# Gas-a mysterious culprit



## wigglesmom (Dec 12, 2002)

I have been experiencing a great deal of intestinal gas build up lately. I know this to be true as I get quite blocked up and am then able to pass stool when my colon hydrotherapist first removes a great deal of gas first.

I am trying to figure out why I am producing so much gas. I take probiotics, digestive enzymes and a variety of other products that are supposed to assist digestion.

Might anyone have any ideas or success stories with such an issue?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

have you tried modifying your diet--eliminating or reducing gas producing foods like broccoli, cauliflower etc--try a low FODMAP diet. foods high in fiber and starch can also be hard to digest and cause gas. and of course everybody's different in what foods give them gas-YMMV. you have to experiment, see what works best for you. keeping a food diary helps. i'm definitely no diet expert, so hopefully someone who is will chime in here. tummyrumbles has a lot of good diet advice in her posts on the diet board and elsewhere.

have you been tested for SIBO? that could also be the culprit. although SIBO testing can be unreliable. some people have found it helpful to just assume they have SIBO and go on a low starch, low FODMAP diet, low carb diet to see if symptoms improve.

this link has a lot of helpful diet info for both IBS and SIBO:

http://www.gidoctor.net/diet-ibs-sibo.php

just some ideas...and of course it's always a good idea to consult a registered dietitian before going on any kind of restrictive diet.

i only have gas when i'm backed up and constipated so i think in this case my gas is caused by backed up stool. if i have a good day and can go completely, then i don't have gas...but that's me.

.hope you feel better soon. take care.


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## Dreamcatcher32 (Nov 12, 2013)

Is this gas build-up that you aren't expelling or are you concerned because you're passing a lot of gas? I have heard that entric coated Peppermint oil can be helpful. Also try activated Charcoal. I think finding the gas-producing foods in your diet is the best way to go. Sometimes keeping a food journal can be helpful in figuring this out. Eliminate one food for a week and then add it back in - see what happens.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

wigglesmom--

BTW and a bit off topic---i know you've tried many many things for your pfd but have you tried baclofen rectal suppositories? i've read posts both on this board and on another board (and also from googling) from people who say they really do help. baclofen is a muscle relaxer. these suppositories relax those tight muscles and help people have a bm. baclofen supps are a compounded med--glycerin and baclofen. and there are other combinations available as well--baclofen and valium for example..

just thought i'd mention this to you. take care.


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## wigglesmom (Dec 12, 2002)

Thanks, everyone. I have been tested for SIBO, and the result was negative. I take peppermint capsules daily. The issue is gas that is trapped, not passing gas. I can see all of the trapped gas when it is released during my colonics.

I will certainly look up those suppositories.

I know that raw vegetables give me lots of trouble. No more for me!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Have you tried abdominal massage to help push the gas along?

Do small circles with your fingers on your abdomen, moving a bit at a time up the right side, across the top and then down the left side.

Have you had the pelvic floor tested (or have problems that would suggest testing like straining for a long time before things will relax enough to let you pass a stool).

Now if you are farting easily and regularly it may just be the normal gas volume in the colon as everyone has gas in there.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

lying down and putting a mircrowavable heating pad (not too hot) on my belly often helps me move gas out. also i massage my belly, like Kathleen described, through the heating pad, paying special attention to the painful areas where the gas seems to be trapped. often i can feel the spasm --or whatever it is that is trapping the gas-- relax and let go and then the gas finally moves out. relaxing and deep belly breathing during all this helps too.

and then there's all the various different positions---yoga and otherwise--that can help move gas out. sometimes i feel like a contortionist--lol.. i have found that often squatting when i feel gas is about to move out really helps to pass it.

good luck with the baclofen supps--hope they help.


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## Dreamcatcher32 (Nov 12, 2013)

wigglesmom said:


> Thanks, everyone. I have been tested for SIBO, and the result was negative. I take peppermint capsules daily. The issue is gas that is trapped, not passing gas. I can see all of the trapped gas when it is released during my colonics.
> 
> I will certainly look up those suppositories.
> 
> I know that raw vegetables give me lots of trouble. No more for me!


I had and still to some degree have the same problem. I also have Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. Biofeedback retraining with balloon expulsion is what helped me to be able to relax down enough to pass gas. I still have trouble with it though and it's very distressing. I will say digital stimulation can help you in 'relaxing' the anal muscles to where you can pass gas more easily. Also try some yoga poses like happy baby while concentrating on relaxing the pelvic floor. Squatting is also great. I realize it's tough to know how to relax the pelvic floor without biofeedback, though. You can look up reverse kegal and that might help you.This video is pretty helpful:






I will say Annie is spot-on. When I use Baclofen suppositories I pass gas like crazy! It works best to insert vaginally and then rectally. Though I stopped using them rectally for now because it irritates my skin.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

you can also do a pelvic floor stretch lying down if you're like me and have bad knees. i can squat but only briefly. no way can i manage what she does in the video...too arthritic...lol...

to do the stretch:

you lie down on your back. bring your knees up to your chest and then rotate each knee outward to the side--left knee to left side, right knee to right side--so that they flare outward. then grasp your ankles with your hands and use your elbows to stretch into your knees--in other words, pull your ankles in toward you while keeping your arms straight.. hold for 30-60 seconds. do 3 reps 2-4 times a day.

this helps to open, loosen, and begin to lengthen the pelvic floor.


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## garza5266 (Jun 15, 2014)

I have PFD and my therapist is focusing on internal trigger points and have only used the sensor once. How do I get some of those suppositories?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi Garza

ask your gastro doc--or whichever doc dx'd you with pfd--to prescribe them. not sure but maybe your pfd PT could also prescribe them???

sounds like some docs haven't heard of them. if you doc is one of these it might help to do an internet search so you can provide him/her with some info. here is a link for a compounding pharm that makes them:

http://www.mcguffpharmacy.com/CompoundedProducts/CompoundedSuppositories.aspx

and there's other info online as well. i plan to ask my gastro about them when i see him in sept.

good luck. hope you can get some relief from all this. it's hard, isn't it...dealing with pfd... i have read a lot of good things about the trigger point therapy for pfd..hopefully this will help you.

take care..


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## Jinky (May 23, 2014)

LOL! I get mine from McGuffs. Clay is great ;-)


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## garza5266 (Jun 15, 2014)

Hi Annie 7,

Yes it is very frustrating and stressful. The first few sessions I felt pretty good for a few days. Now I only feel relief for a few hours after therapy. Constantly feel like the sphincter is in spasm and won't relax. Sorry TMI. She said balloon propulsion was used for people that are incontinent and not for non relaxing issues. I've asked her if there is anything I should be doing at home to help things progress and she says that at this time no. I have read on other forums where they are provided or bought equipment to practice relaxing at home but she doesn't seem to think I need to do that. Very confusing. I'm not sure if she is the only one in Columbus that does this therapy. My insurance only allows 20 sessions a year and I have done 6 so far. Don't want to waste the rest if I'm not getting adequate care. I won't lie the internal trigger releases are painful. I liken it to when you go to the dentist for a filling and they touch your tooth with the pic and it hurts all the way to your toes. Like that. LOL. What was your therapy like?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Garza--maybe the baclofen suppositories would help you especially if you feel your sphincter is in a spasm, since baclofen is a muscle relaxer. worth a try, perhaps...

i'm doing biofeedback with the sensor. and i bought one of the home biofeedback machines. a bit pricey for me (i'm retired) but well worth it. i work with it every day and it has helped me to relax better. i got it from this company. it,s a great little machine:

http://www.lifematters.com/u_control.asp

i have 50 years of tight muscle memory to unlearn so i don't think biofeedback is going to "cure" me but my hope is that it will at least help a little--which it has--and that it will help keep me from getting worse. and i know i'll probably have to work on this for a long time, with so many years of tight muscle memory to undo.

i have heard conflicting info about the balloon expulsion therapy, too., mayo clinic likes it i know but i've read and heard other viewpoints, other forums, and studies that show biofeedback works better for relaxing than balloon therapy. i think it depends on what the patient's particular problems are. one thing about all this biofeedback and physical therapy for pfd is that it's not supposed to be one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter PT--it's supposed to be tailored to fits each patient's personal needs and situation.

i love my PT. she's absolutely wonderful--very experienced, knowledgeable, caring and supportive. she's been a tremendous help.

sorry the trigger releases are so painful. i really don't know much about that type of therapy---only that some people found it helpful.

if this particular type of therapy deson't seem to be working for you, you could always try someone else. maybe someone who concentrates more on biofeedback and working with the sensor. although i know what you mean about insurance only covering so many visits. my insurance is like that too which is why i'm glad i have my home biofeedback machine. i don't want to use up all my visits right away.

are you in columbus, ohio? i'm sure there a good places there to go for biofeedback. ask your gastro doc or whoever dx'd you with pfd. or do an internet search. university hospitals often offer these programs as do women's urology clinics, although make sure you tell them you don't need incontinence therapy--you need therapy for tight pelvic floor muscles, to help relieve constipation. . i'm doing my PT though the university of michigan hospital bowel control program.

it seems to me that so much of all this --biofeedback, trigger release, balloon therapy, etc -- the success of it all--really depends on the patient and what their particular problems are. i'm quite a complicated case with multiple issues. as are many of us. but for me, it's worth a try. i'm glad i'm doing it and thinking positive....

i do hope you can find some relief....take care...


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## Nojokeibs (Apr 14, 2014)

Hello, I'm back 

Just wanted to jump in and say that I've had improvements in motility and passing gas, and reduction of gas from sauerkraut eating. Although there was a two day upheaval as there should be from any new probiotic food, after the war was over, I now have much less gas and knock on wood, things are moving faster!! One reason I can only guess at is that in theory there is some acetylcholine in it:

http://mic.sgmjournals.org/content/1/3/279.full.pdf

I go for the journal articles, but you could just google sauerkraut and acetylcholine and you will find all kinds of things. That one says it works better in the presence of choline... so.... if making at home... use a choline supplement capsule? use a bit of lecithin? Add a bit of ground sunflower seeds (contains lecithin)? Not sure... but it contains it even if you don't "spike" it. I'm just guessing that it might be the reason why I seem to be functioning so much better now. Proving it is of course impossible. So YMMV, but it's worth a try.


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## wigglesmom (Dec 12, 2002)

Thanks to everyone for all of this advice. I will certainly try sauerkraut again. 
I'm not currently seeing a doctor, so I imagine the suppositories would be tough to obtain. I wonder if they are similar to Dulcolax suppositories. I do have nitro glycerine suppositories, but they are just a little too odd for my liking.

I am off to see my colon hydrotherapist again. This has always been and still is the only thing that world for me. Large enemas help a bit but the colonics are what really help me.

Most recently, I am experiencing a right side neck pain and cracking that I know us directly related to all of this. I am seeing a great chiropractor who us helping me try to figure out what the connection might be. I'm wondering if it's parasite related and am doing a parasite cleanse.

Thank you all again.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

the baclofen suppositories are not similar to dulcolax supps.

dulcox supps contain a laxative, 10 mg bisacodyl.

baclofen is a muscle relaxer. it helps relax the pelvic floor muscles. it comes in both vaginal and rectal suppositories. there are different types of these suppositories available--baclofen, baclofen and valium etc.

http://www.mcguffpharmacy.com/CompoundedProducts/CompoundedSuppositories.aspx

take care. wishing you all the best.


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## IndianRopeTrick (Jul 25, 2013)

Me too ! I started having too much flatulence and some burping far more than normal. Pre-burp and pre-gas, I often get stomach and back pain. Perhaps this has something to do with gas indirectly hurting my hiatal hernia. But, the copious amount of intestinal gas is the main problem. Its waking me up too early from sleep and affecting my productivity and mood severely. I guess it all started 3 weeks ago, when I ate starchy potato and sweet stuff in almost every meal, for a week. I am using gas-x now, but it has not really helped me to remove enough gas to sleep well. Will be going to a doctor soon.


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## McSteamy (May 13, 2015)

How well do peppermint capsules work? My GI recommended them and I'm about to go buy some today.


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