Never-ending Bloating and Constipation?

[miltongm09]

Chaz, Every recommendation needs to be taken with a grain of salt but I will throw in my 2 cents. Listen to your doctor first if that is what you are comfortable. Unfortunately I never had a doctor who helped me. in fact, I would say they made me worse with all the drugs. I have had this problem of bloating and pain for over 30 years. I deteriorated over that time to the point where my health has been very poor with liver, gallbladder and kidney issues. Tried every dam diet(or so I thought) and every western medicine, eastern medicine and natural treatments I could find. None helped appreciably. I would try the following in the order listed.

1. HCL with pepsin. Many people have low stomach acid and it helps a lot for many of them. Possible will need Pancreatin also.
2. FODMAP diet - helped me some but not appreciable
2. Keto diet while avoiding fodmap foods. Have not tried as my intolerances to almost any food are so bad I took the next step. This diet helps many if they are not to ill.
3. Paleomedicina diet - High fat moderate protein carnivore diet. Don't discount based on institutional knowledge. Research and make the decision yourself. I will tell you my stomach went flat within 3 days eating this. Some will say that it helps because it is the ultimate elimination diet. I think there is more to it than that. I'm 30 days in and making progress. I am better than I was when I started diet. It will take time though. I have committed to 6 months at least but there are many people who have done this for many years. I have a lot of health issues from digestive problems but I am hopeful finally. It has been very dificult for me to adapt to this diet and many people struggle as your body converts to using fat for fuel. There is a clinic in Hungary who has had more than 10,000 patients use this diet with by their accounts have had impressive results. I have never bought into the animal fat is bad for you science. If you use reddit just do a search on paleomedicina and there should be some good info. The largest subreddit is r/zerocarb but they are about eating a higher protein diet then I am comfortable with. There is a lot of good info there.Also go to the english version of paleomedicina for the clinic and any studies they have done. You do not want this to progress as I had over the many years. I wish you the best of health.

[Chaz19]

I'm modifying diet and adding supplements. Will add detail tomorrow.

[Chaz19]

but man do I need sleepryl and values NyQuil here and there. I will be careful ? However I need something for insomnia due to trauma ( loss of my brother and my mother within the last 2 years) and pain.

As a follow-up ? inulin has been recommended as a supplement to reduce bloating. Do you have any opinions or experience?

[SCI-Nurse]

No experience with inulin. Will be interested in hearing others thoughts.

ckf

[xsfxsf]

When you say “Inulin has been recommended”, who recommended it?

[Chaz19]

My SCI specialist recommended it. Looked into it… Purchase some but I am reluctant after doing some research.

[McLaren87]

I have an incredibly clean diet. I stick with high fiber cereal, oatmeal and non-soluble fibers. my diet is for the most part similar to keto- but with the addition of high-fiber grains.

Keto is a high fat diet with carbs limited enough to put you in ketosis.

Eating Greek yogurt is a good suggestion, but I would recommend Kefir, because it has much more probiotics that actually colonize your gut. You can buy it at the store or make it yourself - really easy.

How much sugar do you eat ? Bad bacteria loves sugar and maybe they're winning the war in your gut and wrecking havoc ?

[HACKNSACK44]

Keto is a high fat diet with carbs limited enough to put you in ketosis.

Eating Greek yogurt is a good suggestion, but I would recommend Kefir, because it has much more probiotics that actually colonize your gut. You can buy it at the store or make it yourself - really easy.

How much sugar do you eat ? Bad bacteria loves sugar and maybe they're winning the war in your gut and wrecking havoc ?

I agree with you about sugar. Last year I had recurring utis. Come to find out I was diabetic. Once I got my sugar under control the utis have pretty much stopped.

[Chaz19]

Does anyone here have recommendations on a cleansing "clean out" that doesn't destroy your day? I don't mind four hours. However, would like to minimize

[Chaz19]

Chaz, Every recommendation needs to be taken with a grain of salt but I will throw in my 2 cents. Listen to your doctor first if that is what you are comfortable. Unfortunately I never had a doctor who helped me. in fact, I would say they made me worse with all the drugs. I have had this problem of bloating and pain for over 30 years. I deteriorated over that time to the point where my health has been very poor with liver, gallbladder and kidney issues. Tried every dam diet(or so I thought) and every western medicine, eastern medicine and natural treatments I could find. None helped appreciably. I would try the following in the order listed.

1. HCL with pepsin. Many people have low stomach acid and it helps a lot for many of them. Possible will need Pancreatin also.
2. FODMAP diet - helped me some but not appreciable
2. Keto diet while avoiding fodmap foods. Have not tried as my intolerances to almost any food are so bad I took the next step. This diet helps many if they are not to ill.
3. Paleomedicina diet - High fat moderate protein carnivore diet. Don't discount based on institutional knowledge. Research and make the decision yourself. I will tell you my stomach went flat within 3 days eating this. Some will say that it helps because it is the ultimate elimination diet. I think there is more to it than that. I'm 30 days in and making progress. I am better than I was when I started diet. It will take time though. I have committed to 6 months at least but there are many people who have done this for many years. I have a lot of health issues from digestive problems but I am hopeful finally. It has been very dificult for me to adapt to this diet and many people struggle as your body converts to using fat for fuel. There is a clinic in Hungary who has had more than 10,000 patients use this diet with by their accounts have had impressive results. I have never bought into the animal fat is bad for you science. If you use reddit just do a search on paleomedicina and there should be some good info. The largest subreddit is r/zerocarb but they are about eating a higher protein diet then I am comfortable with. There is a lot of good info there.Also go to the english version of paleomedicina for the clinic and any studies they have done. You do not want this to progress as I had over the many years. I wish you the best of health.

THANK YOU. I will integrate your ideas. All physicians have made things just more complex and outside of the FOD M AP suggestions – most of what has been helpful so far has been found through trial and error, diet and reaching out to everyone I know. I need to review this a few times but this is helpful because a lot of what you're saying has been tried and information that I have not integrated into my life yet follows logic and some of my research. Thank you again.

[Tetracyclone]

I feel best and have no symptoms when I eat just vegetables with seeds and nuts, but this is not a healthy diet. I continue to lose weight since 2012. I'm finally going to see an gastroenterologist in the hope of either good advice and/or getting tested for SIBO.

[Random]

Just want to clarify two things:

1. The right amount of fiber from fruits veggies is good but too much or any from wheat may cause bloating.
2. When I said dairy can be the culprit, the exception is yogurt and kefir. In moderation it can help your symptoms.

Have you tried a cleanse? Just lean meats and veggies for a week can help to reset your gut. Then you can introduce foods one by one to test them.

This is my doctor?s recommendation.

[Chaz19]

I’m still on the hunt for the solution.
My diet could not be any more restrictive without hitting malnutrition.
Seeing a variety of specialist – but something for me is connected with bloating, low blood levels, severely low sodium levels in the blood (perhaps due to kidneys), and blood pressure.

My gut feeling (no pun intended) is that there’s some sort of chemical reaction happening in my stomach. This reaction is causing distention and thus leading to additional problems. Has anyone else experienced almost instant bloating?

Sometimes I can watch my stomach double in size just from eating Minute amounts watermelon or pineapple. I’m looking at all possibilities and if I find the answer I will quickly comprehensively update this thread. Thank you all for your different suggestions – I’ve integrated a variety of them.

This is a fantastic community.

[Hawk]

I found that dried prunes work the best over any stool softener.

[Chaz19]

In terms of diet – I am gluten-free, lactose-free, on a low fodmap and keeping sugars low i.e. even watching pineapple consumption. This is not fun but beats pain. However, still having symptoms which lead me to believe that my problem is not diet related. I don't throw out the fact that it could be a chemical imbalance caused by mind-body trauma. So – reading the "Divided Mind" by Dr. Sarno; I'm not sure if I completely believe that our mind can cause changes in our G.I. tract or cause pain but it does not seem completely unreasonable.

15 years of injury without any of these symptoms and then losing my mother, brother, and 14-year-old dog all within less than two years has been difficult consciously and subconsciously.

In the meantime – I'm considering magnesium citrate but waiting for the exact recipe from a doctor. Thank you everyone here for your different opinions and I am integrating them and have a long list that I bring/share online with physicians.