Why is my stomach so bloated and painful?

Bridgette, 35 an architect was a single mom and had a busy an active professional and personal life. 

Some two years ago she had caught MONO and had to receive a large dose of antibiotics that had thankfully put her symptoms into remission. Two months later she noticed some unusual digestive symptoms. She experienced abdominal pain and cramping, which was relieved by going to the bathroom. Her tummy was often bloated and swollen. Her bowel habits changed and would alternate between diarrhea and constipation (several days without having a bowel motion). She occasionally had an urgent need to go to the bathroom, and she sometimes had a feeling that she could not fully empty her bowels after going to the toilet.
Being health conscious, she quickly decided to visit her family physician who immediately diagnosed her with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 

The usual standard of care for IBS are four types of medication, which only control symptoms, including: 

• An antispasmodic (which helps reduce abdominal (stomach) pain and cramping).
• A laxative (to help relieve constipation).
• An antimotility medicine (to can help relieve diarrhoea).
• A low-dose Antidepressant (to help reduce stomach pain and cramping).

Like most people, Bridgitte was exceptionally wary of taking any medication because of the potential side effects, and they do not address the underlying cause.

Not happy with this approach Bridgette wisely stood her ground and asked to see a Gastroenterologist, a doctor who specializes in digestive issues. Her doctor agreed and arranged an appointment for a week later.

At the meeting, the consultant went over her symptoms and agreed with her doctor's diagnosis of IBS. He also listened to her concerns about taking medication and her need to find a more natural solution to which he said he was more inclined to with patients under his care.

He suggested that Bridgette follows a Low FodMap Diet.

FodMap (Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols) are carbohydrates that found in certain foods. A low Fodmap diet has been shown to reduce symptoms in 75% of people with IBS. (1) 

FODMAPs in the diet are:

• Fructose (fruits, honey, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), etc)
• Lactose (dairy)
• Fructans (wheat, garlic, onion, inulin etc)
• Galactans (legumes such as beans, lentils, soybeans, etc)
• Polyols (sweeteners containing isomalt, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, stone fruits such as avocado, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, etc)

Bridgette began the low Fodmap diet the next day and within 2-3 days felt 80% improvement in her symptoms.

Following a low Fodmap diet will help relieve many of the symptoms of IBS but like the medication it does not address the cause.

So why do people become intolerant to Fodmaps?

Recent scientific research has identified a link between IBS and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). (2) Your friendly bacteria should predominantly be living in your large intestines, with SIBO, these bacteria migrate up into the small intestines. These bacteria feed on Fodmaps and when they do they produce different gases causing the bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas and abdominal pain. You can test for SIBO using a simple breath test and then treatment can be a combination of antimicrobials and diet.
Emotional factors have also been shown to contribute to the development of IBS, and could induce a Fodmap intolerance for reasons not yet understood.
When dealing with any condition, including IBS, it is always important to look at diet but also lifestyle factors including stress management, exercise, and sleep. If you correct one factor without addressing the others, this often results in a poor outcome.

Finally

I hope you found these ideas useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with them.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition

One of my favourite programs I used to watch in the UK was a property buying show called Location, Location, Location. The show was hosted by two realtors who who competed to find buyers a new home. When looking for a new home one of the most fundamental factors that determined whether the buyers liked the property was it's location.

Although I am an Osteopath one of the first things I look when somebody comes to me with a physical problem, especially if it is chronic, is their persons nutrition. For me if there's something off with their diet then it needs to be corrected for any physical therapy is going to really help.

Without getting too controversial

If you suffer from physical pain there are some obvious dietary factors you need consider:

1. Do you drink enough water?
2. Do you eat fresh fruit and vegetables everyday?
3. Do you limit your intake of processed food?

If you answered "no" to all three of these questions then then your body will not be happy. A good analogue I use with my clients is to imagine that their body is a high performance sports car. If you fill your car up with 87 then after not too long your car is not going to run as well and eventually you will be visiting your dealer who will tell you to start using 93. In the same way your body will respond much better to water than coffee, or fresh food than processed.

So, if you are suffering try making some basic nutritional changes and see what happens. You might be surprised.

Foods that may be giving you pain.

As I've mentioned before, as an osteopath working in Ottawa I tend to be the last in line of different

therapists that a client will consult for their pain issues. This is mainly due to many Ottawan's knowing little or nothing about osteopathy. Many, of course, have tried chiropractic, massage and physiotherapy, and because they now sit in my office the results from these approaches have been at most short term. When presented with such people I would often play a bigger emphasis on looking at their diet rather than physical therapy to alleviate their pain. On this note here are my top 7 foods that I find commonly cause pain:

1. Wheat gluten (Gliadin) - typically causing neck stiffness, chronic pain between the shoulders and lower back pain but can effect joints such as knees and hips. It is also linked autoimmune arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis.
2. Caffeine - Most notably associated with neck and lower back pain.
3. Soya - typically associated with shoulder pain.
4. Fluoride - although not a food, it is found in our drinking water, typically associated with finger stiffness and arthritis.
5. Artificial Sweeteners - most often associated with lower back pain.
6. Dairy particularly cheese - typically associated with sinus headaches and migraines.
7. Night Shade vegetables particularly potatoes and tomatoes - associated with headaches, migraines, upper back pain, and heavy legs.
8. Antibiotic feed chicken - typically causes general joint pain and stiffness.

This list is not exhaustive but gives you the most common foods and food additives which I find at the root of my clients pain issues.

If you know of any other foods that you know give you pain please let me know in the comments box below.

Muscle pain - An early sign of Autoimmune Disease?

Do you have constant or intermittent episodes of chronic pain?

Do you need regular visits to your local osteopath, chiropractor, physio or massage therapist to help keep these pains at a manageable level?

If the answer is yes, then you could possibly have the early signs of autoimmune disease.

An autoimmune disease occurs when your body's immune system has destroyed part of itself. A familiar autoimmune disease is  Rheumatoid Arthritis, where where your immune system destroys the lining of your joints. Another example is Hashimoto's Disease where your thyroid gland is destroyed.

I recently wrote a blog titled "Shoulder pain, your thyroid and soya". After reading this article, a friend of mine in the UK commented to me on Facebook that he had been diagnosed with Hashimoto's and was now on medication. Previous to the diagnosis he had suffered from a recurrent shoulder problem for many years which since he has been treated for his thyroid has disappeared.

There are three main factors that lead to the development of an autoimmune disease:

1. Genetic predisposition - whether your family suffered from an autoimmune disease.
2. Triggers - food sensitivities, heavy metals, chemical toxins.
3. Intestinal Permeability - "A leaky gut".

One of the main food sensitivity triggers for autoimmune disease is wheat gluten or gliadin. The second most common autoimmune disease triggered by gluten is Hashimotos disease.

The concept of helping peoples chronic pain issues by taking them off gluten or gluten cross reactive foods, such as soya, is not unfamiliar to me. I have helped hundreds of people this way but have not really understood the true mechanism.

As a guide in my diagnosis of clients I use Applied Kinesiology or muscle function testing. With AK I can detect weaknesses in individual muscle groups. I also use it to test for food sensitivities. In AK each muscle in the body is linked to a specific gland or organ. I can therefore test how the muscle for the thyroid which is the Teres Minor and see if it weakens when the person is in contact with a particular food or any other trigger such as gluten. This is just a guide for me that this person needs further lab investigations for the foods I find that weaken that muscle.

Studies have shown that antibodies for autoimmune diseases can be found in the blood 9 years before the person starts exhibits signs and symptoms of the disease. Up until that point it can the person could be happily unaware that anything was happening in their body that was sinister. Chronic persistent muscle problems could be your bodies early warning system like the red light on your dashboard.

There are tests available through Cyrex Labs which can tell you whether you have these autoimmune antibodies in your system.

There are of course many many other mechanisms that could be causing muscle pain but this makes sense to me. I welcome any questions or comments.