# periods and gas



## 20784 (Feb 6, 2006)

hi everyone.I was wondering, do women normally get more flatulence before your periods? I find that about 10 days before i am due, I start to get really gassy.....even if I am eating the same stuff as always, and it can be smelly as well (sorry if TMI!)........is this common? does nayone know why it happens?thanks


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## kazzy3 (Apr 11, 2003)

A lot of women get gassier around ovulation and or period time, painful gas is pretty normal. Many women also get either c or d depending on which way they run. Take care.


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## evulienka (Jan 12, 2007)

Yes it happens to me almost always. ItÂ´s pretty normal .


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## 23171 (Sep 21, 2006)

Hi allSame here. At first my gas was smelly as well but it seems after took took the recommendation of http://ibsrelieftips.blogspot.com/2007/03/...-tea-drink.html cumin-fenugreek tea, the gas is less smelly...but gas coming out the other way is still there.prem


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

The connection is almost certainly in your mind.It's just a matter of what people remember. The event of ovulation is just a cue to help remember what took place around that time. So if you just happen to have gas then, then you'll more likely remember it. But if you measured the gas throughout the month, it is unlikely there'd be any connection.


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## 14529 (Feb 1, 2007)

happens to me all the time. I get even more C about 10 days prior, too.


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## 22896 (Aug 19, 2006)

Yes. I always got bloating, gassy and some d before my period. And flux - it was NOT in my head!!


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:And flux - it was NOT in my head!!


Your attribution of the gassiness* is most likely in your head. That is, you have the gassiness at other times, but don't pay attention to it, so you are concluding a connection between the two when no connection exists.*gassiness and bloating are not the same. Bloating is generally not related to gas. If you don't pass gas, then you do not have gas.


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## 16963 (Dec 5, 2006)

flux, where do you get your information?I think very many women have digestive problems around their periods. I've had D the day before and the first day of my period for my entire life. Many of my friends do, too. My gyno says it's completely normal. I frequent another health site for my PCOS, where periods are an extremely hot topic because everyone is concerned about getting it or not getting it, etc. And it has definitely been discussed on there and many women experience it.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:I think very many women have digestive problems around their periods.


That's true, but how's that going to explain gassiness? It doesn't make sense. So between that and a misattribution, I'd go with the misattribution.


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## 14225 (Aug 15, 2006)

I have better times and worse times throughout the month, but I _always_ get bad gas for the first day or two of my period. I think it's safe to say that there's a correlation.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:I always get bad gas for the first day or two of my period. I think it's safe to say that there's a correlation.


Again, this is a matter of perception. The correlation may be between your period and the perception of the gas. You'd really need some objective method to measure it to know there was a real difference.OTOH, one thing that could be the case is that motility may be altered during this time and that alteration of motility could change how the gut handles gas that is already there leading one to think there is a change in gas when there really isn't. But a period making someone gassier sounds sort of silly from a physiological point of view.


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## 14225 (Aug 15, 2006)

Yeah, maybe the period-related pain/bloating makes the gas more noticeable. Not to be gross or anything, but there's a definite difference, and I can tell because I feel how much comes out.One theory could be that people's eating habits change when they are going to get their periods (I sometimes experience cravings), and that's what causes the gas. Could the female hormones have any effect on the body's ability to digest food?


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:One theory could be that people's eating habits change


Hmm, that's an interesting possibility. If one consumed a lot more resistant starches and fibers, it might have an effect.


> quote:Could the female hormones have any effect on the body's ability to digest food?


This idea is not working for me. Not digesting food would be a global effect and would cause very distinct symptoms that people don't experience unless they have something really wrong.


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## 16963 (Dec 5, 2006)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...t_uids=12591063


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