Pre-menstrual gas... how do I get rid of it?

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

I've been on depo provera for three years now. Pre-menstrual symptoms have been very mild since starting it, especially compared to the PMDD I had before.

I get my shot in a week, so, as usual, I'm having mild PMS. For the first time since starting depo, I am having major gas. Fortunately, it's not painful, but it feels like my entire abdominal cavity has been replaced with a balloon that periodically lets out air (fortunately, it's not super-stinky air, and fairly silent, but still uncomfortable).

I used to only get this the day I would get my period, and it would go away after a day or two. Since I'm getting my shot in a week, however, I don't think it's going to clear up on its own.

Is there anything I can do, diet-wise, to help this go away? I've never had success using products like gas-x and beano (they usually just make it worse for me).

Comments

[ainadal.livejournal.com]

oh my god i would love to know the answer to this question as well. i can't even sleep sometimes due to the pressure! since i've started HBC (yaz) this PMS-gas has gotten worse for me, i don't know what the correlation is but it's certainly uncomfortable

Pre-menstrual gas

[sororbabylon.livejournal.com]

Exercise has helped me deal with this, though I am always scared that I will be the one to let it go during yoga class. :)

Seriously though, intense yoga has kept this to a minimum for me.

Re: Pre-menstrual gas

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

I'll try it. I was going to exercise today, and then thought maybe it wasn't a good idea. Well, yoga will at least help get things moving!

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

Yes, I use this icon for all of my communities. And, yes, I laughed too :)

[etherealfire.livejournal.com]

lol the post subject, the username, and the picture... I giggled too

[aliciadk.livejournal.com]

I have super-stinky LOUD PMS farts since starting HBC. You're lucky!

[ms-empathy.livejournal.com]

I've found that sitting with my butt on my feet and my back straight (that's very important) helps the gas come out. I recommend putting a pillow under your feet so your ankles don't hurt afterwards. I do this for about 5 minutes every morning and every night when I'm having my period and it's really helped me. Another thing that helps me is drinking 64 ounces (8 big glasses) of water every day.

[dayglow.livejournal.com]

lol. When I sit at my computer, I scooch down and lean back in my chair and pull my knees up to my chest while resting my feet on the desk. I don't know what it is about that position but it gets the gas out fast. :P (Especially when you have those stubborn 'I need to fart but it won't go and it hurts' moments. :P)

This is also quite possibly the best post/thread ever. :P

[kaelstra.livejournal.com]

A little off-topic, but I've always wondered why the heck it is we get so gassy right before our period? Drives me nuts. I mean, it has to be something relating to either the hormones, or the uterine contractions or something, but I wonder specifically what it is.

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

I don't know. It used to be a convenient warning for when my period would start, but now it's just obnoxious.

[snowmentality.livejournal.com]

I always figured it was somehow related to the stimulation of smooth muscle (which the uterus is, and the intestines are too). Although if you're not eating any differently, I'm not sure what that would change.

[katydidnt98.livejournal.com]

Yogurt might help a little bit, especially if the problem is related to an overgrowth of "bad" bacteria. Yogurt with live cultures replenishes some of the better bacteria in your gut. I stay away from the sugar-sweetened ones and either choose the no-added-carbs varieties or buy plain yogurt and add my own vanilla and stevia to it.

A lot of people are mildly lactose intolerant, too, so you might try avoiding uncultured dairy products (hard cheese and yogurt are okay in moderate quantities, regular milk and ice cream would be off the list) and see if that benefits you. Enzyme supplements might be worth a go as well; sometimes they help me, sometimes they don't, but I've never experienced a worsening of symptoms with them.