
Ask HN: Did anyone beat stomach bloating? - aryamaan
I have been suffering from bloating for years. Endoscopy, colonoscopy, and various tests were in vain.<p>Just want to check is someone got rid of it.
======
noobermin
I love the community aspect of HN and all, but see a doctor? I know you said
tests were in vain but perhaps get a second opinion? This might not be the
place to ask for medical advice.

It really is hard to say without knowing more about how you deal with doctors,
but hound the doctors, don't leave until they have an explanation or until
they refer you to someone who might. Getting expensive tests and having no
explanation sounds like a _failure_ on their part. Doctors are in a rush to
get you out of there so you have to stick with them until you get what you
want.

------
Khelavaster
People--including Amish and Mennonites--fly from across America to central
Indiana to visit Dr. Whitman in Brazil, Indiana. An extremely talented
diagnostic allopathic herbalist and chiropractor. He'll couch some of his
advice in naturopathic voodoo but it's always spot-on, from the dozen or so
acquaintances who've visited him. Is it fungal infection? Overactive
antiparasite/antifungal th-2 immune system? Overactive antibacterial system?
Chronic wheat exposure (or dairy exposure)? Were you taking SSRIs for a long
time to compound the trouble? Did you go for years at a time without truly
resting night after night?

He literally looks at you, studies you, does a detailed 15-minute instrumented
metabolic panel, and interprets the results to figure out how your body's
excessively stimulated or understimulated.

Dr. Whitman's missing some understanding about amino acid metabolism, but
otherwise he's better than I've ever seen from a medical practitioner.

It's absolutely worth the trip.

[http://whitmancenter.com](http://whitmancenter.com)

------
webology
I had good luck with a low carb (in my case Keto diet). Definitely check with
your doc (or another doc) but you might try removing wheat and some dairy and
seeing how you feel. I used to get stomach bloat and an upset stomaches but
after starting Keto, I have been stomach issue freeing going on 4+ months. I'd
start with a food diary and noting how you feel physically and energy wise
after every meal since a doctor is going to ask for that anyways. It might
help you spot some trends. The MyFirstnessPal app (free version) does a pretty
good job of making this easy btw. Good luck!

------
DrScump
Celiac? Chron's Disease?

If they can identify a specific microbiome defect, fecal transplant may be the
answer.

------
basicplus2
Try not eating anything with wheat in it.

Go to a bakery and take a good look at everything in it, thats what you avoid
eating, oh and pasta.

Eat LOTS of vegies and meat and eat short grain rice (low GI) for carbs, and
some potatoes.

See if this works over a month or two.

If this doesnt work then cut out cows milk.

Both if these were my problem

------
Mz
I haven't gotten rid of my belly bloat, but it is vastly better. I used to
look like six months pregnant. Now, I just look kind of pot bellied.

Some random thoughts that may or may not help you:

The single biggest breakthrough for me with the belly bloat was eating hot
peppers combined with walking. I had habanero for a few days to do a "loading
dose," then maintained my capsaicin levels with less extreme peppers. Since
then, I include hot peppers in my diet pretty regularly.

I find that the biggest effect is hot peppers plus a _lot_ of walking. When I
started on doing the hot pepper thing, I added extra walking to my regimen. I
already did a lot of walking because I live without a car. But, I added like a
four hour walk every Saturday in addition. I have gone through periods where I
have done just hours and hours of walking a day.

Capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot peppers, activates a channel in the
cell membrane ("wall" makes more sense to me, but we only call it that if we
are talking about plants) and it dumps fluids.

I ate a lot of watermelon. For about two years, I had watermelon something
like six days a week. Watermelon is excellent kidney support.

I consumed Celtic sea salt and later moved to a coastal area and went to the
beach regularly. It has been a few years since I bought Celtic because I am
healthier now. But I still prefer sea salt, kosher salt or canning and
pickling salt. "Table salt" is something my sons and I refer to as "industrial
salt." If we buy it, it is not for consumption as food but for use as a non-
toxic cleaner. We think the stuff is essentially inedible, in part because of
the chemical fillers added solely for the purpose of making it more pourable.

Celtic brand sea salt is a high brine sea salt. It has more than just sodium
chloride in it. It contains a variety of micronutrients. The body uses
nutrients with other things to make building blocks and tools it needs to run
the organic machinery we know as our body. If you are salt deficient, you are
likely deficient in a bunch of different things. These things go hand in hand.
Salt is important to gut function because your gut is lined with mucus. Salt
is a major component of mucus.

I began keeping a food journal and got super picky about the oils I eat. My
condition causes me to misprocess oils and this has a lot of consequences. I
try to mostly stick to butter, coconut oil, and animal fats (like bacon -- I
love bacon) (and I might be missing one on my "safe" list -- this is being
written off the cuff and is not intended as comprehensive). I do my damnedest
to avoid peanut oil and I try to avoid some other things. But peanut oil just
messes me up big time.

For me, the trifecta for healing my gut is consuming aloe vera, coconut oil
and Celtic sea salt in the same hour, whether as supplements or as part of my
diet. Please note they all strongly promote diarrhea. You should start a food
journal and try one new thing each week or two to get some idea of what it is
doing to you. Absolutely do not start with taking some large dose of coconut
oil (like a tablespoon) plus this other stuff as the first thing you try. You
will regret it and you may be crapping your pants over it.

Now that I have recently moved back to a coastal area, I have hopes that I
might eventually get rid of my belly bloat. It is already better and I have
only been here 6 or 7 weeks.

/"flake" that no one believes. Do with that info what you will.

I have a genetic disorder. I have done a lot of research. I have a food blog
where I talk about what I eat and why. It doesn't update on a regular
schedule. I can point you to it if you want (or you can check my profile and
probably readily find it).

