How do you avoid painful trapped gas?

[headtrainer]

About 5 years ago I started getting painful trapped gas. It begins in the stomach and sometimes runs to my chest or side of neck. The pain gets so bad at times I can barely move. I get gas pains more often if I lay on my left side as opposed to my right side or flat on my back. I normally have to take 5-6 Gas-X to alleviate the symptoms and the pain can last up to an hour or longer at times. I usually wake up with it at night or during the morning. I try to walk around the house to help the gas move but sometimes I’m unable to walk from being bent over double in pain. I’ve spoken to several doctors about this. They don’t have a good answer. Eating late at night or consuming protein or dairy late at night seems to make things worse. I also think taking anti-acids makes my condition worse. I had my gall bladder removed 3 years ago. This has also seemingly made things worse. Anyone else experience this and if so how do you avoid getting painful trapped gas from building up while you sleep?

 

[Pheedno]

1. Titrate protein consumption so that you're larger portions are earlier in the day and smaller as the day winds down. 40-60g meals earlier in the day with lower carbs and then by nightfall transitioning to 10-15g in a meal with a high, easily digestible carb amount.(This also really helps with sleep)
2. Take Ox Bile tablets with meals that have higher fat content.
3. Gut smashing with foam roller or soft medicine ball(this also works well for stress)
4. Limit fiber content, especially unsoluble origins

You can also go the way of elimination and take one common thing you eat completely out of the diet. Asses and then move to another food item if that doesn't help

 

[Gunsmith]

Antacids can have a big impact on how the protein is broke down in the stomach , if you limit the chemical break down then that process has to be attempted to finish in the upper bowel and that generally produces way more gas than normal.
Not having a gall bladder is gonna limit how much fat you can digest which is were adding a bike salt like "Pheedno" mentioned will help.
I have to take antacid for ulcers and my duodenum surgery has fucked up my gallbladder response so I can completely empathize with you.
What I do is limit my last meal to very lean easy to digest protein like egg whites , lean fish and zero veggies , I use boiled potatoes as a carb. And I don't eat any closer than 3 hr before bed

 

[johnjuanb1]

Have you tried eating a bunch of Sauerkraut?

 

[SOUR DIESEL]

About 5 years ago I started getting painful trapped gas. It begins in the stomach and sometimes runs to my chest or side of neck. The pain gets so bad at times I can barely move. I get gas pains more often if I lay on my left side as opposed to my right side or flat on my back. I normally have to take 5-6 Gas-X to alleviate the symptoms and the pain can last up to an hour or longer at times. I usually wake up with it at night or during the morning. I try to walk around the house to help the gas move but sometimes I’m unable to walk from being bent over double in pain. I’ve spoken to several doctors about this. They don’t have a good answer. Eating late at night or consuming protein or dairy late at night seems to make things worse. I also think taking anti-acids makes my condition worse. I had my gall bladder removed 3 years ago. This has also seemingly made things worse. Anyone else experience this and if so how do you avoid getting painful trapped gas from building up while you sleep?

^^^brother .."chest & side neck pain" may be indicative of something besides gas

..has your doctor considered or explored any other possibilities for this?

^^^just a thought ..wishing you well brother

.

 

[Pheedno]

btw, I've also not had a gallbladder since I was 14

 

[graybass]

Simular, my gas would not come out either end, felt like is was in my thorasic chest area. My doc said this type of gas can come from the same symptons that cause stomach ulcers. He prescribed a type of antibiotic for that purpose. Seemed to fix it.

 

[headtrainer]

Antacids can have a big impact on how the protein is broke down in the stomach , if you limit the chemical break down then that process has to be attempted to finish in the upper bowel and that generally produces way more gas than normal.
Not having a gall bladder is gonna limit how much fat you can digest which is were adding a bike salt like "Pheedno" mentioned will help.
I have to take antacid for ulcers and my duodenum surgery has fucked up my gallbladder response so I can completely empathize with you.
What I do is limit my last meal to very lean easy to digest protein like egg whites , lean fish and zero veggies , I use boiled potatoes as a carb. And I don't eat any closer than 3 hr before bed

I’ve tried bile salts multiple times and it actually made things worse. I found that strange. And you are right about not eating closer than 3 hours before bedtime—even if it’s a small meal. That’s what seems to set it off. And if I get up in the night and eat a little cottage cheese, a little peanut butter, etc., I wake up with terrible gas pain 80% of the time. I also have a lot of acid reflux. I’m going to try eating most of my calories earlier than stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. I think that’s going to help more than anything.

 

[headtrainer]

^^^brother .."chest & side neck pain" may be indicative of something besides gas

..has your doctor considered or explored any other possibilities for this?

^^^just a thought ..wishing you well brother

.

I’ve been checked out by several doctors. I do have advanced facet joint arthritis in the L1/L2 area. Those facet nerves can cause stomach pain. I experience that pain on occasion but it’s different than trapped gas in the stomach. Gas pains is my problem. It was terrible pain for 5 days following my gallbladder removal. It rarely moves to mt chest but it often moves to my outer neck when it builds up a lot. The doctors told me take gas-x before going to bed. They also said to stay away from protein shakes, dairy and peanut butter. Drinking uncooked egg whites produces the worse gas pains. I’ve had to stop drinking them.

 

[headtrainer]

Simular, my gas would not come out either end, felt like is was in my thorasic chest area. My doc said this type of gas can come from the same symptons that cause stomach ulcers. He prescribed a type of antibiotic for that purpose. Seemed to fix it.

My gas eventually comes out but it seems to take forever.

 

[headtrainer]

Have you tried eating a bunch of Sauerkraut?

No because I hate sauerkraut.

 

[Gunsmith]

I’ve tried bile salts multiple times and it actually made things worse. I found that strange. And you are right about not eating closer than 3 hours before bedtime—even if it’s a small meal. That’s what seems to set it off. And if I get up in the night and eat a little cottage cheese, a little peanut butter, etc., I wake up with terrible gas pain 80% of the time. I also have a lot of acid reflux. I’m going to try eating most of my calories earlier than stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. I think that’s going to help more than anything.

Honestly man the first thing I would do is schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist , have a scope and barium swallow. I put off having an upper GI till I was in my 30's figured I was just suffering with the same ulcer issues that my dad and grand dad had , once it got bad and I was bleeding a good bit I had scope and have 4 bleeding ulcers , two of which were positive for Barretts (precancerous) so after a couple years of meds and ablations it got better but I'd have "flare ups" after a few more scope I had a barium swallow that revealed a HUGE diverticuli on my duodenum , that fucker would flare up and swell my pyloric sphincter and NOTHING would leave my stomach for days. It had apparently been there for years and year but the EGD never saw it because they saw the ulcers and figure that was the issue (they rarely go last the stomach anyway).
I'd see a specialist just to ensure it's not something else. Like "SOUR DIESEL" mentioned ,it could be more than it appears

 

[headtrainer]

1. Titrate protein consumption so that you're larger portions are earlier in the day and smaller as the day winds down. 40-60g meals earlier in the day with lower carbs and then by nightfall transitioning to 10-15g in a meal with a high, easily digestible carb amount.(This also really helps with sleep)
2. Take Ox Bile tablets with meals that have higher fat content.
3. Gut smashing with foam roller or soft medicine ball(this also works well for stress)
4. Limit fiber content, especially unsoluble origins

You can also go the way of elimination and take one common thing you eat completely out of the diet. Asses and then move to another food item if that doesn't help

I like to eat popcorn and yogurt for dinner. I wonder if the fiber in the popcorn is the problem?

 

[headtrainer]

Honestly man the first thing I would do is schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist , have a scope and barium swallow. I put off having an upper GI till I was in my 30's figured I was just suffering with the same ulcer issues that my dad and grand dad had , once it got bad and I was bleeding a good bit I had scope and have 4 bleeding ulcers , two of which were positive for Barretts (precancerous) so after a couple years of meds and ablations it got better but I'd have "flare ups" after a few more scope I had a barium swallow that revealed a HUGE diverticuli on my duodenum , that fucker would flare up and swell my pyloric sphincter and NOTHING would leave my stomach for days. It had apparently been there for years and year but the EGD never saw it because they saw the ulcers and figure that was the issue (they rarely go last the stomach anyway).
I'd see a specialist just to ensure it's not something else. Like "SOUR DIESEL" mentioned ,it could be more than it appears

I’ve been double dipped several times by two gastroenterologist and nothing is wrong as far as they can tell. That’s how they found my gallbladder issue.

 

[headtrainer]

Simular, my gas would not come out either end, felt like is was in my thorasic chest area. My doc said this type of gas can come from the same symptons that cause stomach ulcers. He prescribed a type of antibiotic for that purpose. Seemed to fix it.

How long did you suffer with trapped gas before getting prescribed the antibiotic? I’m going on 5 years now. But maybe an antibiotic could help. My gastroenterologist said everything looked good.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

Do you get this on a full stomach or do you also get it on an empty stomach? It's strange that it's worse sleeping on your left side as many of your organs are on the right side (liver, gall bladder, appendix). The left side other than the stomach and heart. So if laying on your right side is less painful it could be that you're compressing the air in your stomach and the compression produces less bloat and less pain. Or possibly helps move the gas through.

But it really just sounds like you're having a problem with gastric emptying. Since you've been to a gastroenterologist, and they saw nothing, diet is all I have left. Things you mentioned, like dairy, popcorn, peanut butter, etc. These foods are not always easy on folks. Plus you have no gall bladder.

Lastly, the neck pain (especially neck or jaw) can be heart, dude. Definitely worth more diagnostics. Especially if you're doubled over in pain. That's no fun. Before Viberzzi, I got that dow below my belly button. Not fun. Viberzzi is the absolute last thing you'd want to take because it slows the gut and is not for use contraindicated in people with no/malfunctioning gall bladder.

Have you ever tried a laxative? Also a medication called Xifaxin (pronounced ZY-fax-in). It's an antibiotic.

Just some thoughts.

 

[heavyhitter]

No because I hate sauerkraut.

Maybe try kimchi?

 

[heavyhitter]

I have no gallbladder and suffer the same problems. But I actually over produce bile so bile salts would be a bad idea for me. The best combo I’ve found in 17 years of trying to fix this, treat stress, amitryptyline worked well for me and aided sleeping. Take digestive enzymes with meals. I like pure encapsulations enzymes. Betaine hcl before larger or high fat containing meals helps a lot! Avoid eating processed fats. I cant even tolerate much of olive oil since removal. Avocado oil doesn’t seem to bother me, but I get most of my fat from fattier cuts of meat which also doesn’t bother me. Limit fiber!!! I eat almost no fiber and my nearly sole carb source is jasmine rice. Digests easily and no gas. 1/4 cup of oatmeal will leave me full for 6 hours. And zinc l-carnosine. This has been the single largest contributor to my digestive wellness and is about 9 dollars for 6 months worth on Amazon

 

[pimpman]

Stop holding your farts in public and letting it build inside you

 

[headtrainer]

Do you get this on a full stomach or do you also get it on an empty stomach? It's strange that it's worse sleeping on your left side as many of your organs are on the right side (liver, gall bladder, appendix). The left side other than the stomach and heart. So if laying on your right side is less painful it could be that you're compressing the air in your stomach and the compression produces less bloat and less pain. Or possibly helps move the gas through.

But it really just sounds like you're having a problem with gastric emptying. Since you've been to a gastroenterologist, and they saw nothing, diet is all I have left. Things you mentioned, like dairy, popcorn, peanut butter, etc. These foods are not always easy on folks. Plus you have no gall bladder.

Lastly, the neck pain (especially neck or jaw) can be heart, dude. Definitely worth more diagnostics. Especially if you're doubled over in pain. That's no fun. Before Viberzzi, I got that dow below my belly button. Not fun. Viberzzi is the absolute last thing you'd want to take because it slows the gut and is not for use contraindicated in people with no/malfunctioning gall bladder.

Have you ever tried a laxative? Also a medication called Xifaxin (pronounced ZY-fax-in). It's an antibiotic.

Just some thoughts.

My uncle is a cardiologist. He checked me out and my heart is fine. The only thing off is my cholesterol levels and I told him I’m not taking a statin. My uncle thinks I’m eating too much fiber and protein. I have not tried the antibiotic but that’s an idea. I take miralax almost every morning. I didn’t have this problem until my gallbladder went bad.