# Leaky Gas and School



## Minty45 (9 d ago)

I’ve had this leaky gas problem as a student for around 2 years now, it’s really embarrassing and i’m sure that some people may be talking about me. Prior to this problem i had never had any stomach issue whatsoever and was somewhat happy in school and even in the start of secondary around the first year i was fine. In the second year i started having issues with stomach noises which were really loud and would sometimes make noises when i breathed which felt really uncomfortable in class and loud, in which i thought it might just be a hunger issue however even though i took snacks like biscuits during break i would still have this problem, later on i started to develop this gas problem which would start in the morning and last until the end of the day, it’s honestly a pain to be anywhere because i feel so self aware around people whenever they sniff even though i tell myself it’s just them having runny nose i still feel uncomfortable, so i figured my issue may be anxiety which partially contributes to this. It took me a lot of time until i finally got to see a doctor in which he prescribed me some peppermint tablets in which i used an hour after meals but still didn’t help (though it did reduce some of it at first)
and so far i’ve been struggling with bad smell and feeling funny when i sit.
I’ve started to evacuate more in the morning before arriving at school but i find it hard to evacuate and takes me an hour or so to completely finish, i’ve also taken a blood test in which i found i had very low vitamin D and i‘ve done some searches and found that it’s linked to hair loss and stomach problems and anxiety both of which I have, so i’ve been prescribed vitamin D tablets and i’m praying that this will help me somewhat because i’m tired of sitting in class worrying about this everyday.
And i’ve also got this fairly new but old thing where even when i don’t feel like i’m passing gas while sitting, i still give off a smell in which i don’t know how to get rid of, i hate it so much and i have little to no dignity left with myself, the only times i can feel somewhat at rest at school is during break and lunch in which I don’t feel like i have gas but still whenever people pass i hear them sniff and it just brings me down. it’s a new year so i’m trying to be more positive.
Other symptoms are constipation, i haven’t been constipated at home however when i’m at school and try to evacuate nothing seems to come out, and of course i can’t spend eternity in there so i just have to leave and deal with it in class. And it’s such a pain sitting in front of people each week.
i’ve also tried cutting out milk but that didn’t work either and my stomach is fairly the same. I don’t understand why this stomach problem decided to develop when i’ve been fine since i was a baby. In the past i thought of stomach noises as really embarrassing but now this stomach issue is just controlling my life, i can’t seem to find a solution as whenever i eat food i have gas, when i don’t eat food it makes noises and still has gas??

*one thing to note though i do remember a random week last year in which the whole week i was completely fine??
no gas, no stomach noises and even if I thought it might be coming, it never came for the whole week. But then as soon as that week was over it came back and started all over again.
i don’t think the gas is a routine or diet thing because i’ve been doing the same things, eating the same things since forever and never had these issues before?
i have cereal or some kind of breakfast in the morning with milk (milk has never caused me a problem before and didn’t change anything when i cut it out) the past few weeks i’ve also been drinking coffee so i’m not sure if it’s better to switch back to milk or not.
since i’ve started school again today i’ve woken up earlier to allow myself to evacuate however i still have this feeling like i‘m giving off a smell or ‘leaking gas’ uncontrollably when i sit down in class.
I’m not sure if i could be able to do the FODMAP diet because of some other reasons Such as parents and not being able to buy specific food and such.
My lunch consists of hamburgers, sausage rolls or sandwiches whenever i take home lunch (only for school) , biscuits for break time to prevent my stomach noises and fruit juice and sometimes i may bring a fruit for extra at break in case my stomach makes noises (sometimes it makes noises just after 5 minutes of eating food)
At home i eat rice with meat and vegetable.
In the past i always said ‘i’d rather have stomach noises than smell horrible and feel terrible the whole day because it‘s more manageable’ and to an extent i do agree as i can easily just eat food to fill my stomach however i’d rather have none at all. This stomach issue prevents me from going out with friends or travelling even around the school in the hallways and class, and it’s honestly humiliating. I’m also trying to increase my water intake as i do drink less water so i’ll do my best on that and also see if this is because of vitamin D deficiency which hopefully helps.
If anyone has a ‘cure’ or some tips it would really help!
*note: i have also tried kefir which is supposed to help with good bacteria growth and that didn’t work, in fact it made me smell a little worse since i felt as if the yogurt/milk was literally coming out from my stomach and out my mouth.

I just really want to get rid of this problem once and for all since it’s getting in the way of my studies and making me overall really upset, i also want to get rid of this before it gets worse because i’ve noticed that this said problem increases in problems aka from noises to gas 

I used to think this may be anxiety which it probably is and that i ‘don’t have it at home‘ which is in fact false as i noticed i have an abnormal amount of gas at home but can easily release.
the annoying thing is whenever i am able to evacuate at school i.e gas it would always come the next five mins later, and i try to push it but i’m scared of hurting my stomach and making a loud noise too. And whenever i evacuate in the morning i go to the toilet in which i empty as much as I can however near the end i have a small stool that gets stuck and it hurts my stomach to pressure it too much, i noticed that the other half of my stool would only come out after i had eaten breakfast, in which i go back to empty and finally empty that stool but as i’m about to leave i feel like it’s not finished however most of the time i’m late for school so i often have to rush out the house. 
Sorry for the longest Paragraph in the world i just really want to specify my case and get rid of this problem permanently!


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## NinaS (2 mo ago)

Minty45 said:


> I’ve had this leaky gas problem as a student for around 2 years now, it’s really embarrassing and i’m sure that some people may be talking about me. Prior to this problem i had never had any stomach issue whatsoever and was somewhat happy in school and even in the start of secondary around the first year i was fine. In the second year i started having issues with stomach noises which were really loud and would sometimes make noises when i breathed which felt really uncomfortable in class and loud, in which i thought it might just be a hunger issue however even though i took snacks like biscuits during break i would still have this problem, later on i started to develop this gas problem which would start in the morning and last until the end of the day, it’s honestly a pain to be anywhere because i feel so self aware around people whenever they sniff even though i tell myself it’s just them having runny nose i still feel uncomfortable, so i figured my issue may be anxiety which partially contributes to this. It took me a lot of time until i finally got to see a doctor in which he prescribed me some peppermint tablets in which i used an hour after meals but still didn’t help (though it did reduce some of it at first)
> and so far i’ve been struggling with bad smell and feeling funny when i sit.
> I’ve started to evacuate more in the morning before arriving at school but i find it hard to evacuate and takes me an hour or so to completely finish, i’ve also taken a blood test in which i found i had very low vitamin D and i‘ve done some searches and found that it’s linked to hair loss and stomach problems and anxiety both of which I have, so i’ve been prescribed vitamin D tablets and i’m praying that this will help me somewhat because i’m tired of sitting in class worrying about this everyday.
> And i’ve also got this fairly new but old thing where even when i don’t feel like i’m passing gas while sitting, i still give off a smell in which i don’t know how to get rid of, i hate it so much and i have little to no dignity left with myself, the only times i can feel somewhat at rest at school is during break and lunch in which I don’t feel like i have gas but still whenever people pass i hear them sniff and it just brings me down. it’s a new year so i’m trying to be more positive.
> ...


Hi Minty,

It sucks that you have to get this at such a young age, you don't even sound like you've graduated high school yet? I got IBS and most all your gas symptoms (and diarrhea) at 25.

Yes

Yes, having IBS with lots of gas especially leaky gas and not knowing the culprit leads to a difficult social situation that interferes with work, school, home, relationships, friends... Yes, it is very common for many IBSers here as you'll see if you keep reading this forum.

Have you gone to the doctor about this? What have they told you?

From what you describe, it sounds like:
1) you do have a spastic colon or sensitive stomach. Several people here relate to having loud gurgling noises especially when we're anxious.
2) If you're having persistent chronic gas episodes, especially ones that smell, it is likely one form of IBS, and it is also likely to be SIBO [Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth] or a pathogen helping to cause it as well.

Go to your doctor and ask for them to give you stool tests for digestive problems. They should scan for known offenders that can cause these upsets. Or they may just decide it is SIBO and give you generic recommendations for that.

and Yes, many of us with IBS who now have digestive intolerances or limitations of what we can eat may have had absolutely NO limitations/intolerances before.
Prior to my IBS commencing one random day in 2013, I literally could eat anything except shrimp (allergic reaction) without problems. I loved trying different ethnic foods, and rarely said "no" to trying something new. Literally, the next day I couldn't eat anything inside my fridge without having some sort of problem reaction- gas, diarrhea constipation, or abdominal pain. And unbeknownst to me at the time, this problem would persist for years before I got better. No doctor ever explained the cause, but many suspected I had consumed some sort of bug (parasite,virus,bacteria) that caused this problem. Yet, they couldn't find the bug at the time, and I wasn't allowed/recommended to have a colonoscopy till it had been a few years with the issue, b/c they thought I was "too young" to have one. I eventually did have the colonoscopy and they found H.pylori or C.Difficile (can't remember which). They also found that my intestine had inflamed parts (pinker/redder).

For an immediate relief of the gas symptom, I*'d recommend asking the doctor for a "gut cleanse" *recommendation. They could/may decide to prescribe a colon prep solution (or fraction of). I would use "renew life" "colon cleanse." See if your doctor or a trusted professional has other recommendations. I prefer the ones that can eliminate all the stool in your system in 1-2 days. I don't think its healthy to intentionally induce liquid stools or diarrhea for longer than that. The gut cleanse will remove much of what is giving you gas today.
Stool and digested/undigested food can stay in your system for some period of time. So, assuming you fasted today, you could still be having gas from what you ate 2 days ago or even a week or a few weeks ago. Everyone's stool residence time is a bit different, but they can be long.

*Once you've done the gut cleanse, you'll notice little to no gas at that present moment.*

But there's much more to do to keep it that way.

In general you want to avoid sugars and starches (bread, rice).
You should also ask your doctor to do a Hydrogen breath test to check for different malabsorptions, like glucose and fructose.
If this is SIBO (likely), you have to find a diet that will kill/deprive the bad bacteria and encourage growth of good bacteria.
The bad bacteria is what causes the bad smelling gas from the food you eat.

There's a whole process to that. Avoiding sugars and starches is the first part. Taking any antibiotics specific to the bad bacterias/virus/pathogens found in your stool will also help.
Always take probiotic when taking antibacterials and even take probiotics afterwards, you want them to have a higher population in your gut than the bad bacteria (both live there).
Ask your doctor about probiotics.

I gave more detail on how I personally got better from IBS and leaky gas in particular. I can now eat some of the foods I couldn't eat when I first got IBS in 2013.
Here's a long but detailed reply I gave to someone else with leaky gas.









Wits end.


Hey fellow sufferers. I have been lurking on and off for about seven years now. I remember Pokerface's posts some years back, it was my first ray of hope in all of this as everything else fell apart. Those posts didn't end up helping either, neither did anything else actually. The doctors don't...




www.ibsgroup.org





Please go to the doctor and Gastroenterologist in particular, to start treating your leaky gas. You can get better, but it is a process. Accept it, be patient and determined.

Also, ensure to* look for a friendly fiber* you can take daily without causing gas (for your constipation/incomplete evacuation).
Miralax is one that doesnt cause gas in most people, but can only be taken for like a week (label says so).

2 cups of spinach in a smoothie is what worked for me (i add stevia).
Cooked celery also helped me.

Other people on this forum have said ground chia seeds have worked for them. Look up Tall52 and chia seeds. Whole chia seeds caused me more gas in the past. But ground chia seeds seem to work for people here in terms of constipation, I don't know about gas. 
Everyone's system is slightly different. You will likely have to experiment to find what works for you. You may want to experiment on weekends/at home if you feel most comfortable.

Drink something slightly acidic as soon as you wake up in the morning and when you're getting your gas attack.
Things that work for acidity:
- half a lemon or lime in 8-10 oz of water (even more effective in warm water).
-1-2 tsps of Apple cider vinegar (preferrably with the "mother" -probiotic) in 8-10 oz water.. (i drink ~1 tbsp in 24 oz bottle)

Making your system slightly acidic (not too acidic as that can cause problems too) helps kill some of the bad bacteria that causes gas and also creates a good environment for your good bacteria to grow/multiply. Bringing your system to the slightly acidic should help reduce some of the gas in the immediate/short term and help improve your good bacteria ratio in the long term, eventually partially helping to get you out of this excess gas problem.

Don't consume caffeine, taurine, or those stimulants, as they will make your stomach/intestine even more spastic/sensitive/gurgly than it already is.

Beware of when you consume strongly alkaline foods, limit their consumption or/and ensure to drink some of the acidic drinks with it to counter.


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## Minty45 (9 d ago)

NinaS said:


> Hi Minty,
> 
> It sucks that you have to get this at such a young age, you don't even sound like you've graduated high school yet? I got IBS and most all your gas symptoms (and diarrhea) at 25.
> 
> ...


hi there! Thank you for responding, no i don’t fast at all and i’ve been to the doctor who prescribed me with peppermint capsules, they worked for the first day kindof just reduced the gas but then when i used it after a few days I didn’t see any difference in gas and it still felt the same. About the lemon water do you recommend i drink it everyday? I’m still worried that changing some things may do something as i’ve never really tried something like this before. i’m also not sure how i’ll be able to do all these things as even after being to the doctor, both the doctor and my parents believe it’s a ‘anxiety’ thing so they don’t want me to cut out foods especially rice since it’s a main food i eat at home, and they’ve just told me to ‘drink more water’ which i’ve been trying as I do drink less water. I’ve also done a blood test in which they said everything is fine apart from very low vitamin D levels, however today the doctor called and told me to come back to do another blood test but didn’t tell me why, i guess they want to do some checks?hopefully this time it’ll show something. Next time i go, if i see the same doctor i’ll try request some more tests if it’s possible especially with all the strikes these days, so as of now i only have another appointment later this week and in 3 months to check my vitamin D levels.
I’ll try out the lemon water on the weekends if i can, do you recommend i evacuate after or before i eat breakfast? I’ve started waking up earlier to evacuate since it takes me 2 times to go as the first half goes normally but the second half comes out after eating breakfast, in which my stomach feels weirder but i think it’s because of me drinking coffee.
what do you recommend i do at school? Whenever i go to evacuate, the most i can do is pee (sorry) but no gas comes out, and whenever i have gas in class it feels endless too which is mainly why it’s also embarrassing since the smell lingers stronger, personally i can’t smell it but everyone’s reaction is pretty obvious. I’m still slightly worried as i’m still young so trying all these new things and different medicines might be a problem especially with my parents.
sorry for so many questions and worries, no one in my family has this and they have no answers and it’s been so hopeless lately since even the doctor thinks it’s just anxiety at my age, though one of my family members also has stomach problems they only have the ‘normal type’ and not the constant one like mine so even they think it’s just anxiety.
also what else do you recommend i do apart from diet? As I said earlier my parents won’t really do anything unless they doctor asks,so i’ll just have to wait until the second blood test comes back, I don’t think i’ll be able to ask the doctor for more tests since the whole process of testing and visiting the doctor is ‘troublesome’ the most i can try is the lemon water and i’ll see how it goes, hopefully it’ll reduce the problems,
another problem i have is my stomach makes noises before break and lunch after not having food for an hour, i eat biscuits like fruit biscuits and mini cookies which are easy to eat before class but if they have things that disagree with my stomach what should i do to quieten my stomach? My stomach makes loud noises in a class if i’m 1.anxious or 2. Didn’t eat anything
eating biscuits and cookies don’t seem to have any problems as they muffle the stomach sound and keeps it not empty for the time being until lunch. The problem is though after break/before lunch i have gas which smells bad and is a problem i have each day before lunch. And today I had this thing where my area made gurgling noises, not my stomach but maybe Around my rectum/anal after going to the toilet. i’ll keep you updated! Thank you again for the advice!


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## NinaS (2 mo ago)

Hey Minty,

I don't think they're completely wrong on the anxiety.
If you keep reading this forum, you'll find IBS and anxiety do seem to be linked.
But anti-anxiety medicine alone doesn't seem to solve the digestive problem for anyone... Search this forum for it.
Doctors did recommend me antianxiety drugs as well. 
I refused to take them because I didn't want anything changing my brain chemistry. They said a certain amount of daily exercise would also positively change my brain chemistry to reduce anxiety and thus the spastic colon problem (your gurgly stomach noises, or actual stomach movement/jumps you may feel).
It did seem to work for me, but alongside the chicken broth.

I assume as you're a kid, its likely you went to a General Practioner and not a Gastroenterologist (specific to your stomach/intestine).
That's probably who you need to see, and just ask them if they think you have an Digestive disease, IBS, SIBO?

Your symptoms agree with SIBO.
Yes, anxiety can be part of the culprit, but it doesn't solve the actual intestinal bacterial overgrowth.... 

Ask your parents to google SIBO and learn about it. See what they think.
Also rice and starches don't really provide almost any nutritional value.
Starches is just a concentrated amount of sugar in a different chemical configuration.
Yes, rice has a few vitamins, but its not like you can't get those vitamins in other foods like carrots (vitamin A), or leafy greens (FULL of vitamins), or from your multivitamin pill.

You wouldn't "lose" anything by cutting out starches other than calories, and sugar. 
If they're concerned about reducing calories, you can make up for it with more fiber (good veggies), lean protein, and good fats (avocado, olive oil, some coconut oil).

Good luck. It sounds like your journey will be long especially if your family can't find the right diagnosis for you. 
I guess 2 most important things here:

1) Make sure to *see a Gastroenterologist* and ask for a stool test and SIBO or other hydrogen breath test.
2) *Ask your parents what SIBO is* and if they think you may have it. They should spend some time reading on it before just saying its all in your head. yes, there is a gut-brain connection and its only recently being studied. But that doesn't mean just because the problem started in your head, you can just imagine it away...

:/


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## Minty45 (9 d ago)

Thank you so much for taking the time to post replies! It’s really helpful and i’ll try them out!


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## NinaS (2 mo ago)

I hope you get better!


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