What do you do when you become bloated?

Cut back on salt. You’ll be surprise how many processed foods have a lot of salt.
Stay away from fast food.
Eat more fruits and veggies. You need fiber.
And drink more water. People often think that by avoiding water they will avoid bloating. Avoiding liquids will guarantee your body will try to retain liquids because it needs it.

Jogging can help with bloating. The bouncing of it is very helpful.

@Pandora, hmm, I already stay away from salt… at least as much as I can. I don’t like foods that are too salty. yuck. hmm, I don’t eat fast foods either. =) And I do believe that I’ve become bloated because of the sudden increase in fiber, will more fiber actually help? Water, I will try to drink more of though! thanks!

@athenasgriffin, yikes.. that seems like it will be very uncomfortable.. but~ it won’t hurt to try! Ironically, I stopped my jogging routine last week because of this uncomfortable bloaty feeling.. =( haha, time to get back to jogging I suppose!

If lying down is an option, I’ve found that lying on my side and pulling my knees up to my belly (like a fetal position) helps.

@curiouscat I don’t personally bloat, but my mom has had problems with bloating for years and believes it helps.
Honestly, I can’t think of anything I would want to do less while in pain.

@curiouscat If it’s a daily event, the adjust diet and exerciser routines to get it under control. For the occasional episode that comes up when you have to eat out and break up a well-oiled routine, try a 2 quart isotonic enema when you first feel the bloating. You can use laxatives, but they affect the whole system when it is usually just the lower GI tract that’s causing the discomfort. And while laxatives can kick in at very inconvenient moments, an enema is quite predictable. If you can hold it for 10 to 15 minutes, that’s more than enough. Just a short stretch of discomfort, then all is well for the rest of the day. You just don;t want to use them regularly, as your lower GI tract will learn to rely on theml Then when conditions don;t permit, you really feel lousy.

OMG an enema just for a little bloating! I would jog as was suggested and that will usually move the flatulence to where it can be eliminated, just check behind you before you eliminate it :-).

Adjust your diet to see if that helps. If it persists for too long even after exercise and diet adjustments, then much as I hate going to the doctor, I think I would just to be sure.

@ETpro, thank you for the well thought out answer.
Well, it’s only been a week for this daily bloating. It’s one of those occasional dilemmas… that I don’t want to drag on longer than necessary.

Laxatives… I’ve had terrible experiences with them.. Once I took it, and apparently I wasn’t constipated enough to take it, and since i did, I actually became severely constipated. My back hurt, and when I bent down, I would almost fall over in pain! So, I’m a little afraid of laxatives, and will only use it when I’m in serious need of it. Even then, I prefer more natural solutions.

@rooeytoo, alright. Jogging I shall do! I’m too tired of this uncomfortable bloating issue. =S

You’ve felt bloated for a whole week, from fiber overload? Wow. Anyway, maybe you’re morning dump isn’t enough; you’re not giving yourself enough time. Get a good book or a magazine, sit down for your morning dump and relax, read and just sit there until you’re really done, not only merely done, really most sincerely done. :-) That usually works for me.

@rooeytoo Did you miss the part where I said ato adjust the diet and try exercise first?

@curiouscat Definitely find some way to get it under control to the point it isn’t a daily situation. My suggestion is for the occasional time when your proven routine gets interrupted, and the feeling returns of a day—not for every day of the week. I am very against laxatives. They disrupt the entire system when the problem is quite localized. And they leave you stuck at home base till you are certain they are finished doing their dirty work. :-)

Try some different forms of fiber. For me, psyllium husk fiber leads to lots of gas.

@lillycoyote, haha, yes.. one whole week, sadly. oh geez… I sit on the toilet for half an hour every morning.. That’s also what I do, but i suppose my system isn’t used to the extra fiber intake. I’m glad I’m not the only one who continues to sit on the toilet for what seems to be forever until my bowels feel “clean” though, and “really done” ;) But with my recent bloating, even after I feel “really done”... an hour later, I’ll be bloated again. =_= and stopping at the toilet after that point doesn’t ease the bloating feeling, and usually it’s much more difficult to go at that point.

@ETpro, yes yes, I’ll remember to actually slowly increase my fiber intake next time as well.. so as not to interrupt my routine. Thanks!

@curiouscat Well, then, sorry, that’s all I’ve got for you. :-)

and that should have been “your morning dump” not “you’re morning dump.” Typo.

Do not overeat.
Have a daily exercise routine.
Steam or grill food, no frying.
Drink enough water daily.
Shed extra pounds.

I don’t get bloated.

So there’s this yoga pose whose name actually translates to “passing wind.” You lie down on your back and pull your knees into your chest. Maybe try doing that for a bit. Also, I’ve always found lying on my right side useful for relieving gas cramps.

Some people are more sensitive to fiberous foods than others. I’m a vegetarian and I eat a mound of fiber every day, but I don’t tend to bloat. You might want to consider taking Beano, before you eat fiber filled foods. You can read here all about Beano, how it works and how often and when you should take it. It also talks a little bit about what types of foods to eat. Hope that helps, otherwise, just put a horn back there and learn how to toot out the Star Spangled Banner : )

@Kardamom, haha, thank you! I’m sure it’ll pass eventually. I used to eat lots of fiber, but then somehow that eventually just stopped,... trying to start up again takes some effort! I’m Canadian by the way ;)

@mazingerz88, hehe, some components to a healthy lifestyle. =)

Buy a bottle of Beano. It will help.

@curiouscat Exactly how much fiber are you consuming? Are you keeping track of how many grams of fiber you’re consuming or are you just randomly eating high fiber foods and shot-gunning metamucil? Since your are trying to start up good fiber habits after a while being off of it maybe easing into, smaller amounts spread out over the course of the day, slowly increasing the amount until you get the amount you require, which would be between about 20 to 35 grams but probably not more than 45 grams from what I’ve read. Or maybe changing the kind of fiber in your diet would help. Most people don’t get enough fiber but more fiber is better only up to a certain point and then it’s too much unless you like being bloated and doing all your reading on the toilet. Eating fiber is supposed to make you healthier and feel better, not bloated a week at time.

@lillycoyote, well, I don’t really keep track of how many grams of fiber I’m consuming. I prefer natural means for fiber, so metamucil is a no-no for me. I’ll briefly list some foods that I consume normally, or recently. I suppose keeping track of my fiber intake is also a good idea. Instead of just reaching for a bunch of fiber rich foods. ._.

I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast for the past year or two, since I am a fan of it. It tastes delicious.. for some reason I really like the taste of wheaty and oaty things. I’d say the amount is about one cup of oatmeal, with some added milk.

For lunch, usually if I am going home for lunch, I’ll have a bowl of rice along with some sort of veggies and meat.

Sometimes I’ll feel the craving for some sort of drink, and so I’ll just go to Booster Juice as my snack. I always order the Matcha Monsoon with the fiber booster in it. That’s about 500 calories, and I’m not sure how many grams of fiber that is with the booster in it as well.

If not a booster juice, I’ll make a cup of tea, orange pekoe with milk and sugar. If not tea or booster juice, I’ll brew myself a cup of coffee, with cream and sugar, or with hot chocolate mix.

Then, for supper, it’ll be again a bowl of white steamed rice with some kinds of veggies and meat. (I am Chinese and white rice is something I pretty much consume daily, but I’m sure that can’t be the problem since I have been doing that my entire life).

For snacks, perhaps I’ll feel like eating an apple with the skin left on, and also consumed with a tbsp of peanut butter.

In between all those meals and snacks, I fit milk and water into my daily consumption.

Lately, I must have been blindly consuming and reaching for more fiber rich foods than usual. Even abruptly upping my dose of vegetables during meals…

I also forgot to add that, during my menstruation periods, I also go to the toilet more often, and it feels as if having my period cleans out my bowels too. But this time around, I became bloated. So it could have been period issues, along with the recent consumption of foods.

Fortunately, today, after my daily dump, I did not feel bloated after at all! Most of the day has passed, and now it is almost supper time, and I still am feeling fine. So I think it is going away!! =) I have a lot to keep in mind though… Sorry for the long blob!

I seldom become bloated, because I suffer from a mild IBS. But when I am bloated, all I feel like doing is spending time on the toilet. I will just go and sit on the toilet, to try to relieve it. 99% of the time, that ususally relieves the issue. I have to be relaxed when I am on the toilet in general, or else I do not succeed. The other one percent, I wind up taking a laxative, and that sends me to the toilet in a very short time afterwards.