# rotten gas



## allegra78 (Aug 14, 2012)

I think I have ibs-c for sometime. Have bloating, left sided cramping and lota of constipation with incomplete bms. My question is, have any of you ibs- c sufferers had to deal with rotten smelling flatulence? It gets really bad at night. Just plain old rotten. If so, what were you doing for it? I also just started taking amitiza today.


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## Sean (Feb 8, 1999)

I have the same thing. The longer I am constipated, the worse the gas becomes. The good news is that if I take something that successfully relieves the constipation, it usually deals with the gas as well.


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## allegra78 (Aug 14, 2012)

Thats the funny thing! If im able to go, the gas subside. The smell is outrageoys though. Like rotten cabbage.


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## stressedmess (Jul 11, 2012)

i recommend starting a probiotic


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## allegra78 (Aug 14, 2012)

stressedmess said:


> i recommend starting a probiotic


I've tried them. No real help.


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## AmericanPatriot (Dec 6, 2009)

allegra78 said:


> I've tried them. No real help.


How many different strains have you tried?There are many, many different types of probiotics, and their effects can differ wildly. You may find one that helps immensely, one that does nothing at all, and one that makes things worse.You can try many different kinds because probiotics are something you have to keep taking in order to it to have an effect. If you stop taking one, that bacteria will eventually be eliminated and you'll go back to your typical flora.


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## KaraS (Feb 21, 2011)

Ditto. I heard that it's because the waste is not emptying when you're constipated and it causes excess toxins to build in the colon.It's nasty and it's the worst at night for me.


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## allegra78 (Aug 14, 2012)

KaraS said:


> Ditto. I heard that it's because the waste is not emptying when you're constipated and it causes excess toxins to build in the colon.It's nasty and it's the worst at night for me.


 nights are a beast. I wish I could find a ptobiotic that will stop this gas from smelling so bad. Ive tried phillips brand, profibia, acidophilus and they all gave me horrid bloating and still rotten cabbage smelling gas!


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## Owen Kellogg (Aug 13, 2012)

No one may believe me, but both *my gas and BM's have almost no smell at all.* It's been this way for almost a year, since my bowel problems started. I used to chase everyone out of the room from passing gas, and the bathroom was off-limits to everyone for about a half-hour after a BM. It's no longer like this. I'm mostly IBS with a little bit of -D. I now take Metamucil and probiotics every day, as well as Bentyl when needed. However, this "no smell" condition started before I took any of those things. My stools are also usually yellow, which I understand means that food passes through quickly without being completely processed. Perhaps there's not enough time for bacteria to "ferment" the waste to the point that it has an odor?Although this provides my family with a little bit of "odor relief", I'm a little concerned about this situation because it doesn't seem normal. Has anyone ever heard of this?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

People, for the most part fall into one of two categories with the bacteria in the colon. (at least in one of the major ecological niches in there).1. Methane producing bacteria predominate2. Sulfur reducing bacteria predominate.Some people are neither, but usually for this major role in the ecosystem one type or the other predominate rather than people having a lot of both. You may have a few of the other type, but usually not enough to make much difference.Methane is odorless (that is why they add hydrogen sulfide to natural gas so you can smell it).If you are methane predominate your gas will have little odor to it. There may be some as there are some minor constituents to it, but overall it isn't going to have much if any odor.So it isn't completely weird, abnormal, or dangerous to have non-smelly gas. It happens to a good percentage of the population.However if you are on the other side of things even small amounts of gas can be very smelly. And there isn't a good reliable way that I know of to get rid of them and replace them with the methane producing one (or visa versa if you are really determined to get rid of the odorless gas, although I can switch over to smelly when I take really high dose iron, but that isn't always recommended for healthy people).People can sometimes switch after a colonoscopy prep or other things that really clean you out and you have space for a different set of bacteria to take over in there.There isn't much for odor, and most of that is for the people who tend to looser stools. You could see if you tolerate some pepto-bismol (although Devrom doesn't seem to be as constipating, but it isn't as common) the bismuth can absorb the odor in the gas.Some people find a sulfur-reduced diet can help so no egg yolks, onion, garlic and limited protein.


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## Owen Kellogg (Aug 13, 2012)

Kathleen - That is very interesting! Thank you! I think the "change" in my gas happened when I first visited the Dr. for groin pain, and he prescribed Cipro antibiotic for what he thought was infection? Could that have "killed" the sulfur-producing bacteria in my intestines? I'm sitting here giggling, because I never thought I'd be a member of an online forum where these subjects are discussed with such interest. Your posts are very helpful, and I'm glad to be here. I guess the old saying, "Misery loves company" applies to this group. Thanks again.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Cipro is pretty good at killing off colon bacteria, so it could have "cleaned" things out enough that what you had room for something else to move in.


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## AuthentiCity (Aug 21, 2012)

allegra78 said:


> I think I have ibs-c for sometime. Have bloating, left sided cramping and lota of constipation with incomplete bms. My question is, have any of you ibs- c sufferers had to deal with rotten smelling flatulence? It gets really bad at night. Just plain old rotten. If so, what were you doing for it? I also just started taking amitiza today.


Allegra,does Allegra 78 mean born 1978?Anyway,don't feel left out,I've had to forsake the bedroom with the wife for all the noise from both ends,haha."Have I had to deal with rotten smelling flatulence?At night?"My wife gets the benefits of me leaving,I've still gotta deal with it in another room.But why should we both suffer.I still try and make humour of it,because Wtf can you do?Ive tried to avoid medication due to side effects,but was so desperate,and the wife kept on with wanting me to try her triptolene med.Anyways,tried to manage and eventually resorted to half a triptolene tab last nite,and it may be pure coincidence,but I feel like a human being today.Every nite for the last 3 years I couldn't lay down in bed due to tummy problems.What a difference a nite makes!All the best!


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## tummyrumbles (Aug 14, 2005)

The really bad smelling flatulence that never goes away is probably gas (or volatile compounds if you prefer) from stool. If you have an IBS-sensitive sphincter like I have, it seems to partly open if stool is signalling it wants to come out. There doesn't have to be a lot of stool for it to do this. My brain/colon has become ultra-sensitive to the presence of stool, and there'll be bad gas if it's not all evacuated.I used to get this the minute I left to go to work. There'd be no digestive rumbles or gas pains as with digestion gas, just a heavy feeling in the lower colon which lasted all day and all night.


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## KCleary (Aug 25, 2012)

Unfortunately whether your gas is naturally smelly or odorless is pretty much predetermined. Some people's bodies create an environment chemically that ensues a undesirable smell and some don't. It's got to do a lot with gut flora, how your body breaks down waste, etc.Kris Cleary


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