Has anyone experienced bloating?

Posted by judithbramson12 @judithbramson12, Mar 2 10:57pm

Has anyone experienced bloat? I can’t seem to get rid of it. Any information of success would be greatly appreciated, I've tried probiotics, 5 different brands and they did nothing. My primary recommended that,
Thanks for Reading1

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Pancreatic Cancer Support Group.

@colleenyoung

Welcome, @tlcatlin. Is the Beano or Lactaid helping? Have you tried sleeping with the head of the mattress raised?

Jump to this post

I haven't tried lifting the head of the bed but I think that's a good idea. I think I added too many things all at once and ended up having diarrhea for almost a week. I know better than to add more than one thing at a time but I did it anyway! so now I have dropped back to just simethicone and the creon and trying to get the diarrhea under control before I add anything else.

REPLY

I am not on chemo. My bloat is in my abdomen. I’m not on any cancer related therapy except Zenpep. I didn’t have chemo after my Whipple. The rest of my meds are vitamins and a benzo, Lorazapam, for my anxiety, and a probiotic and Imodium AD 3 times a day.

REPLY

Which chemo are you on? Where is your bloat? Are you on generic Lyrica?

REPLY
@tlcatlin

I had eight rounds of folfirinox and my tumor did shrink about 35%, but it was still completely wrapped around two major vessels and unlikely to pull away enough to allow surgery. Since the chemo itself just about killed me I decided to stop and just live as well as I can for as long as I can. It's been five months since I stopped chemo and I have felt so much better! I'm enjoying my life and although I know it won't last I'm going to live it for all I'm worthwhile it does. The one thing that causes me problems is the gas and bloating. Dilaudid and morphine have not helped with that pain because I think it's actually nerve pain from the pressure of the gas. Opiates don't work that well on nerve pain. Cutting back on the Creon seems to have helped maybe a little and a higher dose chewable simethicone seems to work better than the capsules. I have tried taking a half milligram of lorazepam at bedtime and that seems to help a little. It doesn't even seem to matter what it is I am eating. Most of the time it's only a problem when I lie down to sleep because during the day when I'm upright I can usually pass the gas one way or the other fairly effectively so far. It's when I lie down at night that it's a problem. A hot rice sack seems to help although it could be that it just feels comforting . I also just started taking some dexamethasone in the mornings to see if that anti-inflammatory property will help. If anyone else has any more suggestions I would sure love to hear them. I'm going to try adding Beano and Lactaid and see if that helps.

Jump to this post

Welcome, @tlcatlin. Is the Beano or Lactaid helping? Have you tried sleeping with the head of the mattress raised?

REPLY

It sounds funny, but it’s a real nuisance. One thing when I’m home, but I hesitate going anywhere. The beano did make a difference. The last two days, since I started, the freight train has gone off the tracks! I hope it doesn’t get fixed!🤣🤣

REPLY

It is interesting how the amount of gas / wind can vary over time and over your treatment. Your freight train comment made me laugh. For about a month I had almost constant stomach growling noises and I told my wife if you pointed me in front of a wind turbine I was sure I could power it by the amount of wind I could expel out of my rear orifice! It did keep me a wake at night for a while as I had to go to the bathroom regularly just to get rid of the wind. My wife wasn’t a big fan of me just letting it out around the house 😜

REPLY

I added Beano as suggested byone of the group. It actually helped immediately. I don't know if it's the same for everyone else, but it sure made a difference. I would ever know when the gas would erupt; I sounded like a freight train.

Good luck with your plan and have a hell of a good time! I admire your spirit!

REPLY

I had eight rounds of folfirinox and my tumor did shrink about 35%, but it was still completely wrapped around two major vessels and unlikely to pull away enough to allow surgery. Since the chemo itself just about killed me I decided to stop and just live as well as I can for as long as I can. It's been five months since I stopped chemo and I have felt so much better! I'm enjoying my life and although I know it won't last I'm going to live it for all I'm worthwhile it does. The one thing that causes me problems is the gas and bloating. Dilaudid and morphine have not helped with that pain because I think it's actually nerve pain from the pressure of the gas. Opiates don't work that well on nerve pain. Cutting back on the Creon seems to have helped maybe a little and a higher dose chewable simethicone seems to work better than the capsules. I have tried taking a half milligram of lorazepam at bedtime and that seems to help a little. It doesn't even seem to matter what it is I am eating. Most of the time it's only a problem when I lie down to sleep because during the day when I'm upright I can usually pass the gas one way or the other fairly effectively so far. It's when I lie down at night that it's a problem. A hot rice sack seems to help although it could be that it just feels comforting . I also just started taking some dexamethasone in the mornings to see if that anti-inflammatory property will help. If anyone else has any more suggestions I would sure love to hear them. I'm going to try adding Beano and Lactaid and see if that helps.

REPLY

Thank you for your reply. So sorry you are having so much discomfort. This disease really sucks, big time!

REPLY

I have a similar issue. I have been taking 2-3 creon tablets during meals and still always have abdominal discomfort, bloating and some degree of pain for the next few hours after eating anything. I am stage 4, so no surgery…

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.