Seriously bloated from too much fiber-help!

[Shoshannah]

I discovered crunchy sprouts (mix of adzuki, mung, red lentils, peas, and green lentil sprouts) and bought three 6-oz tubs from my organic co-op.

I fell in love with them and ate them all in two days. I guess the fiber was too much for me and now I am seriously bloated and in quite a bit of discomfort. I honestly look like I am at least five months pregnant.....I need to release some gas (which I am not currently doing) and really have a cleansing BM (which I am also not doing).

I tried resting with a heating pad over my abdomen to accelerate the gas molecules and help them pass, but no luck. I tried walking and exercise but I am seriously in a lot of discomfort and it didn't seem to help.

What else can I do to reduce the bloating and move my bowels along? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Veganforlife]

Drink a good bit of water and get up and move. It'll "pass".

[livenraw]

Drink a good bit of water and get up and move. It'll "pass".

What she said!

The one thing I have learned - if you're not used to eating a lot of sprouted grains or fiber, then you have to add those two things in slowly - otherwise, it will cause bloating & discomfort. I don't like looking like I'm pregnant, either.

[Shoshannah]

Man, I am not kidding you.... this is terrible! My lower right side feels as if there is a huge gas bubble trapped solid in there. I was concerned that it may be appendicitis but I have ruled that out (I think). Dang I want some relief and I want it NOW.

I have never been like this before. As my husband will tell you, usually I have no problem passing gas, LOL!

Lesson learned.... go easy on sprouts and drink a ton of water with them.

Heehee, my husband just told me to go stare at a picture of his ex-wife. That usually brings out a "gut" response in him :D

[Veganforlife]

How about putting a hot water bottle on your abdomen. Also grapefruit helps one "move" what's inside...

[Shoshannah]

How about putting a hot water bottle on your abdomen. Also grapefruit helps one "move" what's inside...

Okay.... I will spend the next hour laying on the bed with a hot water bottle on my gut, a grapefruit in my mouth, a huge glass of water in one hand, and a picture of the horrible ex-wife in the other hand to stare at.... if that doesn't move me, I may consider a firecracker.:eek:

[eat~to~live]

Ha, You are so funny! I hope you feel better soon, and thanks for the heads up, I have a bunch of sprouts too!:D

[askcassyfirst]

You can also try taking digestive enzymes to assist with the cellulose digestion, and also try taking an EFA supplement like flax oil to lubricate the bowel. When in doubt, you might also try colon hydrotherapy...

Cassy

[smarison]

while lying down do so on your left side.

[eatyourbroccoli]

oh man thats awful, im sorry :( what about the position that toddlers do when they fall asleep after eating...sit on your knees, put your face down on the floor and your rear up in the air? a good 10-20 mins of that should help the gas part a bit. massage it, too..youll feel your colon distended. the heat is great also

worse comes to worst, cascara sagrada tea/capsules

[Carol K]

Digestive enzymes absolutely. I have had some major problems in the past with bloating from indigestion. Recently, since going raw, I have done some of the same as you. The one very big thing that really helped is opening the capsules of the enzymes and mixing them in a small amount of warm water. I would open two or three capsules. Drink that and follow with a bit more water. Digesting the capsules on top of everything else just adds more stress. You should be able to actually feel changes in your gut within 30 minutes. I could actually feel stuff "moving". After 30 minutes, you can take more till you feel relief. Works wonders.

[Davylp25]

Also cucumbers juiced help as well.... * just me lil 2 cents*

[bodaflower]

I was reading the Sunfood Diet Success System earlier while I had my salad and he recommended squeezing the juice of one lemon into a liter of water with some sea salt, drink it in the morning and it should help move things along :)

[Solace]

ME too, It comes and goes, i drink chamomile tea with honey but am thinking of taking probiotics as well. I am taking enzymes but i don't find they help much:confused: :D

[Shoshannah]

Thanks for all the replies! Unfortunately, nothing seems to help, so I tried something rather unconventional....slapping my gut with an open hand pretty hard repeatedly. I actually felt a lot of gas moving when I did that, so I had a pretty fun time beating myself up for a little while. My daughters thought I was nuts and that I had truly lost it. Then when I started releasing the gas, they all ran and scattered liked frantic jack rabbits, hee hee!

But..the bloating continues. It has been two days since my original post and I am still quite uncomfortable, especially on my right side. If feels as if there is trapped gas or BM or whatever that is stuck and refusing to release. I have only had a couple of small BM's in the past two days, so at least I know my bowels are not shutting down completely.

However, I ate half of a small watermelon last night and my stomach literally swelled up in front of my eyes and my husband thought for sure I was pregnant...with quadruplets! I was in such discomfort that I thought I was in labor with quadruplets.

I need a good cleansing, but I have never done any colonics or Master Cleanse or anything like that. I am up for anything at this point- any recommendations for a good cleansing program?

[garden granny]

You could try an enema with warm purified water, I'm pretty sure that will help.:)

[Veganforlife]

gg - that was exactly what I was thinking...

[Little Mango]

Squatting and standing really gets things moving!!!

[Shoshannah]

You could try an enema with warm purified water, I'm pretty sure that will help.:)

Yep... I hate enemas but I think I need a little help here. Off to the drugstore I go.

Wish me luck :rolleyes:

[Sleek98]

I would just start fasting, adding more food to an already upset, inflammed stomach is just going to prolong things. Just water when you need it and you should be fine I hope the next day or two!
I'm sorry, that's happened to me before. ((hugs))

[Sunshine9]

also just for the future... it was probably the bean sprouts NOT the fiber that caused the bloating

i've gotten gas like you're talking about. I hope you find relief! for me rebounding, lots of water, & laxative tea always helped.

[belleadonna]

My advice is to go someplace where passing gas would be absolutely frowned upon, like church or the library, and guarenteed, you will let one fly!! ;)

[jaurequi]

I like what askcassyfirst mentioned and bodaflower's suggestions makes sense.

But, I have found that a bit of apple cider vinegar in water about 20-30 minutes before I eat keeps me from bloating. (Perhaps afterwards as well?)

Drinking Peppermint; ginger; anise; fennel (or chewing on a few kernels); teas/infusions also prevent it; you should drink before and after meals.

Also, the pummeling of your stomach reminds me of a technique that is used by new mothers to relieve babies' gas: gently, like playing a piano, sort of press with your fingers around and just below the belly button area. This works for adults too :).

Best,

[bodaflower]

You could try an enema with warm purified water, I'm pretty sure that will help.:)

be sure to check out my water thread! :)

[JAusten]

Shoshannah- Well???????????? The entire site is waiting with bated breath.

[Shoshannah]

Hee hee... here is my much anticipated update.

I wimped out on the enema. I despise them and couldn't bring myself to actually do it. However, I remember in the past having to take a laxative fizzy drink (before a medical procedure) that contained Magnesium Citrate and it worked quite well back then.

I bought the lovely grape flavored drink which is quite high in salt and other very non-raw ingredients and gagged it down. Man, was it salty and highly impalatable, but I figured it was better than an enema, in my somewhat demented opinion and desperate state of mind.

Within 30 minutes I had "results" and continued to have "results" for the rest of the day. My tummy is flatter and all of the discomfort is gone. I am a happy camper once again, although I hate the fact that I had to abuse my body with a heavy salt-laden laxative in order to achieve it.

Now I am determined not to let myself get in this predicament again. I am learning more about food combining principles and I am also thinking about probiotics to really balance out my intestines and hopefully improve my digestion overall.

I have come full circle with this and have learned a lot.... bean sprouts are good in moderation, but don't make a meal (or two or three) out of them.

I shall henceforth be known as the poster child for the "Bloating Dilemma" and whenever your tummy swells to disastrous proportions and you are unable to release your pent-up contents, think of me fondly. :)

[bodaflower]

why don't you like enemas :eek:


i am glad you are feeling better :)

[Shoshannah]

why don't you like enemas :eek:


Because they feel awful :(

[Eva]

Man, I wish I had seen this before just now! I am the queen of bloating and the like (at least I used to be). What I would do, which always helped enough to be a relief, was the following:

-Drink chamomile or a detox tea that was very watered down (we're talking 5+ cups)
**And... Lay on my back in bed. Have my husband bring my feet forward (which would bend my knees) as far as they would go to my face. It looks like doing good crunches. He would literally do it quickly and forcefully over and over for 10-20 minutes. At first it is just weird, but after enough time, huge amounts of gas come out, then shortly after (a few hours or the next morning) I would also have a healthy bowel movement. Like clockwork. The cause was apparently either bad food combining or meat and the like. We don't have to do that anymore! (Well, except when I slip off raw big time here and there)

[Shoshannah]

Thanks for your suggestion, Eva. I may keep that in mind for next time.

I am still bloating off and on, but now I think I know that I am consuming too many Goji berries and it may not be agreeing with me. I am laying off of them for a while and sticking with green smoothies and fruit.... I know I do well on those.

Anyway, I am glad that you are the Queen of Bloating... I am the poster child of Bloating... perhaps someone else would like to be dubbed as the Duke/Duchess of Flatulence? Or maybe the Earl of Gasland?

[Davylp25]

Dr Christopher's Herbal Lower Bowel Balance... Amazing stuff!:D

[Leiloshka]

Okay, I've read this thread and others. I bloat off and on all the time. I feel like I'm pregnant and right now I'm so bloated I can't even suck my stomach in where it even looks skinny then. UGH!

So, I've been really watching what I eat because I have an event this Sat. and I can't afford to feel bloated much less look bloated! But, for lunch I had Alissa's collard wraps with summer squash, brocolli, mushrooms and onions and now I'm bloated. I've been reading the 80/10/10 raw book about mostly fruit. Maybe I'll try that through Sat.

Anything I can take each day to stop this? Probiotics seems to be a suggestion. I guess for now I'll have some Smooth Move tea. Whatever. The results have gotta be better than what I've got going on now.....