[lizegg]

This is my first time on this site. Sorry it's a stupid question, but I assume you mean that it comes out when you can't even tell you're doing it, ie. you can't even feel that anything's coming out, is that right? I have a very poor sense of smell so that half the time i don't even know i'm doing it, and can only work it out depending on the people around me and how vocal/ polite they are about it. i was at a party last night where someone kept walking past me making farting noises when i didn't even know i was doing it. Sometimes it seems like it is actually worse when it seems "leaky" than when I can feel an actual gas bubble coming out. Is that the same for anyone else? I find it so hard to tell, and so I can't tell whether it's best to try to prevent anything from seeping out or whether that makes it worse because I'm tensing up. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I also know I probably shouldn't drink alcohol at all but sometimes it seems the only way to relax, although i wonder if that relaxes the muscles too much so i can't tell what's happening down there? I wish i could tell properly myself as instead i look around to see if anyone's having a bad reaction and that just makes it worse, i suppose. i start thinking every movement of a newspaper must be someone surreptitiously trying to fan the smell away. sometimes i just want to apologise in case i have made a bad smell but don't want to draw anyone's attention to it if they can't smell it, which i can't really. everyday this week on the tube I've had people coughing expressively, fanning their papers etc when i can't even tell it's happening. does anyone use those charcoal pants/ pant-liners? If so, does anyone think they work? I've used them for years now but am not convinced they really do anything. I think my gas smells chemically sometimes (more when it's leaky gas i think) but that could be the pants i suppose)what about aloe vera capsules? this was recommended by a health food shop and I've used it for about 3 years but i can't tell if it's doing anything and I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum anywhere? i also take a digestive enzyme and a probiotic and prebiotc capsule (although I've only started with that again recently and wonder if it accounts for my recent flare-up and whether I should stop taking it?) any help/ advice would be much appreciated

 

[les86]

I understand exactly where you are coming from. For the better part of each month my stomach feels tight and bloated. It is at this time I constantly obsessing about whether or not I will pass gas. The killer part is that during the six or seven days each month that my stomach does not feel bloated or tight, I've recently learned from others by their comments and looks that I am passing extremely bad gas. That's the killer part you can't even smell your own gas so you don't even know when to excuse yourself. I've tried those charcoal pads for the underwear. They didn't work for me.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Prebiotics often cause more gas. So that may not be a good thing.Have you tried pepto bismol for the odor. It is one of the few things that has been shown to reduce gas odor in a small clinical trial.

 

[lizegg]

Thanks Kathleen for your reply, and sorry I wasn't sure how this worked and didn't mean to start a whole new topic! I'll get some pepto bismol and have seen on a low sulphur diet list that a non dairy source probiotic would be better so may try that as well. I assume that means that lactobacillus acidophilus would be a bad thing if excluding sulphur? les86 - I know it's a nightmare, I think if I tried to apologise each time I thought it was happening I would never say anything other than sorry to anyone! Have you tried many supplements/ dietary changes?

 

[les86]

I have tried phazyzme and I guess it is helping some. I don't feels as bloated. Since I have IBS © my doctor has put me on Amitiza.

 

[Riva]

Hi,I had this problem at one stage and sometimes now too, but originally it was caused by the "concoction" I was taking at the time to ease IBS-C. As soon as I switched to something else it stopped. I suppose it could be caused something you're eating or taking at the time and yes, it is SO embarrassing? Our condition is so frustrating because it's usually just trial and error! Find what works for you and stick with it. I still get "episodes" where NOTHING works for weeks - and then it just gradually comes right on it's own. Stress, worry perhaps are the culprits.Good luck!!