Tightness in Abdomen
Hello everyone!
I’m new here, but not new to IBS unfortunately. I do have a question, does anyone deal with tightness across the top of your abdomen? I also have the bloating more up higher in my abdomen than low. I am fine when I wake up but as I go throughout the day it will feel tight. That is the only way I can explain it. I don’t have a gallbladder either so I don’t know if that is aiding in it too. I also have Fibromyalgia which causes pain in the muscles too. I guess I’m just a mess lol. I have dealt with this for years, no fun. I hope everyone is doing well today. I’m glad to have found this forum. It has a wealth of knowledge. I know it helps to just know I’m not alone in this. Be well…
Hi
and welcome to our community! I'm sorry that you've been dealing with IBS for years, it's not fun at all. As for the bloating, I also often get it higher up when I have trouble digesting food. For me, it usually seems to be related to low stomach acid and taking bitter herbs before meals helps a lot. But I imagine that there could be many different causes for this. Have you found that it happens more after you eat certain foods?
Wishing you happy (and hopefully symptom-free) holidays,
Karina (team member)I also wanted to add that we have this article about gallbladder surgery and IBS, in case you're interested: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/clinical/gallbladder-removal-ibs. It has so many comments from different community members who share their experience as well.
Karina (team member)Thank you so much for the help. Yes, I think I am narrowing it down to gluten ( I did a sensitivity test and it showed I was sensitive to Whey) also, I take Nexium and have for years for GERD, so I wonder if my stomach acid is too low. My husband also read an article that when you drink coffee, WITH CREAM it will really wreck your ibs. I tested that theory this morning and didn't have mine and I did better. Its so odd to me how IBS works. I am going to make it my mission in this upcoming year to figure out what bothers me and what is going on.
Oh yes, gluten is a culprit for me to! I wasn't even sensitive to it according to tests, but cutting it out still helped so much. I hope it will help you, too.
And as for the coffee with cream, I'm wondering if it depends on your sensitivity to dairy? Not everyone is. I, for example, can have some dairy without issues, but not milk for example. Hopefully, you'll be able to narrow down your triggers soon and feel a lot better. Karina (team member)
Could you explain bitter herbs to me, please? Not sure I know what that is.
It's just herbs that have a bitter taste to them, like yarrow, gentian, dandelion, milk thistle.. They help with digestion and low stomach acid when taken before meals (I'm not an expert, I just read that online).
I honestly just googled "bitter herbs" and bought a couple of teas and tinctures that contain them. They're often called something like "liver support" or "detox", in my experience, but that might be different where you live. I don't know if that would help you at all, but you could always give it a try if it sounds right.
Hope this helps!
Karina (team member)
