Is this IBS? Flatulence after every meal, nausea, but no diarrhoea... yet

[achybreakyheart]

Hiya there, can anyone help me?
I have a rather unpleasant problem -- flatulence.
This began about four or five months ago. I stopped eating dairy and I felt instantly better. However...
One month ago I moved abroad for uni and am now on a completely different diet, one that is considerably unhealthier and consists of more processed foods than I would prefer, but there is little scope for a better diet. It took me belly a while to get used to this change. At first my stools were soft and yellowish and I was very worried. My stools are better now as I've gotten used to the nutritional landscape of my new home but I still struggle with flatulence.

I suspect I may either have IBS or some undiagnosed allergies, maybe even diabetes, as I have heart palpitations, which are one of the telling signs, and I often have an urge to pee. I read somewhere that there is a link between thyroid problems and irritable bowel syndrome? Is there? My gran had type II diabetes, had a leg amputated and died of it, and my dad has gluten intolerance as well as the thyroid condition which he kindly passed on to me!

So, I have two "physical conditions", both of which require me to take medicine daily. I'm only mentioning these in case anyone on here has the same symptoms and can help me. I have hypothyroidism which basically means that me thyroid doesn't produce enough hormones. This was diagnosed when I was 10 year old and is carefully controlled by my doctor. For that I take 100 mgr Levothyroxine daily (at around 9 pm).
The other condition, my heart palpitations, remains pretty much undiagnosed still. I've seen countless doctors and whilst all of them acknowledge the severity of my symptoms none has been willing or able to diagnose the problem or provide me with any particular advice. Through some research, though, I gather I have Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia, as one of the docs suggested. For that I take 25 mgr Atenolol (Tenormin) twice a day, morning and midday.

However, I do not suffer from diarrhoea. I always feel bloated, slightly nauseous, and am constantly farting...

I can almost calculate the timing of my gases after I've eaten something. It usually takes firstly a couple of minutes and then about an hour and a half.



Anyway, back to the main part:

My farts have a foul smell. They usually cannot be heard by other people, because I have learnt to control them, but they can be smelt.
I pass gas after every single meal, even after drinking as innocent fluids as water.
Due to my heart palpitations problem, I pop a pill first thing when I wake up, and I must take it with a full glass of water.

I usually find that five minutes or so after taking the pill, I have to pass a lot of gas, and I feel bloated, and somewhat nauseous.
And then my problem extends to every meal of the day.

I am female and find that this problem intensifies when I have my period. I sympathise with the people who have to put up with me then.

I am ovo-vegetarian and am lactose-intolerant.
I eat neither meat nor fish, and do not drink or consume dairy in any form.
I eat eggs but not very often.
I never eat sweets or fast food.

Toady, I experienced a lot of flatulence, and am nauseous as I write this. Here's a sample of what I ate.

Breakfast: Lots of chopped fruit (banana, apple, berries) with low-fat cereal containing oats and almond milk.
Lunch (around mid-day): Vegetarian spaghetti bolognese with kidney beans and roasted vegetables on the side.
Snacks during the day: Nakd bar, some more fruit.
Supper: Peppers stuffed with cous cous, salad with avocado, gherkin, tomato, radish, kale.
After supper: A cup of tea. I only drink naturally caffeine free tea such as fennel or camomile because caffeine can interfere with both my conditions. Though these are supposed to help calm the stomach, I sometimes feel nauseous after drinking.

If anyone can recommend any dietary changes that I've missed, I would be very grateful. I would also appreciate any thoughts on how to improve this problem or if and when I should seek medical help.

I am 18 yrs old, 175 cm tall and weigh about 69 kilograms. I don't smoke or consume alcohol, I am relatively active though I should probably exercise more, but I'm skinny and healthy in appearance.

What I'm most concerned about is, of course, whether this is normal for a young woman or not, and what the best solution is.

I'm really bothered by this but I need some opinion as to whether to go see a doctor or not as I fear that this problem would be perceived as very trivial and seemingly pointless.

What could it be? Does this sound like an early case of IBS? Or is it something else???

Cheers

[Fishmanpa]

What could it be? Does this sound like an early case of IBS? Or is it something else???
[/B]

SBD farts are pretty common and while they may not be as amusing as loud releases, they can be just as deadly. It's actually a fact that women can be and are as deadly as men and being a married man, I can attest to that.

Take a gander about this rather informative fact page on flatulence.

And remember.. farts are funny!

Positive thoughts and ummm.... what's that smell?

[Sparkle_]

That's a lot of vegetables and fruit- that would give me terrible gas all day!

I think it's diet related, but I would keep a eye on my output each bathroom visit just in case to see if there's any marked changes in stool.

[Mindknot]

Sparkle_ has a point there, some fruits have very high levels of Fructose which can cause gas because it's 'fermentable' - just a few things that you mentioned under that category are apples, kidney beans and avocado - look up the low-FODMAP diet, I tried it properly for a bit, and it seemed to work pretty well, now I'm just trying to de-stress & eat these things in small amounts or less frequently.