Everyone has the occasional stomach growl. My stomach/insides make very audible noises throughout the day and I have no idea why.
Sometimes it sounds like whales communicating. Sometimes it sounds like gas moving around. Sometimes it sounds like a bear is being raped.
Is this normal? I"m 32 and do drink just about nonstop every weekend. Otherwise I don’t have a drop Sunday through Friday late evening.
My diet is pretty normal. A typical Tuesday meal for me is spaghetti (no meat, not that I’m a vegetarian) with a bread stick. A typical Thursday meal is stir fry with rice, beef, broccoli, pea pods and sprouts. I don’t eat a lot of junk food, but I do eat a lot. I’m 5’11" 195 lbs.
On the weekends I’ll eat anything. Popeye’s chicken, pizza delivery, chili. The only constant is that my insides make noises that embarrass me.
I asked the doctor about this. He said that with no other symptoms I probably shouldn’t worry. Nothing hurts and I don’t have bloody stool. I’ll provide more info on my bathroom habits if it’s necessary.
So what’s the deal? Anyone have this problem? Anything I should worry about? ANY THING I can do to quiet the beast down??
You’re definitely dying. It’s okay, we all are, and most of us take about 8 decades to do it.
Your rumbling sounds are called “borborygmi”, and are the sounds of gas moving through your intestines. Some peoples’ borborygmi is quite loud; often skinny people have more audible borborygmi simply because there’s a smaller insulating layer of abdominal fat muffling the sounds from the intestines. (Adding abdominal fat might muffle the sound a bit, but it has a lot of bad health effects, so don’t do that.) But some normal weight and overweight people have loud borborygmi, too. Your BMI (27.2) puts you at “overweight”, but it doesn’t tell anything about your body composition (lots of muscle or lots of fat) or where your fat is stored.
It sounds like your diet is pretty low in fiber. Sometimes adding fiber rich foods - whole grains, vegetables, whole fruits (not juices) and beans and lentils - will alter your intestinal bacteria and, over time, encourage the growth of those that make less gas, and discourage those that make excess gas. Yes, beans and such are known to make you fart, but they only do that to people who eat them once in a while. A diet that’s got a steady high level of beans (and other fiber) doesn’t make you fart. When increasing fiber in your diet, it’s important to go slowly - adding one or two servings of fiber rich food every couple of days - and to drink plenty of water. You need to give your system time to adjust to the new fiber intake. If you go too fast, you might notice more gas and abdominal discomfort and either constipation or diarrhea. Slow and steady changes are more effective than quick and intermittent ones.
Some people (including me) are a fan of probiotics - bacteria in little “pearls” or capsules that might help to give you the beneficial bacteria that don’t cause as much gas - and prebiotic supplements - soluble fibers that helps those bacteria grow. Some people don’t think they’ll do anything besides lighten your wallet. I’ll let you do more research on those and make up your own mind.
Do you smoke? Drink soda or beer or seltzer water? Talk while you’re eating? Eat quickly? All of those things can cause you to swallow air. Some of that air will come out in burps, but some will go down into your intestines and rumble around until you fart or poop.
I will definitely eat more fiber rich foods. What are your opinions on fiber supplements? I’ve been taking fiber supplements for 5 months with no noticeable change in the frequency and volume of “inside noise.” I have, n’t increased my natural intake of fiber though.
I ask these questions because I work in an office and it’s become a career hindrance. As in, I won’t apply for a job that involves frequent face-to-face meetings for fear of embarrassment. A simple “eye test” will say that most of my excess fat is in my abdomen area. The sounds have only seem to have been amplified as I’ve gained weight.
I don’t smoke anymore (16 months, I use Nicorette), don’t eat at work at my desk, don’t speak much when I eat, and do drink Pepsi throughout the day.
