Menopause Matters Forum

Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: silver on October 29, 2013, 01:25:09 PM

Title: digestion
Post by: silver on October 29, 2013, 01:25:09 PM
Has anyone else had digestion problems IBS/diverticular disease early on in the perimenopause/menopause?  I seem to have developed mild changes in bowel habit and I don't like it  :(    Lots of wind, trapped wind, constipation, not regular like I used to be.   ???
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: Ju Ju on October 29, 2013, 02:12:04 PM
Yes, I have IBS, but it is not new. I always check out any new consistent change with the GP. Do check things out particularly, if this a new development.
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: CLKD on October 29, 2013, 04:16:46 PM
At a 'certain' age it is common for ladies to develop a hiatus hernia.  If you have had an alteration in bowel movements or gastric symptoms then a chat with your GP is essential. 
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: rosie c on October 29, 2013, 04:25:36 PM
It was my first symptom. And can be worse certain times of the month. x
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: Kathleen on October 29, 2013, 04:27:21 PM
Hello silver.
Hormones do affect gut motility, speeding things up or slowing them down. Apparantly constipation results from lack of oestrogen so this may be what you are experiencing.
A change of diet and increased water intake may be all you need to do.
Take care.
K.
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: bev567901 on October 29, 2013, 08:36:25 PM
This was my first symptom before my periods started going wonky. Guess what I did went gluten free for a few months. Can't explain the logic of that at all, I was just hungry & poorer. I have never been a fad type person re food & can't bear people telling me they are this, that & the other when you know they are just attention seeking. This menopause takes a long time to sink in. When I got my first very early period my first thought was cancer for about 5 seconds but I realised it was a proper normal period. Took me months for the penny to drop. B x 
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: lily on October 29, 2013, 08:44:42 PM
Yes, I get them all too - the wind is mostly in the evening at least so not a problem at work.  I feel like I'm either constipated, too regular as in 2-3 times a day or having bad IBS pains and diarrhoea - don't seem to have a 'normal' bowel anymore  :(
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: donnarob on October 30, 2013, 09:24:24 AM
Hi Silver,

I have noticed at several times of the month, my bowel seems to slow down and I get a bit constipated and my piles (sorry can spell haemorroids) flare up.  I am 54 years old and haven't had a period since July 2012, there doesn't seem to be a day goes by, when I don't add another hormonal blip to my ever increasing list!  ::) 

I do have a healthy diet and don't eat anything out of the unusual when this happens so I blame it on the old hormones again!

Hope you get to the bottom of this....excuse the pun!

Donnarob x
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: moonbeam121167 on October 30, 2013, 09:33:41 AM
Hi all yes ever since I went into peri and then after my Hysterectomy I had bad bad stomach problems, ranging from a irritated stomach which gives my bad acid and nausea, and my bowel movement well some days I can go 3 to 4 days in the morning, I cant drink coke no more, cant eat chocolate or anything spicy, if it wasnt for my Omperazole I think I roll up and die, my mum says it happened to two of her sisters and my fathers sister and mother had it , so yes when us women get to that certain age things can go down hill but we have to live with it and get on with things  :) :) :) :)
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: maggiemck1978 on October 30, 2013, 10:34:18 AM
Yes me too. My first symptom when my previously clockwork periods went awry was this. It felt like seasickness and I had v dry mouth etc too. It did pass after a few weeks but not before I had a few v miserable and also anxious weeks.
Just recently been troubled with heartburn and acid. Oh dear it's like being pregnant over again.
I do hope you feel better soon. It helps to know that others have the same symptoms I think. Take care  :)
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: Ju Ju on October 30, 2013, 12:24:20 PM
Quote:
' I have never been a fad type person re food & can't bear people telling me they are this, that & the other when you know they are just attention seeking.'

Well, that's a sweeping assumption! Yes, I have to deal with that attitude from people who don't know me well. I do not go out with people for meals unless they know me. I have avoid eating a variety of foods, particularly wheat, as it would cause very painful spasm in my oesophagus. Once I had to go to A and E because I couldn't swallow for 5 hours. My daughter can't eat dairy or eggs as they cause asthma and immediate violent diarrheoa. ( can't spell) It's bad enough having to be careful what you eat, checking everything without this kind of attitude.

PS I am rarely angry, but..........
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: butterfly13 on October 30, 2013, 06:01:13 PM
Hi all

me tooo just had a bad bout so relieved its not just me, coming on here is always reasuring,this is a great li think im considered  in meno now as my last period was a year an half or more,peri was indeed horrible have only had tummy probs since it all started.,take heart lots of information and help on here,hope you find some support.

lynn :D
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: bev567901 on October 30, 2013, 08:22:27 PM
Sorry Ju Ju I wasn't meaning it to sound as bad as I typed. I know some people are really intolerant to certain foods & it can be so dangerous (nuts etc) & it rules lives or if you are born with diabetes or other conditions. I was just being a bit glib about the people I sometimes come across who swap/change every month to some new fad or other because they have nothing else to do.
I am sorry if I have upset you it was a silly thing to type I can see that now & I am sorry. I know what its like to worry about a poorly daughter constantly & the worry it can bring you when they are not with you. It must be horrible to have to watch every single thing you eat. Hope you can accept this & please don't be angry. Bev x
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: Ju Ju on October 30, 2013, 09:14:51 PM
Thank you. I appreciate your apology. Just touched a sore point.

Do mention your symptoms to your GP, particularly if you have lost weight and/or see blood. Just had some new problems myself and have been referred for a colonoscopy sooner rather than later. I have had IBS since my teens, but things have been worse menopause. I am not too worried, but glad to have things checked. 
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: bev567901 on October 30, 2013, 10:13:03 PM
Oh Good Ju Ju I have found things so nice here I was horrified to upset anyone. I hope the colonoscopy isn't too stressfull. I had one many years ago but I think my IBS was down to stress then & that is still the case probably & maybe the meno now. At the mo it is down to my sertraline I take immodium every day but its a normal reaction.  I remember after the colonoscopy on the drive home I couldn't stop passing huge amounts of trapped wind. I took myself off to the hospital appt on my own & drove  home quite a way, seems silly now not to have had someone with me but I was pumping out air in a very comical way.  Maybe it was a good thing to be alone. ;D    If I can do it you certainly can, the colonoscopy not the wind. Bev x
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: Ju Ju on October 31, 2013, 12:38:41 AM
My husband will do the transporting. He has far more experience in this procedure as he has one every 5 years as he has a strong family history of bowel cancer. There will be lots of humour as I toot all the way home! It's the prep stuff the day before I loathe.
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: silver on October 31, 2013, 01:33:42 PM
Thank you everyone for your reassurance that my symptoms are most probably normal.  I work in the NHS, so I get paranoid about stuff that I hear about.  ???

Feeling a lot more normal now though  :)
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: SueM on October 31, 2013, 01:43:49 PM
What a relief to find this thead  :)

My flatulence is something else and my kids get really angry that Im constantly passing wind and its not what Ive eaten now I can blame my hormones........it is embarressing though I work as a checkout operator in a supermarket and sometimes you just cant hold it in  :-\


Sue xx
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: silver on October 31, 2013, 02:24:35 PM
and who ever said women have it easy must have been lying  ;D
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: SueM on October 31, 2013, 03:33:47 PM
This just sprang to mind and made me chuckle hope no one minds.....

"wherever you maybe let your wind go free....in church and chapel, let it rattle"  ;D


Sue xx
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: silver on October 31, 2013, 04:51:20 PM
ha ha ha ha ha :o

Keep smiling and happy, it ALWAYS helps
Title: Re: digestion
Post by: Ju Ju on October 31, 2013, 06:56:54 PM
I would blame it on the dog, but we don't have one!  :scottie:

Seriously, though, I went through a horrible period of evil wind. I came across an article in a magazine about something called FODMAPS. Looked it up and found lists of certain foods to avoid. I experimented by cutting out these foods for a short time and the wind went. Then gradually, I reintroduced some of the foods with no problem. I haven't researched this to any depth, but worth a look at if you are really windy.