[14461]

I've been scrtaching my head for sometime about what's causing days like today when I get a lot of trapped wind/gas when at work. Is it something I've eaten? Is it related to prostatis? Is it the way I'm sitting? Am I gulping my food? etc etc.The gas started building today around 11 am and got worse after I had lunch. If it was food would it be what I ate at lunch that made it worse or something earlier? Or even the night before? How long does something affect you afetr you've eaten?Here's how my eating panned out this morning:5:00 - 1 tablet (Coloflac - 135mg)6:00 am - small bowl of Rice Krispies, soya milk and a small glass of Cranberry JuiceAround 6:30 (toilet - defecation to be polite

)Travelled on the train for an hourFrom 9:00 - 11:00 I ate a small Free From bar (no diary/wheat/gluten which is basically rice, glucose, dried fruit etc) a banana, some grapes and blueberries. 11:00 - Toilet (defecate)11:30 - Coloflac again12:00 - Rice, tuna and a sauce mix That's it and somehow I got really bloated and because I was in work had to keep going to the toilet to burp/pass wind... As far as I can see that's a fairly bland diet and I don't very it much from day to day. In the evening it does vary and last night I had some Steak & Kidney pie, potatoes and green beans. Nothing unusual or particularly unhealthy.Just to say I also suffer with prostatitis and sitting down for long period can really irritate things. Is it possible that an inflammed prostate could irritate the bowel and result in wind? I'm not sure what actually causes wind but I have read it can be a problem with the gut bacteria, gulping when eating etc.Would something I'd eaten last night affect me lunchtime today? Would wind come about by something else aggrevating the gut i.e. the prostate?Sorry for rambling but any comments would be appreciated. Apologies in advance if I don't answer any posts straight away.Thanks

 

[SpAsMaN*]

quote:5:00 - 1 tablet (Coloflac - 135mg)6:00 am - small bowl of Rice Krispies, soya milk and a small glass of Cranberry JuiceAround 6:30 (toilet - defecation to be polite

)Travelled on the train for an hourFrom 9:00 - 11:00 I ate a small Free From bar (no diary/wheat/gluten which is basically rice, glucose, dried fruit etc) a banana, some grapes and blueberries. 11:00 - Toilet (defecate)11:30 - Coloflac again12:00 - Rice, tuna and a sauce mix

First of all,rice and bananas i beleive is constipating.Regarding cereals,you want to evoid them if possible because they are full of sugar and it's not a good mixture.I allow only oatmeal.

 

[Nanobug]

If I had to guess, I'd say you are eating way too much fructose. Fructose is very hard to digest and, once it reaches the colon, the bacteria just have a party. The dried fruit is especially bad.

 

[twonK]

Hi Richard,I frequently have confusing days like you are having. I'll eat, sleep, ####, breath, sit the same over a number of days and yet get terrible bloating and pain one day, but not the next. I've been keeping a ####/food/sleep/weather/whatever diary for a number of months now and just don't spot any patterns.Apart from one, which is that when I get very anxious or depressed (a frequent occurrence with me), my IBS/bloating flares up. Which makes the anx/dep worse, which fuels the IBS/bloating and so on.This is a bit of a cop-out reply but it's what I've found to be the case: what I eat simply doesn't matter. I have GERD and so I can only eat small portions of food and no later than 4 hours before bed. Apart from that, it just doesn't matter what I eat. Chocolate, mexican, indian, you name it.It could even be argued that worrying about what you've eaten and exerting anxious effort on pattern-spotting could exacerbate the bloating and pain. I.e. working hard to find out what causes the pain could in fact be fuelling the pain.These are just my findings and theories of course

As always, Your Mileage May Vary.Pete

 

[eric]

You should read this thread.http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/807103472Expert Commentary -- Bloating, Distension, and the Irritable Bowel Syndromehttp://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/485107762Gas and Flatulence Prevention Diethttp://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/473109072

 

[16128]

Richard,Poor You! Gas at work is the worst! Next to "D" My whole lunch is planned around the "safe" foods "I" can eat that DO NOT promote gas. My lunch is always very boring to an outsider. I am sure "normal" people do not give lunch a second thought! But the IBS folk ........we suffer and try to plan ahead. Being that this is such an individual issue...today you had problems, write down everything you ate and avoid those foods in the future. For me...low salt....low fat....low ruffage...low wheat...low sugar....no dairy...works for lunch. What do I eat? A baked potatoe or rice with some chicken or tuna on top. Maybe some frozen spinach, fresh carrots, celery, or cut up tomato added as a garnish, pepper and onion powder to taste. It is filling and easy for "me" to digest. Still there are times when I have to go off on my own to "let off steam" The whole "gas" issue can wreck your day!........Good Luck!......D

 

[16963]

maybe keep a food journal? for a couple weeks now I've been writing down everything. I write down when I wake up, go to sleep, exercise, take my medicines, when and what I eat, how I'm feeling, and what kind of day I had (high stress, socializing, etc.)I'm just beginning to sense some patterns and have a vague idea of what I need to stay away from to prevent gas and D. Maybe it could help you? It's annoying to write every little thing down, but it is helping and I think I'll keep doing it for quite a while.

 

[14461]

First off I'd like to thank people for the helpful replies and I'll tackle each post in my reply below:SpAsMan* - I eat cereals (well cornflakes or RC) because I found things like porridge and oatmeal too stodgy. I also found when eating things like oat biscuits my bowels got worse. You say rice and bananas are a factor in constipation but since I go on a regular basis (at least twice a day) I'm assuming I'm OK on that front? I hope so because since I've cut done on things like bread and pasta rice forms a major part of my daily diet!Nanobug - Now this is an interesting concept. Looking at it I do seem to be overloading my mornings with fruit. I've had a quick skim on the Net about Fructose and I've seen quotes that 30% of people suffer with fructose malabsorption. I do have a sweet tooth and find myself eating things like chocolate, biscuits, sweets, cakes etc. I remember a work colleague saying that the things that effect your body the most you tend to crave. I'm hoping to see a dietitian soon and maybe I'll raise this issue with her. That said I don't want to cut fruit out of my already depleted diet are they fruits low in this sugar? Also can anyone recommend a good, bowel friendly snack because the gap between my breakfast and lunch mean I'm hungry thrughout the morning.twonk - I agree I do get days where things vary and consultants I've spoken too think that diet may only play a small part in my problems. I have kept food diaries in the past and it lead to me cutting out wheat (later tests cleared me of coeliacs) but I same to have more problems when I'm at work. Like I've mentioned this may be due in part to my sitting for long periods but with also tension/stress contributing. I too found myself in periods where I was to afraid to eat anything in case it made me ill. I'm considering seeing a therapist to help discuss such issues.eric - Thanks for the links I've had a quick scan and they look interesing.D_Needs_Mylanta - Yes sometimes I wish society was a little less uptight so I could let rip during a meeting

. Thanks for the commentsLynnie - I have tried this but I got conflicting results. I have cut down on wheat products and I avoid milk/diary if I can. But I'm 6ft 2 and way around 10 1/2 stone so the food issue can be difficult. I am a nervous type person so I'm sure this contributes to the overall problem.Thanks everyone who replied - it's given me something to think about. For long periods consultants have been telling me that my problems are interlinked (prostate and bowel) and that it's because things are "oversensitive". The problem is trying to find something that will dampen this and this is one area I feel I've been let down by the health professionals. However sites like this are helping me to shape my own treatment and I'd like to thank you all again. I hope overtime I'll be able to one of the success stories on the site

 

[Nanobug]

quote:That said I don't want to cut fruit out of my already depleted diet are they fruits low in this sugar?

Fructose is the sugar found in fruits. The worst offenders are dried fruits, though. So, I guess it would be better to stick to fresh fruits in moderate amounts.I recently did an experiment with fructose. The results ate here:http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...322/m/260108172

 

[Nanobug]

quote:For long periods consultants have been telling me that my problems are interlinked (prostate and bowel)

Are you taking anything for prostatitis? A combination of agents that reduce the effects of cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase could help you big time. If you want pointers on how to achieve this, let me know.

 

[Arnie W]

Apart from having concentrated sugar, dried fruit is usually preserved with sulphur and that surely gives me evil-smelling gas. I really do need to avoid dried fruit in any form.IMO, your diet needs a bit of finetuning too! I can't see enough evidence of enough consumption of whole fruit and vegetables. Remember too that if you have a large breakfast ('feast like a king' as some people say about the first meal of the day) you will be less likely to be tempted by those sweet snacks you mentioned.When you say 'trapped gas' do you mean that you can't release it easily? If I am in a situation where there are other people in the vicinity, I try to hold my gas in until I can get away and release it. I think that some people on this board have difficulty expelling gas and I imagine that is what you mean.

 

[eric]

quoteprostate and bowel) and that it's because things are "oversensitive".

Do you also have urination problems?One link between IBS and the bladder they have found is a mast cell. A drug they somnetimes use for this pretty commonly in the US is hyoscyamine, Anaspaz, Levsin .What is hyoscyamine? This drug acts on the muscle in the wall of the gut and also the urinary bladder. It relaxes the muscle and prevents spasms from occurring. It also can slightly reduce the production of stomach acid. http://www.gicare.com/pated/hyoscyamine.htmSensitization Of Pelvic Nerve Afferents And Mast Cell Infiltration In The Urinary Blahttp://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/192109872Chronic Pelvic Pain and the Overlap of Chronic Pelvic Pain Disordershttp://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/532100972

 

[14461]

Thanks again for the replies and I'll go through them one at a time.Nanobug - There isn't anything that effectively treats Prostatitis (or Chronic Pelvic Pain as it is becoming labeled these days), in fact in most non-bacterial chronic cases they have no idea what causes it. I started having problems when I was around 14/15 and what followed was numerous tests and courses of antibiotics which probably haven't helped my bowels. They did find a stricture in the urethra which may have caused the problems I originally had with flow and therefore caused urine to "back-up". There are theories that part of the problem is due to muscle tension in the pelvic region but that's an whole different ball game.....With regards to the cyclooxygenase - to be honest I'm at a loss as to what you are referring to sorry.Arnie W - I get up at 5:30 every work day morning and don't really have the time or appetite at that time in the morning for a large breakfast. So usually have around 6 hours until lunch and in the past I have filled this gap "grazing" on dried fruit bars, fruit and crisps etc. I have been eating rice cakes but somebody mentioned above that rice isn't the best thing for the bowel so I'm at a loss as what to eat! I agree I don't eat a great deal of veg through the day put I do try and fit some portions in during my evening meals. I'm not really a salad person and tend to eat meat with every meal (which probably isn't a great thing). I have a very bland and boring taste which means I'm not very adventurous food wise. This is something I agree does need fine tuning and will try to focus more on.Eric - The urine aspect isn't as bad these days in the past but ejaculation is still a major problem (that's another story

). The Chronic Pelvic Pain issue is something that gets discussed a lot on another forum I use and is something I'm looking into.

 

[eric]

Foods and IBShttp://www.ibshealth.com/ibsfoodsinfo.htmandUNC Nutritional Intervention for IBShttp://ibsgroup.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/71210261/m/432103122Chronic Diarrhea: Could It Have an Everyday Cause? http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/chronicdiarrhea.html

 

[Nanobug]

quote:With regards to the cyclooxygenase

The cyclooxygenases and lipoxygenase are enzymes responsible for the production of pro-inflammatory substances from arachidonic acid. For example, aspirin blocks the action of cyclooxygenases but does nothing with regards to lipoxygenase. The strategy to reduce inflammation is to reduce ingestion of arachidonic acid containing or producing foods together with substances that reduce the actions of the above mentioned enzymes.Foods that contain arachidonic acid are: egg yolk, red meat, poultry, dairy products, organ meat.Foods the stimulate arachidonic acid production: omega-6 oils and high-glycemic carbohydrates.Ways to reduce arachidonic acid conversion to pro-inflamatory substances through cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase:

• Aspirin and Ibruprofen (block cyclooxygenase)
• Curcumin (blocks cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase)
• 5-LOXIN (the best lipoxygenase blocker)

A good strategy could be taking a daily baby aspirin together with curcumin and 5-LOXIN, all available over the counter. A few grams of fish oil a day is worth taking as well as it interferes with arachidonic acid metabolism.In particular 5-LOXIN is know to interfere with the production of 5-HETE which is responsible for the spread of cancer cells in the prostate.

 

[14461]

Thanks for all the responses again but I have another question. Is Coloflac the best medication for me to be taking? The consultants prescribed it to me about 3 years ago but because of my #### GP I didn't start taking it until last year and by then I had been discharged from my consultant. Is there something else better out there? The drug has helped in that I don't get loose stools these days and the bloating has decreased though it hasn't completely gone. Also I'm taking 135mg 3 times a day and I've read that this is supposed to be decreased after a couple of weeks. Like I said my GP is #### (and there aren't many better ones in my area) so going to him will be next to useless.Thanks again.