What Is Bloating Like Whats Actually In There
One thing people commonly mix up is the difference between bloating and water retention. They are often used interchangeably, but are in fact two separate things that can both happen in the week before your period. Premenstrual water retention is typically caused by hormone fluctuations, and diet can also play a role. Bloating of the period variety can be caused by hormones, but it presents as a gaseous feeling of increased pressure in the abdomen, even if there isnt actually anything in there.
What To Eat To Reduce Bloating
Changes in your diet may improve period bloating and other period symptoms. Consider eating six small meals rather than three large ones. This could help to reduce bloating and keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. Other diet changes to try include:
- Choose fiber-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains to prevent constipation. Avoid fiber supplements as these can lead to more bloating.
- Eat complex carbohydrates to give your body energy and fiber throughout the day. Examples include whole-grain bread and cereal, brown rice, and barley.
- Make sure youre getting enough calcium with foods like yogurt, cheese, and leafy green vegetables.
- Limit your intake of sugar, salt, and fatty foods.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol before and during your period.
Why Does It Happen
The main reason you can end up with bloating around your period is due to the hormonal chemical changes that come with your menstrual cycle, namely changes in levels of the sex hormones progesterone and estrogen.
As well as causing menstrual bleeding, research suggests that changes in progesterone and estrogen levels cause the body to retain more water and salt. The bodys cells become swollen with water, causing the feeling of bloating.
A 2011 study found that women retained most water and experienced the worst bloating on the first day of their period.
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Chewing Too Much Gum Can Leave You Bloated
Just as Violet experienced with that mythical piece of blueberry-flavored bubble gum, chewing gum can leave a person feeling painfully bloated albeit not as severe. There are actually a number of different triggers responsible for creating the sensation. Nutritional therapist Naomi Mead told Cosmopolitan that chewing gum can cause a person to accidentally swallow air while they chew. This trapped air in the gut can leave you feeling like a childs balloon and can also be a major cause of painful bloating.
If youre watching what you eat, chances are youre also likely picking sugar-free gum over regular. Nutritionist Anne Mauney wrote in an article for the journal Food & Nutrition that sugar substitutes found in these gums can also be a very common cause of bloating. The issue comes from substances called sugar alcohols in the gum. While these substances taste sweet on the tongue and make you feel like youre eating actual sugar theyre actually very hard for the body to digest. Once in the intestinal tract, the sugar alcohol will meet bacteria that ferment it and release gas, which leads to bloating, cramps, pain and diarrhea, she explained.
What Causes Bloating In The Stomach
Gas
Gas is a natural byproduct of digestion, but too much intestinal gas means your digestion is gone awry. While you can ingest gasses by swallowing air or drinking carbonated beverages, these gasses mostly escape through belching before they reach your intestines. Gasses in your intestines are mostly produced by gut bacteria digesting carbohydrates, in a process called fermentation.
If theres too much fermentation going on, its because too many carbohydrates werent naturally absorbed earlier in the digestive process, before reaching those gut bacteria. That could be for several reasons. Maybe you just ate too much too fast for proper digestion. Or you might have a specific food intolerance or gastrointestinal disease. Some possible causes include:
Digestive Contents
These can include solids, liquids, and gas. Digestive contents can build up in your digestive system when there is a backup or restriction in your digestive tract or when the muscles that move digestive contents along are somehow impaired. Any build-up of digestive contents along the digestive tract will leave less room for normal amounts of gas to process through. It also leaves less room for other things in your abdomen, including circulatory fluids and fat, making everything feel tighter. Causes of build-up can include:
Hormones
Other Causes
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Period Bloating Causes And Symptoms
Menstrual bloating is the stretching or swelling of the abdominal area during or before your menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle, as is it known to many, is the regular natural change that occurs in the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible. Period bloating leads to fluid retention which is often accompanied by gas, causing the sufferers tummy to feel tight and uncomfortable.
Some of the causes of menstrual bloating include:
Hormonal fluctuations
During the menstrual cycle, your hormone levels change, especially estrogen and progesterone. About a week before your period, progesterone levels fall causing your kidneys that are responsible for passing out fluids to release less of the hormone in your urine. This will therefore affect the digestive system leading to bloating.
Hereditary factors
If your mother or grandmother suffered bloating and other premenstrual symptoms during their tender ages the probability is therefore high for you to experience the same symptoms of bloating before or during your menstruation cycle.
Dietary changes
Some dietary factors before your periods for example too much intake of salt in your food or diet or intake of a diet heavy in processed and preserved foods with sodium, and junk foods contributes to water retention.
How To Get Rid Of Period Bloating
If youre feeling puffy and bloated, foods that contain potassium, like bananas and dark leafy greens, may help reduce water retention. They do this by counteracting high levels of sodium in the body.
Consuming lots of salty foods can make water retention worse.
Reducing the intake of refined sugars is also an important step for reducing period bloating. High-sugar foods encourage the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin, which can lead to water retention and bloating.
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Score A Little More Shut
Sleep is often impacted by the pain of menstruation, bloating, and feeling out of sorts, says Dr. Roy. Its during these crucial hours, though, that the excess fluid in your belly is able to move back into the body and be eliminated, she explains. So aim to get eight hours a nighthere are tips to help you drift off.
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How Long Does It Take For Water Retention To Go Away After Period
Water retention is most intense on the first day of your period but decreases quickly after that. Typically, your weight will be back to normal about 5 days after your period starts. As best you can, try not to worry about period weight gain. For the most part, it’s just water, and it’s a normal part of life.
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Bloating Before A Period Is A Common Pms Symptom
The week before your period, you may experience breast tenderness and swelling.
Symptoms such as bloating, swollen arms and legs, and bags under the eyes can also appear. Swelling and bloating are common symptoms of premenstrual syndrome that are caused by water retention.
Whether other symptoms of PMS are present or not, water retention is common during this time.
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How Do You Stop Bloating Before Your Period
To help limit bloating before your period, you can try the following:
- Avoid salty foods.
- Eat potassium-rich foods.
- Try natural diuretics .
- Avoid refined carbohydrates. They can cause an increase in blood sugar levels, which further raises insulin levels and causes the kidneys to retain more sodium.
- Exercise regularly.
Your health care provider can provide further advice on other possible remedies for water retention, such as diuretics.
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Oestrogen Is Ready To Cause Trouble
During your cycle, the levels of the hormone oestrogen will rise, peak, and then decrease. Simple, right? Well, not so much.
Oestrogen peaks around the 14th day of your cycle and then decreases steadily, but while doing it, it really does a number on your intestine. Oestrogen affects the receptors in your stomach and small intestine. Specifically, oestrogen reduces bowel motility, which means food moves more slowly through your intestine.
As such, it is common to experience some flatulence and constipation. And since your intestine is not working properly, theres a build up of gas which causes bloating.
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Consume The Right Kind Of Foods
High fiber foods provide enough fiber to get rid of constipation and bloating. Foods with high fiber content can also be consumed in order to avoid premenstrual bloating and preventing from even occurring.
This type of foods consists of broccoli, beans, asparagus, almonds, apples or pears.
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Don’t Skip Your Workout Routine
I get it: Working out is probably the last thing you feel like doing. But experts say getting your heart rate up is one of the best ways to alleviate PMS symptomsincluding bloat.
Bloating usually starts to kick in about one to two days before the start of a woman’s period.
People who live a more sedentary lifestyle tend to have more sluggish digestive systems, says Dr. Ross. Sweating it out can also help keep you stay regular and reduce constipation. Lighter workouts like swimming and yoga are your best bet, though high-intensity exercises may actually promote inflammation and, in turn, add to the bloat.
Do Your Jeans Start To Feel A Bit Tighter In The Days Leading Up To Your Period Many Of Us May Notice A Slight Fluctuation In Weight And Bloating Throughout Our Cycles In Fact Its Very Common
Period bloating and sometimes weight gain are unsurprisingly just other symptoms of PMS, to add to what may seem at times like an already long list! This usually occurs just before you start your period and may extend a few days into it. Around 70% of us experience bloating as a PMS symptom, so if you do feel a little more puffy around your cycle, remember that its just part of the natural cycle of the womb.
Even though bloating may cause some discomfort, its important to realise that this physical change is temporary and tends to ease off during, or as soon as you start your period. In the meantime, read on to find out exactly why it happens, along with some tips to help relieve and reduce bloating.
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When To Ask Your Doctor About Bloating
Temporary bloating is common and nothing to worry about. But if youâre troubled by bloating on a regular basis, talk to your doctor.
Physical obstructions such as scarring of the stomach opening can make it hard for food to pass through the digestive tract normally. If your doctor diagnoses a physical obstruction in the stomach or small intestines, surgery may be required to correct it. Bloating can also be caused by impaired muscle function in the digestive tract. When muscles that normally move food along donât work properly, gas can build up in the small intestines, causing bloating. In some cases, gas in the intestines may go the wrong way, returning to the stomach.
Persistent bloating or distention may also signal potentially serious conditions, such as enlargement of one of the abdominal organs or a malignancy.
Why Ivf Bloating Occurs
IVF bloating occurs because the medications and injections youre taking are stimulating your ovaries so that they produce more follicles than during a normal period and causing them to grow. With all those extra eggs than usual, its only natural for some women to feel bloated. Your ovaries are.
The more follicles you have the more swelling you may experience. Just to give a sense of proportion, in a normal period youll usually only have one dominant follicle, but during an IVF cycle you can have between 5 and 40!
In the majority of cases this will be mild bloating and there is absolutely nothing to worry about. At this stage it wont go away because you want the follicles to grow so that the eggs can be extracted.
Ironically, the most common time women feel bloated is after the egg retrieval. This is counter intuitive as you would have thought that since bloating is caused by having more eggs than usual, once theyre extracted you would feel less bloated. However, once the eggs are removed, blood rushes in to fill their place, the ovaries remain enlarged, and your belly stays big so the bloated feeling remains.
If youve been feeling bloated during the stimulation stage, you might progress from very mild and minor discomfort to feeling very swollen. Again, this is all perfectly normal.
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What Causes Period Bloating
There are several causes of bloating, Dr. Alyssa Dweck, MD, tells Woman’s Day. First, progesterone the hormone produced in larger amounts from mid-cycle until menstruation affects intestinal motility, she says. In other words, a change in the amount of progesterone in the body can impact the way your intestines move waste through and out of your body, by either speeding the process up or slowing it down. If the intestines move faster or slower, symptoms may occur including gas, bloating, constipation, or loose stools,” Dweck explains.
In addition to hormone changes that occur during menstruation, Dweck says that the lifestyle changes that typically coincide with one’s period can also cause bloating. You may find yourself craving saltier or sugarier foods around your period, for example, thanks to a spike in both estrogen and progesterone. While those foods are undoubtably comforting, they can also lead to bloating.
When To See A Doctor
At 1 month pregnant, youre probably feeling decent a little excited, a little nervous, and super tired, but decent. However, if you notice any of the following symptoms, give your doctor a call. You may have an infection or could, sadly, be experiencing an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage:
- severe abdominal pain or cramping
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Check Your Salt Intake
Having too much sodium in your system can cause your cells to hang on to more water, which can lead to puffiness. Sticking with a lower sodium diet, at least around your period, can go a long way toward keeping belly bloat at bay.
Make it a point to eat more whole, unprocessed foods like fresh fruits and veggies, which are naturally low in salt. Try to cut back on takeout or restaurant food and packaged or processed snacks, which tend to be salt bombs.
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Will The Bloating Go Away After Endo Surgery
Yes, endometriosis surgery often resolves the underlying cause of your abdominal swelling. You may have some post-surgical swelling and discomfort, so your relief wont be immediate.
However, as your post-surgical symptoms subside and your body heals, you should notice a significant decrease in abdominal swelling, pelvic pain, and other signs of endometriosis.
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Reduce Alcohol And Caffeine
Another important factor that decides how long does period bloating last is your intake of alcohol and caffeine. According to some experts, alcohol can increase your PMS symptoms, and caffeine dehydrates you, so they are a definite no-no if you want to get rid of the menstrual bloating. Specifically, you should avoid sugar, coffee, chocolate and alcoholic beverages before your menstrual cycle, or it will lengthen your bloating time.
How Soon Do You Feel Pregnancy Signs
As noted above, the most widely known early pregnancy symptom is a missed period, which usually appears about two to three weeks after conception.
However, some other very early signs of pregnancy could appear even before you realise your period is late or you experience bloating. Such symptoms include:
- tender breasts: due to higher levels of progesterone, you will probably start experiencing tenderness and swelling in your breasts
- sensitivity to smell: hormonal changes in pregnancy can also cause changes and sensitivity to smell
- spotting: spotting might occur as early as six days after conception, so it can represent one of the earliest signs of pregnancy
- frequent urination: frequent urination can start as soon as two weeks after conception, so its another very early sign of being pregnant
- fatigue: progesterone is to blame for the constant tiredness that is usually experienced within the first few weeks after conception, even though fatigue is common throughout the whole duration of pregnancy
- mood swings: just like with PMS and hormonal changes, pregnancy can also result in various mood swings, that vary from feeling excited, depressed, irritated and so on. So brace yourself for an interesting nine-month ride!
The above-mentioned symptoms represent some common signs of pregnancy at its earliest stages. Later on, they can be accompanied by morning sickness that usually develops before the ninth week of pregnancy, again due to an increase in pregnancy hormones.
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Cut Off Refined Sugars
Sweet tooth during pregnancy is common. But you need to control the urge to consume refined sugars. Carbonated beverages and sweetened fruit juices also contain high levels of fructose corn syrup, which contributes to bloating. Choose fresh fruit juices of apricots, bananas, and peaches to satisfy your craving for candies and soda drinks. Avoid chewing gum and slimming foods as they contain sorbitol, which can cause gas and bloating during pregnancy .