Question About Abdominal Noise

[odcdinah]

Does anyone else experience excessive abdominal noise/rumbling/gurgling? (the technical name is borborygmi). I seem to be experiencing this day and night and can't figure out what it is about.

Help! Anyone else?

[Sawyer]

I do if I get any gluten. Otherwise it calms down

[jerseyangel]

Does anyone else experience excessive abdominal noise/rumbling/gurgling? (the technical name is borborygmi). I seem to be experiencing this day and night and can't figure out what it is about.

Help! Anyone else?

I get this symptom as one of the first signs that I have gotten some gluten. It's always from some sort of CC. Have you been having this for long? You may be getting some hidden gluten--like in your personal care products or eating out. Another thing to consider is that something else is disagreeing with you--soy, corn, and dairy products (to name the more common ones) are things that can cause symptoms in those sensitive to them. Soy would do that to me, also.

[Felidae]

I used to get those noises all the time before I went gluten-free. Also, dairy caused noises too for me.

[odcdinah]

I used to get those noises all the time before I went gluten-free. Also, dairy caused noises too for me.

Thanks everyone! It's so helpful to know others have the same issues...

[AmandaD]

Hi odcdinah - I'm new to celiac myself (just diagnosed by biopsy in Sept) and I recently got glutened and had a little intolerance to dairy at the same time...and experienced the same weird grumbly noises. Very common, from what I understand.

How old are you? How did you find out you had Celiac?

I'm sure it's been as weird a journey for you as it has for me!!! AmandaD

[odcdinah]

Hi odcdinah - I'm new to celiac myself (just diagnosed by biopsy in Sept) and I recently got glutened and had a little intolerance to dairy at the same time...and experienced the same weird grumbly noises. Very common, from what I understand.

How old are you? How did you find out you had Celiac?

I'm sure it's been as weird a journey for you as it has for me!!! AmandaD

Amanda,

I am 38 and was just diagnosed by biopsy and transglutamase (sp) blood work 3 weeks ago. No problems until this past January when I over-indulged on junk food - haven't been the same since. I haven't totally eliminated the dairy but need to do that

It's very hard to find all the gluten sources, I know I'm still accidently getting it. Even my Maybelline mascara has wheat germ oil!!!

The noises and gas are the worst part! I wish they'd go away. How are you coping?

[Guest cassidy]

It only happens to me when I'm glutened and is often the first symptom I feel.

[slpinsd]

Before I went gluten-free, it would happen within seconds of eating gluten. That's one thing that happens as soon as I get glutened. However, excessive dairy does it to me, too, still.

[penguin]

I get it from time to time and I can't figure out where it comes from. Sometimes it's from too much dairy, but mostly I have no idea.

[jennyj]

I used to get laughed at because I could eat something and 10-15 minutes later my stomach would be "growling" so loud everyone around me would turn and look. NOW I know it must have been gluten.

[kimjoy24]

I still get strange stomach noises even though I've been strictly gluten-free for almost a year now. I haven't been able to pinpoint what triggers it. It is sometimes very loud and very weird, and completely has a mind of its own. It's certainly not a good thing, but not as bad as my worst symptoms (nausea and brain fog).

Something that might help you figure out the trigger is to go on a very basic diet, if you are not already on one, with mainly whole, natural foods which would allow your gut to heal. Then slowly introduce things that you feel that you could handle before, and see if there's a gurgly reaction. I've been meaning to do something this myself, though I want to get tested for a few more food allergens before "detoxing.

[odcdinah]

I still get strange stomach noises even though I've been strictly gluten-free for almost a year now. I haven't been able to pinpoint what triggers it. It is sometimes very loud and very weird, and completely has a mind of its own. It's certainly not a good thing, but not as bad as my worst symptoms (nausea and brain fog).

Something that might help you figure out the trigger is to go on a very basic diet, if you are not already on one, with mainly whole, natural foods which would allow your gut to heal. Then slowly introduce things that you feel that you could handle before, and see if there's a gurgly reaction. I've been meaning to do something this myself, though I want to get tested for a few more food allergens before "detoxing.

Can the gastroenterologist test you for other food allergens/intolerances?

[AmandaD]

3 weeks ago - you're just a celiac baby! I was diagnosed in september by biopsy and ttg. it was like i didn't have stomach problems one day and then bam...poop! I still get glutened occasionally but in general the stomach stuff is calming down nicely. i also have some low vitamin d going on and my doc is trying to get me out in the sun every day )...i'm 30...three kids...we're actually going through the process of having all the kids tested now - they're 5, 4 and 2...

Amanda,

I am 38 and was just diagnosed by biopsy and transglutamase (sp) blood work 3 weeks ago. No problems until this past January when I over-indulged on junk food - haven't been the same since. I haven't totally eliminated the dairy but need to do that

It's very hard to find all the gluten sources, I know I'm still accidently getting it. Even my Maybelline mascara has wheat germ oil!!!

The noises and gas are the worst part! I wish they'd go away. How are you coping?

[Mr J]

Does anyone else experience excessive abdominal noise/rumbling/gurgling? (the technical name is borborygmi). I seem to be experiencing this day and night and can't figure out what it is about.

Help! Anyone else?

the rumbling comes from the contractions of the stomach smooth muscle. Smooth muscle is in the walls of the bag which forms the stomach - not to be confused with the stomach and abdomen muscles on the outside of the body. Smooth muscle is autonomous muscle. Autonomous means it acts independently of your will, you can contract your abs at will when you do situps and crunches but there is little your mind can do to control the smooth muscle contractions. These contractions occur rythmically and churn the food. The churning helps digestion by breaking down meat and vege fibers.

the vagus nerve is what sends the signal to the smooth muscle to contract. various hormones in the blood and nutrients in the stomach are monitored by sensors. So when just the right mix of food and enzymes are in place the sensors pick this up and feed the signals via a "feedback loop" into the vagus nerve which signals to contract. Even an empty stomach sends signals of a different type - maybe a different feedback loop to the one which detects the food /enzyme mix - i dunno, i'm not a medical expert so just guessing. this different signal causes a different rythm of contraction and explains why a stomach rumbles when you are hungry. there are also feedback loops from the small intestine - again these i don't understand, just know they exist.

i found out about this coz gluten destroys the function of my vagus nerve - result is a condition called gastroparesis.

The gluten-free diet has restored my vagus nerve.

so now to turn everyone elses posts upside-down - a rumbling stomach is one of the happiest sounds in the world to me. when my stomach rumbles i frequently smile. These rumbles started about 8months ago after going gluten-free - the opposite experience to the others on this thread. Prior to that i had approx 2 yrs of deathly silence - no rumbles => paralysed stomach => awful.

when the smooth muscle stops its not obvious whats happened - food just doesn't want to digest and just sits there for hours. i had to go for walks all the time to try and empty my stomach in the absence of smooth muscle function.

i'm so happy when my stomach makes a noise :-)

cheers,

Mr J

[flagbabyds]

I get it when I get casein, then in a couple of days it calms down, you should try elimintaing dairy and see if that helps, or see if you are getting CC anywhere or other products you use that could have gluten.

[Canadian Karen]

I have the loudest stomach north of the border!

I have it often, every day, numerous times a day. It is worse at night though...... The gluten free diet did nothing to stop it.

It literally sounds like a thunderstorm is going on inside me. It entertains my children to no end!

Karen

[debmidge]

Hubby is 100% gluten-free for over 2 yrs and still has noises. I can hear it across the room. But it's nothing like what he had for the 26 years he was un/mis diagnosed.. Suppose it's other sources of food bothering him, but can't tell what.....it's not everyday like pre-celiac disease diagnosis, just now and then.

[Mr J]

happy rumbling

following on from my post on stomach rumbling in the above link, I find it fascinating that all our autonomous functions seem to operate on a feedback loop from various sensors scattered around the body. alright, I suppose stomach rumbling isnt 100% autonomous, there are times when looking at tasty food can provide signals for one of the feedback loops that lead to the vagus nerve which in turn operates the smooth muscle thus producing a rumble induced by our consciousness. but all the willpower in the world doesn't seem to shut the stomach up in embarassing situations so we can call it autonomous.

the creator must have put dozens of feedback loops into the human body which we mortals (even the health professionals and i'm not health pro) will never understand completely and never know about. I look at the rumbling situation as having multiple feedback loops coz i've created a couple of very simple feedback loops at work for a single physical device. the futuristic machine that provides me with my current employment is complicated to me and i dont understand most of it - took a team of humans to build, would i suppose be extremely crude when viewed by the creator, but its helped me understand the concept of the feedback loop.

the two loops i programmed are for the cooling fans. Loop1 says if one or more of the fans has its speed drop to zero, turn the remaining fans to full speed to compensate. Loop2 is slightly more sophisticated - instead of monitoring fan speed instead it monitors the purpose of its job - the temperature sensors. It then adjusts speed according to temperature and this is more in keeping with the way the human body operates.

what i mean is that instead of having sensors to monitor strength of rumbling and turn the stomach rumbling up or down, instead the body monitors all sorts of things and then calculates how much rumbling to perform. so this can show how multiple loops can feed cooling fans and similarly i'd imagine multiple loops feed the vagus nerve of the stomach. Some of the things that affect rumbling are how much food in stomach, how rich the nutrient mix is - water empties with different stomach contractions to solid food fragments, there are also feed back loops from the small intestine receiving the nutrient - eg. if lots fat received then slow down contractions to avoid pumping energy at too fast a rate into body - or something like that, i don't know exactly how they operate.

[Claire]

I have had this problem to the point that the 'noise' kept me awake at night.

Recently I was treated for h.pylori infection. The rumbling was worse than ever. It is better now but not gone.

Very disquieting. Claire

[odcdinah]

I'm so relieved to know I'm not the only one - it had me worried.

Thanks everyone!

[Mr J]

.....The rumbling was worse than ever. It is better now but not gone.

Very disquieting. Claire

<groan> I do enjoy puns :-) </groan> my wife is Thai and we prefer to use the Thai phrase for rumbling stomach - phonetically written is "Tong Rong". Tong means stomach and Rong means sing, so literal translation is "stomach is singing"

as i was describing in post 15 and the one above, i used to be in the opposite situation to everyone else on this thread - feedback loop to singing muscle failed :-(

its is far better to have a stomach of opera level volumes than one that doesn't churn at all

[Mr J]

symptoms V alarms

as i was explaining in post 19 above, the machine i program at work provides me with a useful analogy to help understand the rumbling/singing, which thankfully has returned to my stomach.

the machine is futuristically loaded with silicon chips which are working quite hard and need some fairly hefty cooling fans to stop them from burning up.

so I've been thinking about separating the concepts of symptoms and alarms

what I mean is that the machine can display the malfunction (assuming its not a silent malfunction) in the form of crazy and erroneous behaviour or as controlled alarms which are transmitted to the human operators to let them know something is wrong.

when humans try to harness nature they are on a fairly impossible task to get everything perfectly under control, however i would have thought the creator could get everything right, but it doesn't at least on the surface seem so. Never heard the term borborygmi! before reading this thread but post #1 defines it as excessive stomach noise so we consider the situation to be a failure of stomach to display appropriate social behavour. However looking on the bright side of things, maybe borborygmi sufferers should consider it as a useful alarm? signals that some human error in choice of ingestion has been made?

[Mr J]

just thought I'd mention that "Tong Rong" can be used in a similar context to the western phrase of "bless you" so if a stomach gives a particularly loud rumble can say simply "Tong Rong". And it said in positive good natured context.

also so as not to confuse anyone who read my first post, a rumbling stomach in my case is not an alarm signal that i've eaten something bad - quite the opposite in fact - it is a signal that my stomach is now churning food properly -something it failed to do when under gluten attack.

just goes to show another example of how we might share a common poison but react in exact opposite ways which makes our conditions so hard to figure out

[Mr J]

all systems can malfunction even the alarm system itself i have found out. despite my best efforts to control the fans at work they sometimes produce a stream of spurious alarms.

i'm also inclined to think the noise from stomach rumbles isn't meant to be an alarm signal but more just a side effect of a necessary function. In the same way that the cooling fans need to spin resulting in a howling or roaring noise on the machine, the stomach needs to churn but cannot physically do silently.

hunger is most definately meant to be an alarm signal that lets us know its time to eat. Unfortunately the feedback loop to my hunger alarm system is broken, i think by gluten. I've completely lost the sensation of hunger, instead i have to conciously monitor my stomach for signs of being empty to determine if its time to eat. Also a rumble whose tone is a sort of squelching noise indicates i still have food in my stomach, whereas the empty rumble i personally treat as an alarm signal of empty stomach and time to eat or risk getting hypoglaecmic, but thats only coz my hunger alarm has failed :-(

nevertheless wonderful to have the feedback loop to my stomach churning restored. I'm not sure what my body was doing when it switched it off. Perhaps it was trying to keep as much gluten out of my system as possible by making it very difficult for me to eat. I have good absorption according to enterolab and kaiser. So in the absence of the genetics to reduce absorbption by villi flattening, my body did the only thing it could by switching off vagus nerve to stomach. Sort of an intelligent malfunction, but a malfunction nevertheless, effect on my body quite devastating.

i don't understand whats going on but can have fun guessing. When the machine stops working for reasons not immediately understood we say its been hosed

yes the feedback loops to my stomach were hosed by gluten

edit ---->

just as i posted this my stomach gave a friendly rumble :-)