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I'm asking everyone to give what they've found to be a cause to the loud stomach noises we experience. I had my colectomy back in '05, but I can't remember this ever being a problem before this year - thus, I'm wondering if this might be pouchitis on my part. Or it could just be that I'm more sensitive to the sound due to more meetings in a new work setting.

I'll offer the same caveat I append to ALL of my inquiry posts: If you're response is to "just embrace it and not care what others think"...don't bother responding. I'm not interested in that sort of defeatism. I'm interested in solutions.

1. I definitely think a cause is digestion. The sounds come while food is digesting and shortly after. Are there specific foods which cause more problems than others? To this end, I'm trying to eat breakfast at home, and then skip lunch. Problem here is that my stomach then rumbles due to hunger noises. Ideally, if there was a quick snack that is easy on digestion that I could eat for lunch, that would solve the problem. Any ideas?

2. I've found that quickly drinking a large quantity of liquid causes loud noises.

3. Gas? Pouchitis? 

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

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If I eat too fast I can get some grumbling.

Pouchitis definitely plays a role for me. Since my pouchitis has been in remission, my gut has been pretty silent. Peppermint supplements helped with my churning gut when pouchitis was active.

For many people (even with a colon), stress and anxiety plays a role. IBS and IPS definitely have a nervous system relationship. 

I never found specific foods to make a difference, other than hot peppers giving me hiccups.

I presume it is all very individual.

Jan

Last edited by Jan Dollar

If you take a capful of Pepto Bismol it will put the kabosh on abdominal noises. Total silence, and forget the noise, pretty quickly. If you are taking antibiotics or other meds you can’t take the PB within 2 hours before or after. However if you work into that schedule 3-4 PB doses a day, it’s gonna be total silence from your belly. Problem solved.

If something is still making noises in there after a couple days of PB treatment it’s likely alien in origin because bacteria of this Earth does not survive those toxins. In that case you may want to call NASA because Houston may have a problem.

NB- PB will change the color of your stool and thicken it. So don’t be alarmed.

Last edited by CTBarrister

I don't know if taking "PB only" is or should be a sustainable long term treatment plan and I did not mean that.  My point was that if you take PB 3-4 doses for a few days the rumblings are quite likely to stop.  I would actually think even one or two dosings might cause a cessation of symptoms.  In the past I have used PB liberally and successfully as a supplemental treatment when everything else was not working, and I was suffering symptoms including those you have described.  For any kind of "upset stomach", I have found immediate relief from this ages old bactericidal standby.

Pepto Bismol is like a relief pitcher in baseball- the best relief pitcher in the bullpen, who comes into the game when the starting pitcher or initial relievers cannot get anyone out.  I have exactly the same philosophy in using it.

Last edited by CTBarrister

I get the stomach noises too! It is to the point that if I am in class or training for work, I don't eat lunch because it is loud and embarrassing. I don't care what others think, I just don't want to have to explain it. I have a stricture so I do have to be careful of what I eat. The more hydrated I stay the better off I am and the less noises I have going on. I also take VSL 3 Probiotics and they are great. The noises are definitely worse if I eat more carbs and sugar.

Who else had the j-pouch surgery for UC only to find out years later that they have Crohn's? I had my original surgery in 1996 and I have had complications on an off for years. Diagnosed in 2005 with Crohn's.

 

 Bowel disease can change over the course of time and the diagnosis of it is not really relevant any more since many of the treatments are the same. There are many people who had UC and later manifested either “Crohn’s” or Crohn’s like inflammation in areas where it didn’t previously exist. J Pouches change your anatomy and also don’t have an escape hatch as the colon did so the manifestation of inflammation north or above the j pouch is no longer a real surprise. Many people never have it, some get it over a decade after J Pouch surgery like me. In the end what you call it doesn’t matter, what matters is responsiveness to treatments that are largely the same. I was far sicker with UC in the 1970s and 1980s than I have been with Crohn’s since 2007 and I am very satisfied with my current status. It’s due to effectiveness of treatment.  No matter what you call IBD it’s either treatable or not so focus on that and not semi-arbitrary labels.

The amount of energy wasted over worrying about a diagnosis which is incapable of being certain beyond reasonable medical certainty is quite frankly astonishing to me. I understand insurance companies operate at a Neanderthal level of understanding and need diagnosis codes but most doctors actually understand this and play the game to get coverage for the patient based on their Hippocratic duties. So what they say doesn’t really have applicability to the reality of the situation beyond insurance coverage gaming.

Last edited by CTBarrister

Try an elimination diet.

I have found that by doing either the dissociated diet (separate your proteins and carbs into 2 different meals, eat your veggies with either group, your fruits in the morning on an empty stomach or up to 1/2hr prior to a meal and avoid dairy products) or the elimination diet (1-3 days of fruit and fruit juice fasting then slowly introduce foods (and food groups) one at a time. 

Keep a food diary going while you do this an include noises, liquids consumed with meals as well as meds.

That might give you a key to what works or doesn't work for your body.

Sharon 

Doctors always told me this was normal after someone has bowel surgery.  I found controlling the diarrhea with tincture of opium also slowed the bowels and reduced the sounds.  I do still have issues sometimes with bowel sounds so loud other people take notice.  When I have pouchitis, the bowel sounds are increased and more audible - one of the clues that’s what’s going on. Also, if I have to hold my bowels for a lengthy period of time, it becomes more noticeable so I try to use the restroom when I need to. I agree that gas can also be a part of this issue. I take Imodium also to help with sounds..  

If you’re into holistic stuff, peppermint is good for upset stomach.  Use it topically or with aromatherapy, even tea.  

I’m not going to say that you have to just accept it, but sometimes it’s still noticeable and embarrassing at times.  It helps motivate me to make sure I take my medicine.  Especially at lunch time because bowel sounds are worse after eating.  I pretty much plan a trip to the bathroom after eating.

 

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