constant gas and bloating

Does you pcp have recommendations and/or ideas for a referral?

Hi, it’s apparent that you are living well and getting regular exercise however you’re being troubled by gas and bloating. I’m wondering if you’re eating enough fibre, lots of grains, vegetables and fruits, if so you might have some issue with whatever you eat, perhaps you could try removing something you eat regularly to see if it helps, failing that it might be something worth looking into with a nutritionist, they really know what foods go well together to avoid gas and a good standby is lots of liquids.

Has anyone heard about eating kiwi fruit for digestive issues ?

I'm so sorry you are having this problem! I have a home remedy that my mom and grandmother used for years. I'm 79 and I use it also. It's for constipation but it also relieves gas and bloating.
Put a tablespoon of baking soda; (Arm and Hammer) in a glass of water. Drink the whole thing. It will taste terrible! You can add some lemon juice to make it taste a little better if you want. It works fast and is natural. Stay near the bathroom. Besides causing a bowel movement, it relieves gas and bloating a lot. It might be worth a try for you. It won't hurt you. My mom was giving me this remedy when I was 8 years old!

I wish you the best.
Merry Christmas!
PML

My husband had similar issues. His gastroenterologist did a upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy to rule out obvious problems with his system. Then Prilosec, Gaviscon no help there.
We used to have home fermented foods quite often but not for awhile so I made a batch of pineapple tepache, a quart of sauerkraut and one of fermented carrots and cauliflower. He no longer has bloating or painful gas. I am not a doctor and I don't know if fermented food would help you but thought I would offer this.

Hi gilster

sounds like a colonoscopy could help to find the trouble…it does seem that you are doing all good things for health…sometimes, no matter what we do, our systems need to be checked out and re-set a bit.

It sounds very much like you have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). The constant bloating and trapped gas are the number one symptoms. I highly recommend that you see a GI doctor and they should be able to test you for SIBO.

you may be swallowing air when you eat or drink

There can be a number of causes to gas and bloating. If there is an insufficiency of digestive enzymes made in the pancreas-amylase, protease and particularly lipase, food is not thoroughly digested. When it mixes with intestinal bacteria, the undigested food ferments creating gas and bloating. A Rx pancrealipase such as Creon or Zenpep will resolve the gas and bloating. OTC enzymes such as Vital Nutrients or Digest Gold are less expensive alternatives but are not enteric coated for longer time release.

The diagnostic test to see if Exocrine Pancreas Insufficiency exists is called the Fecal Elastase test. A GI specialist or your PCP can order the test.

High fiber foods such as corn, peas, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and all legumes are oligosaccharides (high fiber). They require the enzyme alpha-d-galactosidase to be digested. The pancreas does not make this enzyme but is available as the OTC product Beano. A capsule taken whenever eating high fiber foods will resolve the gas and bloating by preventing it from forming.

Other pathologies of the GI tract to investigate are: lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance (celiac disease), mild case of IBD/IBS, Crohn’s disease colitis and Small Intestine Bacterial Overload. As these pathologies worsen, the symptoms are more pronounced such as diarrhea and severe cramping. A GI specialist can do a work-up to rule out each possibility until a cause is found. Determining lactose or celiac intolerance is easy to do yourself by eliminating all dairy first and see if the symptoms resolve. If not, then eliminate gluten. If it is lactose intolerance, there are Lactaid dairy products or taking of Lactase enzyme tablets to resolve the symptoms.