Very loud noises

[theresa1616]

very loud noises

Hi,
I am new to this forum.I'm 26 and have had crohns for about 4 years. My disease is mainly about a severe partial obstruction that doesn't go away but also stays in check so i haven't needed surgery yet. I keep it in control mainly with a combo of 6-mp and entocort. Luckily i only have short flares/obstructions about twice a year. But, one of my main issues is the obstruction creating very loud noise in my tract after eating. I would say that its the part of crohns that has the biggest social/mental implications for me-right now. I am already on a pretty strict diet too.
I saw some postings about this on this forum but not any answers. It sounds like a gurgling or blocked pipe. I've had it on-going for about 2 years now. It's totally random..so i have no idea if certain foods cause it. And its really loud! I have had some inconsiderate people make rude comments about it and being in my 20's--its really not good in social situations and often makes me feel anti-social. It's hard to just pass it off as a joke because its a pretty abnormal noise.
What can i do??! I assume its caused by the partial obstruction. I am trying things such as: camomile tea, flax seed oil, and i may try marshmallow root.
If you have any suggestions for herbs, medicines, activities (i know yoga or just walking sometimes helps me). Hopefully if we all put our heads together we can help out many of us! I saw teens post about this problem as well and that they have to cope with it during tests in school- i have a lot of empathy for them and i hope this will help them too.
THANKS!

 

[Gav]

Hi Theresa,

Sorry to hear you are experiencing this. I had Ulcerative Colitis rather than Crohn's and I now have an ileostomy. However, one things that worked for stomach noises and now works for my stoma noises was a good probiotic yogurt first thing in the morning. I take them religiously now and they really help calm down any noises, which is a great thing because without taking them my stoma can be a right loud fella!

It may or may not help you too as you are facing a partial obstruction, but it has done me the world of good. I take just the one in the morning with breakfast.

All the best and I hope you can find something to thelp with this! :hug:

Gav

 

[Spooky1]

Hi, Theresa, and Gav,

welcome Theresa

i have always had a very noisy stricture or two. i really sympathise cos there is no shutting it up, well, i thought not. i'm on liquid diet and it still happens, so Gav, i think its time i tested out probiotics. can you tell me exactly which one you use. thanks,

looking forward to quieter times!

best wishes
Diane

 

[Gav]

Hi Diane,

Sure, the probiotic yogurt I use is the Sainsbury's own brand "French Set" Probiotic Yogurts. They are reasonably cheap, come in packs of four, and do the job for me. This is not to say any other brand wouldn't work. I have found success with these ones and not really tried any others!

Hope that helps.

Gav

 

[Spooky1]

thanks, Gav, will grab some when i get to supermarket next. its getting there thats the issue,lol.

 

[theresa1616]

thanks

Hi Gav and Diane,
Thanks for writing back to me! I noticed you are both in the UK, so hopefully they will also have that brand yogurt here in the US. If not, i'm sure i can find another one. The only thing is, I also have problems with dairy products--so maybe i will ask my doctor before eating it. I also know they have probiotic capsules, so maybe i could try those. Gav, have you ever tried the capsules?

Thanks!
~Deb

 

[Spooky1]

hahaha, lol, so Theresa, are you called Deb?

 

[scoutfinch]

Hi Theresa- I've experienced this type of gurgling effect as well. It's sort of like a drain unclogging - like a glug glug glug noise. I don't have any obstruction (that I know of), but I do have a long narrowed section in my small intestine, which is what I am assuming is causing this effect. It doesn't happen too often. Usually only when I have eaten a lot and particularly if I have a lot of liquids with solid food (e.g. drinking a big glass of water after a meal).

Do you experience any pain when this happens? I typically don't. Also, I usually only experience this effect when I am in a flare.

 

[theresa1616]

Hi Everyone,
haha, yes sometimes i go by my middle name, sometimes my first name- sorry for the confusion!
No, i do not have pain when i have these noises--unless i'm in a flare. In which case i wouldnt even care about the noises because the pain is so bad! This happens to me nightly i would say--after almost everything i eat. Scout-it seems like we have a very similar problem because i too have a long narrowing. I'm afraid that as long as the narrowing is there, the noises will persist. And the narrowing isnt going away!
I'm going to ask my doctor about the probiotics and i'm also going to try to walk or do yoga nightly soon after eating to aid in the digestion.
Scout- i'm curious what your flares are like (if you don't mind sharing)? Since it sounds like we have a similar type of crohns.
Thanks all!

 

[new2crohnsinVA]

I have Crohns and also hear the loud noises. Mine is usually in the evening and definitely coming from the illeum, where I have the majority of my inflammation. Luckily, it is at a time when only my family can hear it, which leads to much gigling by my 3 year old.

I tried probiatic yogurt once but I had a ton of pain about 10 minutes later and it turned me off yogurt for a long time. Exercise helps me, though.

 

[vickyhunter]

I get this sooo much! Mine is like really loud squeeky pops it's very odd!
I have an 11cm stricture in my transverse colon and I thhink that might be what mine is. But when ever I flare I always get really loud noises - probably our poor bowels in pain!

Concerning if there's anything you could do for it, I'd say eat a low residue diet and plenty of water - sorry I can't offer anything better!

Keep well <3

xxx

 

[Gav]

Hi Gav and Diane,
Thanks for writing back to me! I noticed you are both in the UK, so hopefully they will also have that brand yogurt here in the US. If not, i'm sure i can find another one. The only thing is, I also have problems with dairy products--so maybe i will ask my doctor before eating it. I also know they have probiotic capsules, so maybe i could try those. Gav, have you ever tried the capsules?

Thanks!
~Deb

Yes, I did indeed! I tried the ones from kirkman labs. They are more availble in the US than the UK, but they had really good probiotic active culture numbers (a few billion are needed in the supplements for them to be any use) so I went for them and found a supplier this side of the pond.

Regarding the brand of yogurt I have in the UK, I doubt you get Sainsburys over there, but I'm sure any good probiotic yogurt will have similar strains, but they do need to be probiotic ones!

Whether they will help you or not is another thing, all I can say is, before and after ileostomy they helped decrease gas and noises when I used them.

All the best Deb. I do hope something helps you

 

[shamrock15]

When I was younger, I used to have a couple strange bowel sounds. I had one set that sounded like a really large "whoosh". But the best was during my days in university. Had a lab exam for geography. Really tense atmosphere in the class,about 45 minutes, small classroom packed with about 30 students all around lab tables writing quietly. Could feel the pressure building, and I think I was getting embarassed just thinking about the impending sound. Then it started. At about a normal speaking voice level, glug, glug, glug glug glug, increasing in pitch as it went. Very similar to pouring motor oil out of a large container. The guy across the table from me just had this stunned look on his face, and then everyone broke out laughing. Huge stress relief. 20 years later, and after many surgeries, I still get the sounds.

I believe they can be caused by either gas or fluid, and if it is fluid, the probiotics might not help. They are worth a try - they have worked a little for me, but no longer do. I developed a bit of a thick skin to it, and try to use it for entertainment now!

 

[scoutfinch]

Hi Everyone,
Scout-it seems like we have a very similar problem because i too have a long narrowing. I'm afraid that as long as the narrowing is there, the noises will persist. And the narrowing isnt going away!
I'm going to ask my doctor about the probiotics and i'm also going to try to walk or do yoga nightly soon after eating to aid in the digestion.
Scout- i'm curious what your flares are like (if you don't mind sharing)? Since it sounds like we have a similar type of crohns.
Thanks all!

My flares can be described as CRAZY PAINFUL. In addition to the narrowing in my small intestine (and yes, narrowing is pretty much irreversible), I also have ulcers in my large intestine when I flare. The pain is usually in my left side (sort of in the mid torso area and the belly area). The pain varies - it's usually a really tight hard crampy ache that is so strong that it makes me nauseous. The pain wave will usually last anywhere from 10 seconds to 30 seconds, which doesn't sound like a long time, but feels like a freaking eternity of pain given how strong it is.

I also get gas pain. Stuck gas lasts for hours and the bloating both hurts and aches. My belly gets really bloated and there's really nothing I can do to ease this kind of pain except wait suffer and hope that it subsides soon.

Sometimes I will just get a blast of really strong nausea, where I feel like I really really want to vomit - but I don't vomit. These blasts come and go and leave me feeling really gross. It's the worst when it happens during a meal. I love and appreciate good food and when pain or nausea hits during a meal, I completely lose my appetite.

Then there's the gastric burning type of pain. I think this is the ulcers in the colon causing this. It feels like there is an open wound in my left belly and someone has thrown lemon juice onto this open wound. And then it hurts like it's been set on fire. Unbelievably painful.