# Too old to party -- beer gives me painful gas. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506 "2004-06-21T20:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/1 "2004-06-21T20:47:26Z")
Alright what’s the deal? I’m in my mid-thirties and have recently noticed that imbibing alcoholic beverages (particularly beer, but also wine to some extent) gives me trapped gas pains in my chest about the caliber of being stabbed with a jagged knife and having the blade turned so that it scrapes against my ribcage. Needless to say this is a real buzz-kill. I’ve talked to friends and acquaintances about this and some of them share my pain. A couple even swore off drinking because of it. Is this just because I’ve aged past those teen / twenty years? I’ve noticed a couple of other foods treat me just as badly; bananas in particular. So what’s up? Time to moderate my lifestyle, drink hard liquor only, or is there something I can take to avoid this problem? Thanks. rainy ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/2 "2004-06-21T22:40:32Z")
I don’t know. I’m only 23, and I cannot consume large quantities of any refined carbohydrate without the same awful gas pains. I had to swear off white rice entirely. I find that tempering the carbohydrates with plenty of fat and protein prevents this problem. Maybe eat while you drink? ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/3 "2004-06-21T22:42:31Z")
Please, PLEASE let someone with some knowledge stop by here and tender an answer for this. I thought it was just me, but this happens to me quite a bit. Trapped gas in the chest. Sometimes it’s just too much to bear. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/4 "2004-06-21T23:13:32Z")
Sattua – Eat while you drink!? Isn’t it hard to get s\*&#-faced that way? I know what you mean though. I’ve gone through stages with the bananas I mentioned. First I had to eat them with bread, then with with bread and milk, now they are just off my list altogether. Which is a shame because I really like(d) bananas. Chastain86 – Leave it to the Dope. I figured I was the only person this affected to until one person mentioned it specifically about beer. There has to be something different about it because it isn’t like a rumbling stomach or intestine, this is way up high in “I think I’m having a heart attack” country. Until I made the connection between the foods and the pain I was getting very, very worried. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/5 "2004-06-22T19:27:32Z")
I’m giving this one a bump, hoping a medical pro is in the house. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![BonoVox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@BonoVox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BonoVox)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/6 "2004-06-22T23:12:26Z")
Its not beer for me, its pan style pizza crusts, and boiled or salted in the shell peanuts. I can eat thin crust pizza, and peanut butter. I know the pain you are talking about, its like being the Dr. in Alien. My own Dr. decided it was acid reflux. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/7 "2004-06-22T23:23:10Z")
Have you ever been checked for gallstones? If your symptoms disappear as suddenly as they appear, it could be gallstones. A simple sonogram will tell and the removal of the gall bladder can usually be done laproscopically. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/8 "2004-06-23T01:45:27Z")
Gas in your chest? ASFAIK the organs that contain gas are in your abdomen. Perhaps this is another pain? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/9 "2004-06-23T08:00:08Z")
This may be a folk cure but I’d swear on a stack of bibles it works for me. I drink beer from a glass now. I think when you drink it from a bottle you cause the beer to agitate more (by that I mean it fizz’s up more) as it goes down thus causing the irriatation. I’ll be thirtyfour in august and I get the exact same pains as you. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/10 "2004-06-23T08:08:11Z")
Heh, it’s funny now that I think about it. Most guys that I’ve ever noticed that drink beer from a glass are older. I used to think it was just them trying to be sophisticated; now I’m thinking they may have discovered the same thing I have. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/11 "2004-06-23T08:14:27Z")
IANADr., but it kinda sounds like acid reflux…At the risk of hearing, “Well, just don’t drink beer, then!”, you might want to ask your PCP about it. Just a thought 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/12 "2004-06-23T12:58:15Z")
Whiskey… ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/13 "2004-06-23T14:11:47Z")
I’m guessing it’s bad karma. Not allowed to drink beer? You must’ve killed somebody! ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/14 "2004-06-23T17:01:35Z")
> [@PetW](#): > > it’s bad karma…You must’ve killed somebody! What if they really, really deserved it? Couldn’t my karmic punishment be reduced to say “no Capt’n Crunch cereal?” Acid reflux, I’ll ask about that at the next doctor visit as well as the gall stones…yikes. In the meantime I’ll try the glass trick. It would be cool if it was that simple. And there’s no other way to describe the location of the pain other than your chest, albeit low like around where you would draw the line between stomach and chest. And the pain has the same quality to it as those sharp gas pains you get where you’d expect them. It’s like a gas pocket is turning a corner and squeezing through. In your gut though you can feel the pressure slowly dissapate as the pocket moves on. In your chest it is like it has nowhere to go. Thanks for all the input. I don’t think we had any MD input…did we? rainy ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/15 "2004-06-24T00:19:38Z")
I get acid reflux and the various descriptions of the pains people in this thread are experiencing don’t really sound like it. Reflux, at least for me, is definitely more of a burning sensation. I don’t get a feeling of pressure at all, just painful burning. I used to treat my symptoms with Tums. They always worked except on those rare occasions when I also had gas, in which case the Tums could actually make it worse. Di-gel tablets are the only thing I ever found which could get rid of the gas pains, and they worked almost instantly. I finally asked my doctor about the reflux and he prescribed Xantac and the relief has been stupendous. I should have done it years ago. I urge all of you to discuss this with your doctors. It could be something serious. BTW I am a 39 year old male and frequent beer drinker (and white rice eater) and these things never give me gas. I don’t eat a lot of bananas and I usually poor my beer into a glass. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/16 "2004-06-24T00:43:46Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > I am a 39 year old male and frequent beer drinker (and white rice eater) and these things never give me gas. I don’t eat a lot of bananas and I usually poor my beer into a glass. Now there’s a personal ad if I ever saw one! ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/17 "2004-06-24T00:47:01Z")
> [@rainy](#): > > Now there’s a personal ad if I ever saw one! 😛 Married and not looking though. Sorry ladies, this prize is already claimed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![6ixgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/a8b319/32.png) [@6ixgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ixgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/18 "2017-03-07T00:49:58Z")
So, in my personal experience, this has nothing to do with age. I was 17 when I first started to experience this with beer and certain wines. For me it was as simple as some long term trauma to the intestinal tract which led to e developing IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). While there are many symptoms and it is important to go to a gastroenterologist to be sure, many conditions like IBS can cause this type of irritation to certain proteins, sugars, carbs, etc. In fact I even get it from eating sweet potatoes - despite being a generally healthy food, I struggle to digest certain sugars in them and am left with painful trapped gas. Although for me it isn’t with all beers and I can still enjoy a pint of a nice stout although I can’t drink 6 packs of old mills anymore! Always worth looking into when you experience symptoms related to certain food groups to rule out possible conditions, allergies or autoimmune deficiencies! ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/19 "2017-03-07T01:57:33Z")
Note this is a zombie thread, the original posters may not be around to continue commenting … I agree, **6ixgirl** , all this does sound like problems more in depth than just booze … just that the booze is the most irritating thing we’re consuming … my problem was not so much while I was drinking beer, rather if and when I stopped drinking beer … which I believe is a classic symptom of acid-reflex disease … anyway, I started drinking peppermint tea regular like and haven’t had (much) of a problem ever since … although cucumbers _always_ sets my stomach on fire … ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506/20 "2017-03-09T00:06:21Z")
> [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](#): > > I get acid reflux and the various descriptions of the pains people in this thread are experiencing don’t really sound like it. Reflux, at least for me, is definitely more of a burning sensation. What my doctor said was this… First the acid reflux … Then your oesophagus is swallowing AIR as it tries to push the acid down. So then you have burps and farts and feelings of stomach and colon straining… So … the alcohol in the beer can trigger all this , as it weakens the gastro-oesophagul sphincter and lets the stomach acid back up… Or if you have an allergy to substances in the beer… that can cause the reflux too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-to-party-beer-gives-me-painful-gas/251506.md?page=2)