Graham crackers
Meal 4
-Chicken/Turkey/Salmon
-Rice/pasta
Meal 5
-Honey chex cereal/waffles/graham crackers/sorbet
-120 oz water daily
-2 tablespoons Benefiber
-2 acidophillus pills
3 Is this a good solid diet or is it contributing to my problem?
-Is this enough fiber?
-I lowered the egg beaters and protein to only when I workout
-I lowered oat bran to once a day
-I increased greatly water
-All of these were done to help calm my stomach and not overdo it with fiber.
-I figuered if I lowered my fiber and overall food intake, it would help with the c, which I feel it has. After all if you are backed up eating more makes it even higher.
4) I was fine until the other day and I have a little bit of a hunch
-I had egg beaters in the morning, egg protein at night, along with Honey Chex
-I also had lettuce salad at dinner ONLY at the end
-I have a sneaking suspicion that egg beaters, egg protein, and honey chex are foods which if eaten more than sparingly cause trapped gas.
-However this seems odd given they are listed as safe foods, and frankly I would HATE this to be given that as somebody who works out, I NEED FOUR sources of protein per workout day.
-If I can not handle egg beaters then where do I go, similarly if I can't handle egg protein, where then because I can't take whey, soy, or rice protein.
-Also I don't get why Honey Chex would be a problem, that's got nothing bad in it.
-I'd like to know if you have or heard of egg beaters, protein, and honey chex contributing to these problems and any substitue recommendations given my perogative.
5) In addition to diet I have wondered if I need to change medications.
-I could increase Benefiber although I wonder if that would make things worse. Since I dropped having Oat bran twice a day I think the less fiber and more water has helped.
-I could also start Miralax, but I already took it and feel it likely made it more gassy.
-Is there any suggestions on medications which can help release trapped gas, be it another prebitoic, probiotic, solubale fiber supplement, or something like gas x?
Summary
-I simply would like to know if given your knowledge if you can detect anything I could be doing now contributing to the problem and what I can take out or get to allivate.
WARNING SENSITIVE BELOW
-I do not want to get graphic, but let me tell you I feel so much trapped gas and pressure I often in my room have to get on my knees, squeeze in air, and then release it to feel the pressure subside, only temporarily.
Thanks.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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Hi I don't know if I'll be any help but heres my suggestions. Try heathers fennel tea like you I had trap gas and after drinking it for the last 4 months I no longer get traped gas like that any more. Boy is it a relief! I am not sayig its a cure cause I still have gas but it sure helped/ Look at your egg beaters they contain garlic and that may be a prolbem. Hope this helps. good luck.
emmasmom
ibs-c
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Hi,
Are you D or C?
I'm C, and just looking over your diet ingredients, that would not be NEARLY enough insoluble fiber to keep me gas-free. The C stops me up and makes fermentation and gas more of a problem. Can't get the least bit constipated or I get bloating and gas.
I have been doing better lately---started taking Natural Calm, and have been able to add more fresh salads (the greens mixes, with just a small amount of vinegar and oil). I munch on raw carrots, too. I eat a lot of cooked veggies, too.
I know what you mean about protein powders and egg whites---they give me instant, large quantity, gas.
C
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Have you ever tried yoga? I find many poses (gentle twists and stretches, relaxed breathing, as deep as is comfortable, nothing forced) to be really helpful with trapped gas. Also the hot water bottle is my best friend.  Does that help you at all?
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A couple thoughts.
First of all, click on the Yoga for IBS icon on the LEFT of the screen - there is a gas relieving pose - and for me, whooo wee! Does it ever work to relieve painful lodged gas.
For me, graham crackers and oat bran are too harsh. For me, I can tolerate veggies pretty well, but have a lot of trouble with any type of grain unless it's white.
Second, egg beaters? Why not simply egg whites? Or is that what you meant? How about throwing a few well cooked veggies in? Wrap it in a tortilla? Ooh - some sauteed spinach would be wonderful here.
Third - I take a protein shake, too, but it does make me gassy - as these shakes have a lot of ingredients, and to be honest, I have no idea why, but they do cause gas. It's a soy based one.
Fourth - can you have low fat peanut butter? It's a great source of protein.
Fifth - you don't seem to have many fruits and veggies in your diet. What about almond milk to make a strawberry pureed shake in the morning? A bit of milk, a half cup of strawberries, a drop of honey and some ice makes a great smoothie. That's also good.
I now buy the applesauce blends of different fruits - that way I'm getting flavour, and other fruits as well.
But you really need more veggies in your diet, if possible. If the spinach salad is hard, try putting a few leaves in your sandwiches. Try adding some cooked carrots, or cooked sweet potatoes - they're packed with tons of vitamins, great for an energy boost.
Hope this helps - just a few random thoughts.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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Thank you all very much for your helpful and insightful suggestions.
Let me first summarize what I think you're saying, so I have the right interpretaion, and the ask additional questions.
Essentially to improve my trapped gas
1) Monitor the ingredients in egg beaters.
-Understand egg beaters, egg whites, and egg protein cause gas
2) Add more fruits and veggies to my diet.
3) Try Yoga
4) Try Natural Calm
Questions
1) Is there any reason why egg beaters, whites, and protein ALL cause gas?
-I don't get why given they are seemingly safe?
-Is there any safe alternative where I can get protein?
Are egg whites better than beaters, which I use?
-Would simply taking egg beaters and protein 4/5 times a week be a good compromise on days I need the fuel to workout?
2) Similar to one how do you balance IBS and protein needs?
-I can't eliminate egg beaters and protein without a substitute otherwise my body will be in a protein deficit.
-I can't really handle PB, sorry.
3) Veggies and Fruit.
-How much more fruit and veggies per day do I need to add?
-Are we talking a dramatic overhaul or simply adding 1/2 cup of strawberries pureed and another serving of veggies should suffice?
-I take it you mean COOKED veggies?
-I can not seem to handle much raw lettuce.
4) I have not read much about Natural Calm on this site, is it basically a replacement for Benefiber, a SFS supplement?
-Would you recommend it for me, a C patient?
Thanks.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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Seriously man theres nothing wrong with your diet, its fine. Youre looking for answers in the wrong places(through your diet). I dont know you and I dont know how you live your life but I think you should take a step back and have a look at things from a detached perspective. Your diet is fine and its not the source of your problems. Life will always let us know in one way or another if we're headed in the right direction or not. I cant more specific because like I said, I dont know the specifics of your everyday life. But its up to you to figure out how your life is out of balance and how you can get that balance back. You can do it, just take some time and ask yourself some hard questions.
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Well it is such a hard thing to explain but there are some things you should know.
Quote:
However this seems odd given they are listed as safe foods
First of all 'safe' foods do not make your symptoms go away and do not cure you. Secondly, 'trapped gas' is misleading. Bloating is very mysterious but is caused by spasms and contractions not necessarily more gas. So you cannot cure bloating by eating foods that do not supposedly cause gas. the only way to alleviate bloating long term is to solve what is leading to the uneven spasms and to calm the gut as best you can. Bloating can be severe when farting huge and often and when not farting at all. It seems just like a lot of gas is trapped in there and leading to a distended belly but it is not that simple. That is why starving children have distended bellies I understand but is not wholly the answer for IBS. Unfortunately there is no cure for bloating. The only things that help are to:
gets lots of exercise
drink lots of fennel tea and water
pee and poop as needed!
eat small amounts often, don't get hungry, don't eat too much
eat safe, easy to digest foods
take acacia
wear loose clothes
walk or move around after eating
fart as needed too
heating pad
Even still you can be stable with bowel movements and still regularly bloated because bloating is a mystery science has not solved. There are no easy answers. I know it feels like a balloon in your belly but it is not like that. Not that my bloating is at all controlled, but I don't like the sound of your diet. I don't think oat bran is advisable and you eat no fruit and little veggies. However when someone is prone to bloating it doesn't really matter what you eat. Making your gut stable and your C go away is your best bet.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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My sister who (probably) has IBS-C and gets bloating and trapped gas is completely hooked on the so called wind relieving yoga positions. I bought her a yoga book and she looked through it and found these positions and at first she laughed about it, but then she tried it and now she says she wants to learn more yoga because those positions really worked. 
/Ulrika, IBS-D
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1) What do you not like about my diet?
-Why do you feel Oat Bran is not advisable?
When eaten I mix it with appleasuce, I thought it was a safe combo?
2) When you say exercise a lot, what do mean, is what I am doing enough?
-Lifting 4 times a week
-Running 15-20 minutes at 7/5-8 mins once a week
-Jogging 5 minutes three other times
-If not do you have a example?
3) Isn't Yoga hard to learn?
-How hard and long does it take to get those gas helping exercises down?
--------------------
IBS-C and Bloating
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I think you're doing really well with your diet by eating many safe, small meals throughout the day and taking Benefiber and the probiotic and drinking lots of water. I can't really see anything wrong with what you're eating, but I have some questions:
How are you drinking your water? You're not gulping it down are you or drinking through a straw? Do eat slowly and chew well? (All these behaviors can cause you to swallow more air.) Do you feel like you have more gas when you're stressed out? Also, how do you know it's trapped gas and not bloating from spasms in your colon? Does the bloating go away after you pass gas?
The yoga moves listed on this site specifically for gas help me, in combo with fennel tea.
Yoga Poses for Specific IBS Symptoms -- several are listed under gas and bloating, click on links to see how-to diagram.
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fart, fart and more fart  ... sorry just trying to make light of a very painful problem. I suffered with this after my hysterectomy and the hospital/doctor wouldn't give me anything to get my bowels going until I cried and cried because of the gas pains and constipation ... I had to have my husband bring me some Gas-X from home for me.
I have the Wal-Mart brand of Gas-X on hand and it has peppermint oil in it (not as good as Heather's) but it's cheap and it does work in a pinch 
I have used a warm heating pad ... rubbed my tummy going clockwise from the right side under the ribs and round the tummy at the bottom and back up the right side ... hard to explain that one 
good luck to you ...
Sandra Houtz
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IBS-D, GERD, Hiatal Hernia --- very unstable
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