Chronic gas and Colon Cancer fears

[lofwyr]

So my stomach is a mess, on occasion it gets upset, but that is part and parcel with anxiety.

That said, I have always been a bit gassy, flatulent if you want to call it that. It would be a nicer word than my wife used to describe it. In the last couple of years it has gotten to what I would call chronic. I fart...a lot.

I was sort of okay with this until about a year ago I saw some public service ad talking about how chronic flatulence can be a sign of colon cancer. Bear in mind I have no other symptoms, so I sort of buried it.

Fast forward to last night, my facebook feed has this cutesy cartoon about how farting is good for you. I click on it, thinking I am going to wow my wife with some bedtime humor. Alas, one of the ways they say it is "good for you" is to provide warning about serious intestinal diseases, and they specifically mention CC. Well, now I am in this downward spiral.

I have not had any bleeding, no weight loss, no real stomach issues, save for gas and gurgling, and a bit of burping. But no matter what I eat, I sound like a motorcycle an hour later. It is of course worse with some foods--I could power a city with the methane I release from eating buffalo wings.

I have tried various things on my own. I have tried lactose free, low fat, etc. The only thing I have not tried is no gluten, but I might.

Anyone else deal with chronic gas, and have it just be the "way they are?" I am going to my GP on Monday, but more because I would like to figure out what it going on and maybe stop waking my wife up with noxious releases than from serious worry. But then the big C is always in the back of my mind, every time I pass gas.

[Kirbear4]

Absolutely! I have suffered for years, amongst other 'red flag' signs. I went for my second colonoscopy and endoscopy only a couple of months ago as my symptoms had worsened. Guess what? Nothing apart from a tiny benign polyp! That was removed and my symptoms remain the same.

My husband is ridiculously windy also, it's all good fun in our household! x

[lofwyr]

Thanks for that. While I wouldn't wish the unholy winds I suffer on anyone else, it is nice to know when you are not suffering alone, to be sure.

[paranoid-viking]

I have had flatulence since I was a kid. And I notice it is frequwntly ocuring after eating pasta and fine bread. You should test youself for food intolernance; something very common but not dangerous.

---------- Post added at 01:21 ---------- Previous post was at 01:16 ----------

I had a fear of coon cancer in June before my parania turned into a fear of chronic pancreatits. I think the answer may be in what you are eating and drinking. Me myself gets bloating in stomach after eating pasta. A change in your ddiet may be a positve surprise. But; by the end of the day; you shuld see your doctor. I am not qualified to give a perfect answer for you; uust like no one could give that for me.

[hanshan]

It's a combination of the food you eat, and the bacteria living inside your digestive system, mostly your colon. I think there are several trillion of these bacteria living inside, and everyone has a different mix of species, so each gut reacts differently.

When you eat, you're also feeding these little critters, but they tend to release lots of gas as a waste product from their digestion, so it's their farts, not yours.

You can try changing your gut bacteria by eating traditional fermented food like natural yoghurt or sauerkraut, commercial products like Yakult, or a probiotic supplement from a healthfood shop.

Taking some of your food as a smoothie will also break it down and help your body to digest it before it gets to the colon to form gas.

---------- Post added at 14:06 ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 ----------

Another thought - are you swallowing air while you eat / drink? Or do you drink fizzy drinks that contain gas? This is because you are passing gas within one hour of a meal, which is not enough time for the food to reach your colon.

[lofwyr]

Yeah. my gas seems to really come and go. It is not every meal, when it does trigger, it is constant.

I ate pizza tonight, and it is off the charts. I have a gp appointment monday, and will discuss it with him then

---------- Post added at 05:38 ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 ----------

Also, don't drink soda or fizzy drinks. But I am totally passing some gas roughly an hour or so after eating. Unless it is just times out that way and it is really gas related to a meal I ate four hours earlier?

[Phuzella]

Give gluten free a try for a while.

[hanshan]

I agree with Phuzella that you should give gluten free a try. It doesn't mean that you have coeliac disease, but you may be gluten intolerant, which means that you can't digest it, but the gut bacteria love you, feast on it and produce enough gas to power your fridge for a day.

I'm also a bit wary of the American diet. It's years since I ate pizza, and do buffaloes have wings? I thought they were protected after Buffalo Bill days.

[lofwyr]

Day one of gluten free, might be a bit better but hard to say. Still gassy, but not blow the blankets off the bed. I hate that my mind takes a gassy digestive system and goes right to colon cancer. Millions of people all over the world like me and I have to imagine the worst

[hanshan]

Hypersensitivity to bodily functions is a sign of health anxiety. I've known one or two unbelievable farters who thought it was hilarious, much to others' dismay.

[lofwyr]

Don't get me wrong. I am not immune to the humor of it.... much to my wife's dismay indeed. ;-)