[caputsky]

Hi, The shortened version: dealing with IBS/GI problems for 4.5 years now. Currently, I am in the middle of one of the worst patches of it yet. Daily D no matter what I eat (even on the BRAT diet) and TONS of gas. And not just gas, but gas that smells like something has died inside of my intestines. I have tried so many medications/supplements but nothing helps. This includes Gas-X (just makes more smelly gas come out), Peppermint capsules, Fennel Tea, Pepto Bismo, and am currently taking powerful digestive enzymes. I would really like to figure out what is going on inside of me -- it can't just be "IBS" because the gas is putrid. Seriously, that's the first time I've ever used that word outside of academia, and it fits. Often times, I can tell which food I ate by how it smells. I have tried various therapies over the years, including hypnotherapy several times, and a host of different diets. I think a bacteria might be to blame, but I know its not candida because I got tested for that from one of those high-priced labs that examines stool samples, and no overgrowth was discovered. Sometimes, I feel like just the action of eating produces my IBS symptoms, not at all what I am eating. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I totally understand if you don't have any suggestions, as I feel like I have exhausted almost all options. I am getting more and more depressed by dealing with this, and am afraid to eat and be around people. So any help would not fall on deaf ears. Thank you, and I hope you all are on the road to finding how to live with these horrible symptoms of ours.Julie

 

[Kathleen M.]

Have you tried a low sulfur diet? If you don't give the bacteria anything to make putrid smelling gases with they can't make them out of nothing.Which bacteria predominate in the colon (methane-producing vs sulfur-reducing) is what determines smell. I can't think of any disease process that would do worse than those bacteria can do.Limit protien to 2-3 ounce per meal and you might want to eat off the low sulfur foods found here. http://livingnetwork.co.za/chelationnetwor...lfur-food-list/ Even though some protein foods are on the list I would still keep the amount small per meal. If you reduce the sulfur in the diet you may be able to get control with the pepto for the rest of the smell. I do know when I take supplements with iron in them that will switch me over so I have more sulfur-reducing bacteria, but usually for me some pepto and getting off the iron will make me switch back.Candida only makes non-smelly gases from carbs. It is the sulfur reducing bacteria specifically that make putrid smelling gases. No one else in there really does that.You might also want to try to reduce startches in the diet as that tends to reduce gas volume. The BRAT diet can be bad for adding to the gas problem even if it reduces the number of diarrhea causing foods one eats. (you can have diarrhea on the BRAT diet, you just aren't making the diarrhea worse).

 

[onyx]

Julie I know how you feel. My gas problems have driven me to stay away from people. I would love to have a real relationship again but I can't imagine how any woman would be able to tolerate this stuff coming out of me. I can't tolerate it myself but I have no choice. Something is broken in there. I get hours and hours of constant bad gas. The smell, I don't know how to describe it. It's like it's got this sour chemical or mineral smell, and is definitely not normal. The worst part is I don't know why I get it, and never know when it's gonna hit. I want to do some travelling, but if I was on a long flight and had one of these episodes lasting for hours on end it would be traumatizing for me and those around me. I'm afraid to even go to something like a dinner party or a movie. I used to be much more social. I also have not found much relief from anything I've tried. I'm hoping I'll improve if nothing else just from the passage of time. My D seems to have lessened over time so maybe my gas will too. Hope you find something that helps.

 

[gettingbetter]

Hi.First off, I understand what you're going through. It may be the bread that's causing you problems. Bread has wheat, sugar, and yeast, all of which can cause gas, etc.. My main symptom was ridiclous gas, then D. I even had that really foul odor. I used to have the same problem. I got IBS 15 years ago at age 12. I managed pretty well through school but when I entered the workforce office environment a few years ago I only lasted a few months before it caused me to quit my job. I've been working on it and I feel like I'm at a good place--dare I say healed? Here's what's changed my life:First off, I went to a naturopathic doctor 5 months ago. I had gone to GI specialists without success. Naturopathic doctors work on healing you through your diet and supplements. Mine is great--not a quack by any means. Super smart lady. She put me on an elimination diet. You can look this up online or I suggest to get a naturopathic doctor. Basically the diet excluded all wheat, sugar, dairy, eggs, soy, strawberries, chocolate, alcohol, coffee, tea, and oranges (people's main triggers) for 28 days. Upon day 29 you add one thing back for one day, then go back on the elimination diet for 2 days in between to see which of these causes symptoms. Keep track of symptoms to see if they increase. I've kept track of all my symptoms (even how many times I pass gas) in MS Excel. It's hard to eat rice and fruits and veggies at first, but at the health food store you can get rice pasta, pomegranate jam and all kinds of great things. As I've added things back in, it's become clear to me my intolerances. Dairy for example. Had ridiculous, foul gas that day. Then wheat gave me what I call "poison diarhea" as I call it cause it was so foul and made me feel so much better after I had gotten it out of me. I've also found that my body can handle low doses of some things. Like white french bread is fine, but whole wheat tortillas are out. Second, the naturopath put me on "Priority One Hypo-Gest." This is stomach acid. For years I always wondered why I got gas right when I ate, like minutes later, when I knew the food couldn't have gotten to my intestines. Cause I didn't have enough stomach acid!! This supplement is basically a high dose of stomach acid. Now I don't get that immediate gas when I eat. This supplement is so great that even when I eat my off-limits foods, I still feel better than I used to. Finally, she put me on a pro-biotic, "Metagenics Ultra Flora Plus DF." I don't know if it does anything but I take it cause the lady knows more than me. So, like my doc told me: you'll control your symptoms through the combination of diet and these supplements. This process has helped me so much that I just accepted an office job again! I have to eat a little differently than I used to, but I feel well, not gassy and sick like I used to and I have control of my life again. I can go to a movie. Just do this and keep track of everything you eat. Best of luck to you!! Hope this helps!!

 

[gettingbetter]

I want to emphasize I understand the foulness and everything. I used to have that. I felt like something had crawled inside me and died. I've done a lot of research these last 5 months too and there are 3 things that cause foul smelling gas and thats: sugars, starches, and dairy. Which covers a lot of ground right? Well, now that I've eliminated them and now when I eat them I do so in low doses, I don't have that foul smell. I think the pro-biotic may play a part in that too.Typical day for me is:Breakfast: 2 ricecakes with pomegranate or Crofters blueberry jam without added sugar (see ingrediants).Lunch: Rice angel hair noodles with tomato sauce, 1/2 bell bepper, some Kettle brand potato chips (they don't have added junk, they're just potatos and oil and salt)Snack: AppleDinner: Taco seasoned beef with rice, or cajun seasoned chicken, 1 c. of Knudsen's pineapple coconut juice (delicious!) and some sunflower seeds or somthing. Eliminating those sugars, starches, and dairy will cut down on the gas and the foulness. Keep track of how much you pass. When its not foul anymore, it doesn't seem to matter as much. I'm in normal range (under 23 times) when I eat like this, but over 23 when I eat wheat. I've also found that my body doesn't mind sugar so much but too much fruit juice causes me issues (fructose).

 

[caputsky]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who deals with this (although I wish we all weren't experiencing any of them at all!). I think that I do get worse odor when I eat too much sugar or too many starches. The problem is that I feel like I'm in a catch 22. I used to take soluble fiber supplement regulary, which helped with my D and my stools being more formed. But, conversely, I feel like it definately increased my gas substantially. So now I'm not taking them, and my gas has decreased a bit, but I'm back to the D/loose stools situation. I have tried a naturopath before, and she was somewhat helpful, but unfortunately while I was seeing her my regular GI discovered that I had clostridium difficile infection, so I had to try to get rid of that first. The problem is cost -- I really can't afford to go to a naturopath because each time I go its at least $50, and I really can't do that. I feel the same way about accupunture -- I helped me in the past, but my insurance won't cover it (not considered a "beneficial therapy" for someone with IBS

) so I can't go that route. I think wheat might affect me to a degree, and I do try to limit that, but since there are so many other foods that I can't do because they are definite triggers (dairy, alcohol, fried food, etc.) if push comes to shove, I have to choose something with wheat over something with dairy if I don't have any other options. I have been tested for Celiac 3 seperate times, all of which came back negative. Is it possible for me to have an intolerance to wheat or gluten without having Celiac disease? I also am really sensitive to probiotics, and have tried many with either adverse reactions or no improvement (and yes, I have waited the allotted amount of time before determining if it doesn't help me). I'm afraid I have what is termed "refractory IBS" because the same thing happens whenever I get put on a medication: it helps for 1-2 months, and then slowly stops helping. Consequently, I have run the gamut of antispasmodics, mineral supplements (like calcium), and antidepressants (currently on my 3rd different one). Personally, I think that having C-DIFF a year and a half ago really messed up my whole system, and other bad bacteria were able to invade and set up house. Hence the smelly gas. I would like to try other options, but I am tired of paying so much money. I can't even begin to tabulate how much I have spent on various supplements and therapies that were "supposed" to help me, with having little to no gain and feel like I was throwing away a lot of money. Anyway, thanks again for the replies and the ideas, I will look into those that I haven't already tried. And thanks for reading my long post, I truly appreciate it!!

 

[overitnow]

Hi caputsky,Check and see if there are any inflammatory results from C-Diff. That could well explain reactions you get from a range of foods. When I got my D under control, the smell decreased mightily.Mark

 

[centraleurope01]

Hi ! A few things that have helped me with leaky gas ankreoflat (3x1) - Use it for a few monthsBuscopan (2x1) - don't take more than 2 /day Swedish bitter - Try a few to learn which product is the best for you These things can help u lessen the symptoms of LG .Good luck !

 

[gettingbetter]

Hi again Caputsky!YES you can have wheat intolerance without having Celiac and it basically has all the same g.i. symptoms!! I've been tested for Celiac too and don't have it. But like I said, the wheat gave me "poison D" when I tested it on the elimination diet. Yeah, I understand about spending a ton of money trying to get over this. Fiber didn't do anything for me either except give me gas!! And I sympathize with you about not being able to afford the natuorpathic doctor. Well, I went online and found the same type of elimination diet that I did (it tells you what you can and can't have) and here is the post. Basically all my naturopath did was give me this packet that explained how to do the elimination diet and this link is almost identical in every way to the packet she gave me. Well, here you go ( and it wont cost you the $125 it cost me!):http://www.functionalmedicine.org/content_...Diet_091503.pdf (if you google "elimination diet" this is the first one that comes up and it is just like the one the naturopath gave me).I know when you have IBS it seems like everything gives us gas, but that's cause we usually eat a lot of the common food intolerances daily and they can have postponed effects too. This diet will help you pinpoint what specifically causes you issues. So you eat only the allowed foods for 28 days to get all possible toxins out of your system. Then day 29 add back one food for 1 day (for example, wheat) then go right back on the restricted diet the next 2 days to see if it causes you issues either the day you eat it or a day or two after. Then try the next food for 1 day, go back on the restircted diet for 2 days....until you've tested them all. Make sure when you test a food you don't add anything else back. For example, if you're testing wheat, don't go buy wonderbread that has wheat, soy and eggs in it cause then you won't know what caused you problems if you get them--the wheat soy or eggs. Buy bread that only has allowed ingredients wheat, yeast, salt, water. You can get it at a bakery if you have to. Test: WheatSugarDairyRed MeatSoyEggsStrawberriesPeanutsThese are the most common intolerances. As you do all this keep specific track of your symptoms--bowel movements, gas attacks and foulness, etc.. I even keep track of the # of times I pass gas like I said. This is worth it!!! For me, I've found that eating the restricted diet has gotten rid of the foulness and has me regular (1 morning bowel movement a day usually--not D). Also, I hope you do try the Hypogest acid! My favorite!! Good luck!!

 

[gettingbetter]

Oh, I also forgot to say my naturopath said an elimination diet is more conclusive even than getting blood tests to figure out intolerances. She explained the reason but I can't try and re-explain it. Sorry.

 

[lizegg]

Caputsky - I've only just joined here (and don't know much about how to solve any of this) but in starting to try a low sulphur diet I noticed that my digestive enzyme I've been taking for years contains bromelain and papain which are apparently high in sulphur so i'm trying not taking it while i try this diet.