For what reason UC patients hve so much gas? Who can explain?

It's a sign of imbalanced gut ecology and improper digestion. An impaired digestive system has difficulty fully breaking down and absorbing foods. What's not properly absorbed and assimilated is passed on through the system, feeding the bad gut bugs. The bad bugs begin to overpopulate and the good gut bugs are either killed off or crowded out. This makes digestion worse and the cycle continues. The bad bugs give off various types of gas. Here's an article to explain it better:

http://www.leakygut.co.uk/Dysbiosis.htm

Probiotics did help me with the gas. Sometimes I get it when I eat a gassier food such as broccoli or fruit, but for the most part, the probiotic has helped quite a bit. How long have you been taking VSL?

Here's a weird thing - i had a major flare earlier this year and it suddenly dawned on me one day that  i hardly ever passed wind !! As soon as i was better back to normal , strange old thing this Uc aint it !!

Tab

NIcepeter said...
So. VSL#3 should help then?

Theoretically, yes, any high potency probiotic should help rebalance gut ecology. However, I've never used that brand and can't personally speak to it's effectiveness. You should start off slowly on the dose and gradually increase to get your body adjusted to probiotics.

More importantly, eliminating or at least reducing starches, sugars and grains from your diet may provide alot of relief because you're eliminating the foods that really feed the bad guys.

I still have lots of gas, always did, but not that painful bloating gas that I had during my flares. My partner at work thinks I should get a butt transplant.......and my wife agrees. :)

i think passing gas is GREAT, ok that sounded bad, but in terms of getting healthy... it can't be bad right? who cares if someone complains, what they never farted? last week i passed gas VERY quietly and just walked away... in my condition i notice when i'm passing gas, my stomach is VERY good, and i'm having close to normal bm's

Gas in the digestive tract comes from two causes:

* Swallowing air (aerophagia)
Everyone swallows small amounts of air when eating and drinking, but eating or drinking rapidly, as well as chewing gum, smoking, or wearing loose dentures can cause some people to take in more air. Belching or burping, is the way most swallowed air leaves the stomach. The remaining gas is partially absorbed into the small intestine and a small amount goes into the large intestine and is released through the rectum (flatus).

* Breakdown of certain undigested foods
When we eat food and drink liquids, they are not in a form that the body can use as nourishment. Our food and drink must be changed into smaller molecules of nutrients before they can be absorbed into the blood and carried to cells throughout the body. Digestion is the process by which food and drink are broken down into their smallest parts so that the body can use them to build and nourish cells and to provide energy. Digestion begins in the mouth, when we chew and swallow, and is completed in the small intestine. The chemical process varies somewhat for different kinds of food. Flatulence occurs when certain foods do not break down completely in the stomach and small intestine. The undigested food then passes into the large intestine (colon), where hundreds of harmless and normal bacteria are waiting to break down the food, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and, methane (CH4) gases, which are released through the rectum (flatus).

According to the authors of the book "Intestinal Gas", Michael D. Levitt, M.D., and John H. Bond, M.D., "only about one-third of us excrete methane (CH4)". Wondering if you are in the 1/3 category? "A person who produces methane will have stools that consistently float in water, the reason for this being methane gets trapped in the stool, making it less dense than water".

:)