Noisy Abdomen (Page 37)

wow, that's a great find pix. I may just have to get one. Thanks pix...

Yeah, that is a great idea... I will have to look into that! Also side note.. I know some people have mentioned that the noises at night are worse when they lay on their left side... I have noticed this lately too that I can wake up with no noises, but I roll over onto my left side and they begin.

My mom had a broken radio receiver for cops in our room...she would turn up the squelch at night so we wouldn't be awakened or hear the TV or be awakened by jets flying in for landing it the air force base behind our house. It worked, but now I usually can't sleep without some back ground noise.

That is really weird about the left and right sides and not being able to hear it as well on one side. Do you think that maybe your hearing isn't as good on one side?

hya there mominashoe,

Although that was one of the funniest things I've read in a while - think coheed was referring to where the stomach noises emanate from!!

those white noise machines sound good *b dum*. I know I know..
you could drive colleagues nuts though! I'd like to believe the conversation could go a little like this:

them: "do you hear that?"
you: "hear what?"
them: "that!"
you (flippant): "I think there's something wrong with you."
them: "huh? how's that?"
you: "have you been feeling drowsy at all? any nausea?"
them: "no, no - but don't you hear th-"
you: "...the *noise*, yes, you mentioned that already.."
them (unbalanced now): "well, I did have a pretty bad cold there..."
you (disparaging): "really? that could be bad..."
them: "why, what do you mean?"
you: "they say that some people get tinnitus after a cold..."
them: "really? wow - my dad has tinnitus."
you: "you still hear that *noise*?"
them: "I gotta go!"
after watching them leave quickly, you then walk over and unplug the white (pink apparently) noise machine - merely for dramatic effect.

Woo! I'm too tired for this.. night everyone!

LOL my bad!! I guess I should have gone to the OP....I didn't realize this topic was this many pages. Silly me.

Over the last few days I've been drinking a lot of Orange Juice - and for some reason I feel great! Coincidence I suppose.. but got me thinking about the diet thing again..

I think we should all write out exectly what we eat over the course of say 2 weeks or something. ie, in 14 days, report back here with everything that has been eaten. Then we can compare if there is a certain trigger food - or possibly some foodsource that we are not eating that we may need for our acid/base balance etc.

Any thoughts on this? With a good few of us doing it, we might get some kind of trend. A long shot perhaps - but at least it might be another thing that we could rule out.

Haha, thankyou for the response Mominashoe, but I was a bit confused as to what you meant! haha, yeah, it's more that I can FEEL them on the left side.. I guess I should clarify as well lol.

Irishlad, I think that's a great idea..... hard to do though, but worth a try. Remind me to start on Monday....

i cant belive this is so common!

ok so i got mono in the begining of january 08 and the doctor said it would effect me in all kinds of ways, but this by far has lasted longer that anything else, i get thesse noise in my lower lower intestines that sound like my stomach is groweling but not really it almost feels like contractions or something strange! im going to see a doctor about it because its lasted for weeks now but i have a question! do i have ato get a collonoschafy? (i know thats mispelled lol) but im really nervous but i dont want one but i cant endure this much longer!

No disrespect x2Cool557x but a coloscopy is a very important examination for ruling out certain bowel problems and even though yours thankfully came back clear it doesn't mean someone else will get the same result. I wouldn't be here today if i had 'not bothered' with it.

livjames, just to put your mind at rest-they are very quick and painless. It's not a comfortable procedure and it is embarrasing to go through but they've seen it all before and if your doctor recommends you get one it's very important that you do. It's only natural to be nervous about it but there's really no need.

hey, hows everyone doing? seems a bit wuiet around here lately. ive been ill and away for a little while so my diet and supp;imnts have gone right out the window. starting again today. any one having any luck with anything?

thanks yall ill think about it, i went to go see a nutricionest a couple days ago and she is helping me staightn things out and i thnk so far it helping! but we will just have to see, im just now starting to get back to church because thats where the noises were the worst but i was so nervous i was coming up with ideas why i could get up and leave but i stayed and was fine! hows everyone else?

Hi all,

It's gone very quiet around here, think we've git a bit of a wall!!

Livjames-i'd be really grateful if you could let me know what the nutritionist said to you. I've always thought about going to see one but was never quite sure how they'd help. Glad you're feeling better.

HW-sorry to hear you've not been well xx

ok pix yea i so recomend going to see the neutricionest its a big help like aparently i have had too much dairy because that slows down your digestive system and that can mess things up so lay off that for a while and eat tones of fruit and protein and lay off carbs but you should deff check out seeing one

I agree with Pix, Livjames. I've also had all the regular physical tests done (colonoscopy, endoscopy...even a capsule study), and none of them showed anything abnormal...so, for most of us, those tests were not very helpful. BUT there are a host of disorders of which these sounds might be a symptom that are detectable via those tests. Some of those disorders are pretty serious. You should err on the side of caution and get whatever tests done that your GI doc thinks are appropriate. The tests aren't all that horrible, and you're better off safe than sorry.

any mention of an acid imbalance or anything like that? I still think that *that* and/or some allergic thing is possibly causing it. Otherwise all quiet on the western front over here!

ha - yeh right!

speaking of which - dinner time!

Hello All,

I agree with Pix, you should go get tested just to rule out a serious condition.

Anyway, I'm still on the PH Balance route. I'm also trying to heal my stomach lining, because I was diagnosed with gastritis when I had my test done. I also carry PH strips in my purse and monitor my levels at least 3 times a day. Let me tell you all, it does fluctuate.

Well, I have been taking DGL, Georges Aloe Vera Juice, L-Glutamine, Slippery Elm, and of course probotics. I have not seen a huge relief yet, because I know these herbs will take time. I have good and bad days.

I was looking online for sound proof devices, and I noticed different insulation type devices that you place inside walls, doors, etc, to block out noises. Anyway, I was thinking about purchasing some and wrapping it around my stomach, until I find a solution. Yeah, I know it sound crazy, but the noises are embarrassing.

Wow. You have no idea how happy I am to find this place!! I thought I was alone in my situation! I can totally relate with all of you guys! There were so many posts that I read and it was like I was reading a story from myself that I didn't know I posted! Seriously! Your experiences and anxieties are spot on with mine.

My story goes like this:

I served as a missionary for my church for two years in South Korea. Never before in my entire life did I have anything like this. Before going to Korea I went to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. There I had to learn the basics of Korean and how to teach the gospel in Korean. As practice, we would teach in Korean to strangers who volunteered to listen. These teaching episodes really stressed me out, and I began to notice that my bowels/stomach were reacting to the increase of stress.

When I finally got to Korea and in the "real world," lessons with people were next to unbearable. Even though I couldn't speak Korean and thus, didn't have much responsibility or have to contribute much in the lesson, I was still stressed out. I remember this one lesson (by lesson I mean meeting with someone who is interested in learning more about the church and talking about it) I was in and out of the bathroom five times. Luckily, as a missionary, you have a "companion" who you live with/teach with/travel with, etc. who could keep teaching as I was on the can.

The condition began to get worse and worse. I wasn't really scared that it would happen, but it was definitely uncomfortable and it did happen a lot. I became scared of it happening later on... I was at a large meeting with other missionaries listening to some speakers after we had a big lunch. I was really stressed that I might get called to get up and say something in front of them. I felt pressure in my stomach start to build, and then subside, then come back bigger, then subside. Finally it got so big and growled LOUD and LONG!!! It was the worst I'd ever experienced in my life!! People in the front row looked around (some laughed) and everyone around me gazed at me. I played it cool, and a minute later slipped out to the bathroom, but I was soooo mortified. I asked a friend who was sitting a few people away from me if he'd heard it. Not only did he hear it, but he felt the bench shake. He said he "thought it was an elephant dying." LOL!! I can laugh now, but then it was horrible! I think that was the pinnacle moment when the whole thing became a phobia.

So now, here I am in college and I've missed quite a few classes because of the fear of this happening in class. It's really sad, really sad. I've seen the doctor and had blood tests (this isn't a parasite from overseas he says) and I've changed my diet quite a bit, but still, it'll happen here and there. The second most tramatic experience was I was at the theatre and there was a really pretty girl from one of my classes. I said hi, we started talking, i sat beside her for the show and sure enough, I was sooooooo scared that my stomach would make noises (it was a small quiet, drama theatre) finally it did, and it was really loud. She looked and me and kinda chuckled, but I was so embarassed. Everyone else would have heard it too because it was so small and so quiet right when it happened. I'm surprised the actors didn't burst out laughing!!

So then I had to watch a SECOND play and right a review on it as an assignment for the drama class. Before I went I was horrified. I was so scared of it happening all over again like it did with the gorgeous girl beside me. Even walking to the building, as I approached it, it was like in slow motion and really depressing, like I was about to be incarcerated in this tiny theatre. I sat at he very back in the middle, with the aisle right in front of me so I could stretch my legs and be comfortable. I took my jacket in this time (passed the coat check) and wrapped it around my waste to stifle some noise in case it happened. As I was sitting there waiting for the play to begin, I was feeling nervous, but not bad becuase people were coming in and they were talking and stuff. But then the lights dimmed and I just thought to myself "Oh God..." As expected, the noises came. They were loud, like when all the water in the toilet has just been flushed and it makes this rapid sucking noise. That's what my stomach was doing. Luckily the play was loud too and my coat helped, but my heart was pounding and my legs were literally shaking. I had to pass gas (padded seats, thankfully! and there was some big guy beside me so he can take the blame) A LOT. Finally intermission came and I left. Watching another hour and a half of it would have been pure torture! I felt so free when I ran from the building and all the anxiety/discomfort instantly disappeared.

I too can ~feel~ it in my stomach sometimes, like when it gurgles, I can feel it bubbling on my left side like some of you have mentioned.

Finally, I've been thinking about some of the stuff I learned in Psych 110, about self-fulfilled prophecy, biofeedback, situational anxiety, that sorta thing... I think 90% of this is all in the head, but its so hard to overcome! I realize that I get really scared in places that it has happened before, and am fine in places that it doesn't or hasn't happened. Example: It's never made any noise during Physics, and so for the first 10, 15 minutes of physics I freak out and am uncomfortable, but I remind myself its never happened before, and I'm fine. In Psych class, the room is a HUGE hall and so it would be harder to hear noises (plus the prof speaks through a mic/stereo system) and i've never had a problem with it then. But in Drama class, which is my smallest class, its the worst for being scared and anxious, and consequently I've skipped lots of classes to avoid it.

Really weird/frustrating, whatever it is!

just a quick reply to say that your embarassing stories are exactly the same as mine! and i expect you have some more - because I certainly do

but anyway, just to say - im 26 now - and out of college over a year or so - and things get easier. I know we haven't found a 'cure' - but as time goes on you start to come to terms with it and your better able to work around it. Well that's what I have found.

growlgurl - i wouldnt recommend getting that anti-noise device you came up with because - would it not make things worse in the long run - from reliance and all that? what if you forgot it one day or whatever - suddenly you might accidently become dependent on having that insulation stuff - and then what after that?!

i know we are all embarassed - but its in our heads a lot of the time. we need to be strong and say 'nuts to it' and try not to let it alter our lives as much as possible - and even take any positives if we can.

come up with tasks for instance that you know will find daunting. try going to the cinema by yourself and sit by yourself. that way you *know* you can leave if you have to - but at least you are there - and the more you go the more comfortable you might feel with it - and then to be there with friends. my area for this is quiet book shops. il often go in and read - and if someone stays beside me i try to avoid walking off - because that would be giving in - and so I stay. And if my stomach makes noise - so what?? I don't know those people. And the thing is that my stomach nearly always will NOT make noise and when you do leave - you get a feeling of elation! and the next time is easier.

I would urge everyone to keep positive!!!

think of all the times that you have heard other people make noise - i do - did i ever think 'oh my god - that person is disgusting'??! no - nothing even near. people do not give it a moments thought.

so gurgleguy - the stories that you and i have - I am positive that it is only us that will remember/dwell on them.

its looking more and more likely that a quick-fix is out of sight - so we need to stay positive on this!!

def keep looking at the diet though. I'll suggest it again because I think only coheed replied but I think we should all write down what we eat over a 2 week period. it will only work if everyone does it though - theres no point in only one or two. then we can examine any common foods - or more likely common ingredients. and as well - we might notice a food-group that that we are all lacking in - which could be a factor in the acid/base stuff.

anyway, talk to ye later.

Oh my goodness, Gurgleguy, hearing your story made me cringe. mostly because it was like relieving some of my worst moments as well. I had a noise once, in a LARGE stadium class, that made two guys sitting three frows in front of me turn around and look. And during my freshman year in a Bio class, my stomach had a squeal that was.. what felt like a minute long. I just sketched in the bubbles, and ran. Needless to say, i did not do very well in that class in the long run... But, I have gotten better.. ish.

Like you said, the feelling of the noise in the left side, being able to feel it.. that's my worst. I loathe that. Because it makes it so real to me. I hate it. And lately the noises, I can hear and feel even while i'm standing. And loudly..

I feel like giving up, because I don't know what else to do. But.. all in all, I guess I have gotten better. Would it be absurd to think that maybe we just all have some kind of gas problem? Or I suppose there's something that's causing it.. but that seems to be the most obvious and common discomfort. The gas and the noise. Combined, why is there no solution yet?

Best of luck to everyone, Irishlad, glad to see you're so positive about this! It's uplifting.