Annoying gas situations
Has anybody ever been out, say in a restaurant or at someone's house, and you feel like you really need to pass quite a lot of gas, so you go to the bathroom for the privacy and sit on the toilet for a while and suddenly feel that now you're in the right place the gas won't come? You wait a while but to no avail, but as soon as you return to the social setting the gas immediately wants to come again?
This is one of the most annoying and unpleasant things that can happen in company, especially when you're the sort who is shy of farting in front of people or in public.
It's like your bowels are playing mind games with you.
This has happened to me so many times, even before I had IBS. It's so annoying! I always end up super bloated and uncomfortable in these situations and can't even enjoy the company anymore. Karina (team member) I find it happens more when I chew my fingernails or even just put the tips on my fingers between my lips, which is a subconscious habit I do whenever I'm socialising and is a common behaviour I see most people doing. Not sure if it gets them wind or not but it seems to with me. I don't get why the air doesn't just come back up as burps, instead it has to go right down and fill my lower stomach up with trapped air. I get that hollow sort of hungry feeling even if I have eaten, and that means I'm full of gas that only comes when it wants, not when I'm in the bathroom.
I'm ok, just been a bit gassy from a lot of food I've been eating, but aren't we all? That's probably true. Holiday food tends to not be very easy on the stomach. 🙁 I'm glad it has been somewhat okay for you though. Karina (team member)
OMG yes! When home alone, which is most of the time, I also have a sudden and extreme urge to poop. I run to the bathroom and sit, only to have the urge disappear. Then I do what is recommended: stand up until the urge returns, then sit again. Or, twist my torso to the right to stimulate the colon. It doesn't usually produce results the first time, so I get up and go about my business, ignoring the urge until it gets more intense. Then repeat until my bowel empties. So frustrating. These techniques could help with passing gas, too. And, of course, there is that extreme urge to poop and I run to the bathroom, and the only thing that happens IS passing gas, lol! Definitely feels like mind games from the lower quadrant. You are definitely not alone! Hugs, Kim I don't really have that trouble, although I can understand how frustrating that must be for you.
I'm more of a windy person. It happened yesterday when I was at a family gathering. After eating I began feeling windy in my tummy, so I went to the bathroom to fart but couldn't. So I came back down and sat myself down again, and as the evening went on I could feel my tummy bubbling and gurgling but no urge to fart.
We watched a movie and I just rubbed my belly the whole time, then after that when I got home and into bed I kept breaking wind so much but it was really relieving by then. Shame I couldn't just do that in the bathroom at my in-law's place, then I would have felt much more comfortable watching the movie.Trapped wind is so uncomfortable. 🙁 Although I personally prefer being uncomfortable rather than urgently needing the bathroom like Kim describes, as this usually happens for me during flares. I hope you were still able to enjoy the movie despite the discomfort!
Karina (team member)
Oh yes, desperately needing the toilet isn't pleasant. At least with wind I can control it by massaging my tummy, doing that usually calms down the excessive bubbling and pain, and it just feels good. It also helps to bring up burps. I done a few burps while we watched the movie and had to apologise, as I felt like a pig sitting on someone else's couch belching lol. But I guess burping in company is better than farting in company.
