Why Is My Stomach Bloated

What Are The Other Side Effects Of Drinking Alcohol

Beyond bloating, make sure you remember alcohol should be consumed in moderation. Drinking too much alcohol can damage your body.

It can cause brain and liver damage, and it increases your risk of cancers as well as your risk of death from car crashes, injuries, homicides, and suicide. If youre pregnant, drinking alcohol can harm your baby.

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What Is The Treatment For Ibs

There is no cure for IBS, but there are things you can do to feel better. Treatment may include:

• Changing your diet

Your doctor may give you medicine to help with symptoms:

• Fiber supplements such as psyllium to help control constipation.
• Anti-diarrheal medications, such as loperamide , to help control diarrhea.
• Antispasmodic agents such as peppermint oil or dicyclomine to slow contractions in the bowel, which may help with diarrhea and pain.
• Antidepressant medications such as a tricylcic antidepressant or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor if symptoms include pain or depression.
• IBS medication. A medication known as Lubiprostone is approved by the FDA for women with severe IBS-C .

Take your medicine exactly as your doctor tells you to. All drugs have side effects and may affect people differently. Tell your doctor about any over-the-counter medicines you take.

What Causes Excess Gas

Many people who feel as though they have excess gas may have increased levels or just an increased sensitivity to it in the gastrointestinal tract. Passing gas, bloating, burping, and belly pain and discomfort are common sensations in those who feel like they have excess gas. Excess gas and bloating after eating may be due to a variety of conditions. Health problems including small intestinal bacterial overgrowth , gastroesophageal reflux disease , irritable bowel syndrome , and difficulty digesting certain types of carbohydrates may all contribute to gas build up. Other conditions like abdominal hernias, masses in the GI tract, abdominal adhesions, and dumping syndrome can affect the way gas moves through the intestines.

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Is Your Bloated Belly A Sign Of Something Else

Tummy bloating is usually a harmless annoyance we experience from time to time. And the good news is, its usually short-lived.

For example, if its caused by your guts intolerance for gluten, removing wheat from your meals can often put a stop to bloating and gas after eating.

If your stomach is always bloated or its accompanied with other symptoms, its worth seeking guidance from your GP.

Can Having Worms Make A Cat Sick

More serious cases in felines can produce signs of worms such as weight loss, poor coat, weakness, excessive hunger, loss of energy and diarrhoea and sickness. A cat with worms may eat more than usual, but still lose weight and where the diarrhoea is severe it can cause the cats bottom to become sore.

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Warning Signs And Symptoms

Weight loss is one of the main warning signs for serious bloating. If you find yourself losing more than a few pounds without changing your diet or starting a new exercise regimen, that should be cause for concern, especially if its 10 percent or more of your body weight. Weight loss can be caused by tumors that press on the intestines, making you feel full after just a small amount of food, or from substances secreted by tumors that suppress your appetite.

Ascites is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen or pelvis. It can cause bloating, weight gain, and a rapidly expanding waistline. Ascites is usually caused by liver disease, but cancer is the culprit about 10 percent of the time. A large amount of fluid can make you look and feel like youre several months pregnant. The combination of bloating and jaundice, which turns the eyes and skin yellow, can be a sign of cancer thats spread to the liver, although it can also occur with more benign forms of liver disease like hepatitis.

Blood in your stool, vaginal bleeding in between periods, or postmenopausal vaginal bleeding can all be associated with serious bloating. Fortunately, the most common causes of these symptoms arent the most serious, but bleeding should always be evaluated because it can be a sign of cancer, particularly colon or uterine cancer.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth

The stomach and intestines are home to a variety of bacteria, many of which help the body digest food. Disturbing the balance of these bacteria can lead to an increase in harmful bacteria present in the small intestine. This is known as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or SIBO.

SIBO can cause bloating, frequent diarrhea, and may lead to difficulties digesting food and absorbing nutrients. For some people, SIBO can lead to osteoporosis or unintentional weight loss.

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Get More Active Every Day

Exercise helps your body move stool and gas out of the colon and may make bowel movements more regular. Exercise also releases extra sodium from the body through sweating, which can help to relieve water retention.

It is vital to drink plenty of water before and after exercising to stay hydrated, as dehydration can make constipation worse.

How To Stop Stomach Bloating

REMOVE: Food sensitivities and infections/bad bacteria

REPLACE: HCL, enzymes, bile

REPAIR: Glutatmine, zinc, omega-3, quercetin, marshmallow, aloe

REBALANCE: Manage stress, sleep, exercise

If you are interested in a more personalized approach to help you get to the root of your problem, schedule a 15 minute free consult with Toni.

Meet Toni

Toni is a wife, a mom to three amazing and very active boys, a wellness warrior who lives with and successfully manages three autoimmune diseases and an ultra passionate Family Nurse Practitioner certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine. Her dream has always been to reach the masses with this root-cause, personalized medicine that saved her life.

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How Common Is Stomach Bloating

Between 10% and 25% of otherwise healthy people complain of occasional abdominal bloating. As many as 75% describe their symptoms as moderate to severe. About 10% say they experience it regularly. Among those diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome , it may be as much as 90%. Up to 75% of women experience bloating before and during their period. Only 50% of people who experience bloating also report a distended abdomen.

When To Make An Appointment To See Your Doctor

Schedule an appointment to see your doctor if:

• Your stomach pain doesnt go away within a couple of days.
• The pain comes back after going away.
• Symptoms like diarrhea dont go away within a couple of days.
• Youre urinating more or less often, and/or its painful.
• You have unintended weight loss.

Know your body, Dr. Kingsley says. If you start having pain that you have not had before and does not go away, you should contact your doctor to be evaluated further.

Bottom line: Trust your gut! Contact your doctor if youre concerned about lingering or unusual stomach pain.

National Health Service, Stomach Ache

National Health Service Inform, Stomach Ache and Abdominal Pain

U.S. National Library of Medicine, Abdominal Pain

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How To Prevent Bloating

Typically, the first line of treatment for preventing gas and bloating is changing your diet. Research has shown that a low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols diet can reduce the symptoms of gas and IBS. A low FODMAP diet avoids fermentable, gas-producing food ingredients, such as:

• Oligosaccharides, which are found in wheat, onions, garlic, legumes and beans
• Disaccharides, such as lactose in milk, yogurt and ice cream
• Monosaccharides, including fructose , apples and pears
• Polyols or sugar alcohols found in foods such as apricots, nectarines, plums and cauliflower, as well as many chewing gums and candies

In people sensitive to FODMAP-rich foods, the small intestine doesn’t always fully absorb these carbohydrates, and instead passes them to the colon, where they are fermented by bacteria and produce gas. To see if some of the FODMAP foods are causing your gas and bloating you can start by cutting out FODMAP foods and then slowly bringing them back into your diet one at a time to pinpoint any foods that are causing the problems.

In the long run, the key to preventing bloating is understanding its cause. If mild constipation is the problem, a fiber-rich diet, water and exercise may help, but these steps wont always work for chronic constipation. Chronic constipation and other conditions, such as IBS or gastroparesis, require medical treatment, so its important to talk to your doctor about your bloating symptoms.

Wheres Your Abdominal Bloating And Pain

Pain in different areas of the abdomen can mean different things.

Abdominal pain can be anywhere between the chest and the pelvis. People often call it a stomachache. The pain can also be:

• cramp-like
• dull
• sharp

Causes of abdominal bloating and pain can vary from mild to severe. Most of the time, abdominal bloating and pain occur due to:

• overeating
• stress
• indigestion

This kind of bloating or pain is usually normal and will go away within two hours.

In cases of the stomach flu, you may feel intense pain or bloating that comes and goes before each episode of vomiting or diarrhea. Stomach viruses usually go away with rest and home care.

This guide lists the organs associated with different locations of abdominal bloating or pain:

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Eating More Calories Than Usual

Lets face it. When youre off your schedule, sometimes the most interesting thing you can do is bake. But consuming excess calories especially those found in cookies, cakes and bread can pack on the pounds and cause your belly to bloat.

If cooking is your jam while sheltering in place, reserve high-calorie recipes for special occasions, or cut it back to one meal a week.

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Right Side Of The Abdomen

Upper right:

The upper right side of your abdomen contains the gallbladder, liver, and first part of the small intestine.

The gallbladder is a small sac that stores bile made by the liver. The duodenum, known as the first portion of the small intestine, is where food empties from the stomach into the small intestine.

Center right:

The center right side of the abdomen contains the ascending colon and the transverse colon. Food then passes from the ascending colon to the transverse colon.

Lower right:

The cecum of the large intestine with the appendix and the small intestine are in the lower right side of the abdomen. The cecum is the first part of the large intestine that the end of the small intestine connects to.

Some experts believe the appendix plays a role in the immune system. Others think it has no purpose.

If your doctor performs a physical exam and then suspects a medical condition is causing your abdominal bloating or pain, theyll run various medical tests.

The types of tests they order will depend on your medical history and physical exam results.

Some common tests for abdominal problems include the following:

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Bloating : Why You Feel Bloated

Bloating, gassiness, and abdominal discomfort arenât limited to the occasional holiday feast. One in 10 Americans say they suffer from bloating regularly, even when they havenât eaten a large meal. In some cases, bloating can become severe enough that it causes distention, or a perceptible swelling of the abdomen. Bloating and gas are usually tied to what and how you eat, so a few simple changes may help.

What Causes Bloating In The Stomach

Gas

Gas is a natural byproduct of digestion, but too much intestinal gas means your digestion is gone awry. While you can ingest gasses by swallowing air or drinking carbonated beverages, these gasses mostly escape through belching before they reach your intestines. Gasses in your intestines are mostly produced by gut bacteria digesting carbohydrates, in a process called fermentation.

If theres too much fermentation going on, its because too many carbohydrates werent naturally absorbed earlier in the digestive process, before reaching those gut bacteria. That could be for several reasons. Maybe you just ate too much too fast for proper digestion. Or you might have a specific food intolerance or gastrointestinal disease. Some possible causes include:

Digestive Contents

These can include solids, liquids, and gas. Digestive contents can build up in your digestive system when there is a backup or restriction in your digestive tract or when the muscles that move digestive contents along are somehow impaired. Any build-up of digestive contents along the digestive tract will leave less room for normal amounts of gas to process through. It also leaves less room for other things in your abdomen, including circulatory fluids and fat, making everything feel tighter. Causes of build-up can include:

Hormones

Other Causes

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Whats The Best Treatment For A Bloated Stomach

Your treatment will depend on whats causing your bloating. There are lots of things you can try at home to get rid of trapped wind including changing your diet to limit foods that cause bloating and exercising more regularly. Read more about how to get rid of trapped wind and natural ways to beat bloating.

IBS and constipation can also also be treated at home, as long as you or a doctor are sure theres nothing else that could be causing your symptoms. For example, IBS usually gets better if you manage your stress levels and get more exercise. You can also keep a food and symptoms diary to try and work out what is triggering your IBS and then exclude those foods or drinks. This is helpful with food intolerances too.

If you have indigestion, diet changes also work well, as well as stopping smoking, not eating too close to bedtime and losing weight. Read more about ways to get rid of indigestion.

But if youre finding that even with these changes, your bloated stomach isnt getting better, you may need treatment advice from a pharmacist or a doctor. This could include medications to reduce the acid in your stomach known as antacid medicines or laxatives to help with constipation.

For more serious causes like ascites or cancers, youll likely need treatment in hospital. This may involve surgery or medication like chemotherapy.

How Can I Prevent Stomach Bloating

If your stomach bloating is caused by diet or alcohol, you can help prevent it by making some lifestyle changes. Some good general guidelines include:

If the cause of your bloated stomach is something more specific, such as specific food intolerance, perimenopause or a medical condition, you might need a little help with diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Some options include:

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A More Serious Condition Such As Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a common condition that causes abdominal pain with bloating, diarrhea or constipation. The cause of IBS is unknown, but it may be brought on by certain triggers, including:

• Bacterial infections
• Food sensitivity
• Stressful events

If you think you may have IBS, reach out to your doctor for an evaluation. Many times, lifestyle modifications and medicines can help ease symptoms. You may also try some at-home techniques to relieve your bloating.

Coeliac Disease And Bloating

Coeliac disease is a common digestive condition where your intestine cannot absorb gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.

If you have Coeliac disease, eating foods containing gluten can also trigger diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fatigue.

See your GP if you suspect you may have Coeliac disease.

There is no cure for Coeliac disease but, once the condition has been diagnosed, switching to a gluten-free diet should help.

Find out more about Coeliac disease.

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Why Is My Stomach So Big And Swollen

When your stomach swells and feels hard, the explanation might be as simple as overeating or drinking carbonated drinks, which is easy to remedy. Other causes may be more serious, such as an inflammatory bowel disease. Sometimes the accumulated gas from drinking a soda too quickly can result in a hard stomach.

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Beat Bloating In A Week

Nutritional therapist Natalie Lamb has outlined a seven day plan in order to help with bloating. Here are the seven steps:

For a more detailed outline of the seven day plan, click the link below and look into creating your own food diary.

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It Could Be An Early Warning Sign Of A Serious Condition

It’s rare compared to other reasons on this list, but bloating may signify another issue that has nothing to do with your lifestyle choices. Constant bloating that doesnt go away after your period, or new instances of bloating that are irregular, could be an early sign of ovarian cancer or colon cancer. Bloating could also signal a number of other serious gastrointestinal problems, such as a bowel blockage, ulcer or conditions like Crohns disease.

Pay attention to other symptoms that accompany your bloating, Dr. Christmas says. If you also have constipation, diarrhea, bloody stool, vomiting with blood, pelvic or abdominal pain, and abnormal uterine bleeding or vaginal discharge, changes in appetite, or start feeling full quickly, you should make an appointment with your doctor.

Any time you have any concern thats bothering you, especially if its something new, you need to be evaluated, she says.