embarrasing noises

I was hoping for some advice as im getting nowhere with my gp!! I've had crohn's for 10 years and have been in remission for the last 5. I'm taking pentasa, actonel, calcium and vit b12 injections. My problem is that i get constant noises from my stomach and bowels. I've had this for as long as i've had crohn's but i don't understand why all the other terrible syptoms have gone but i'm left with this. I realise it doesn't sound like much of a problem but it affects my life hugely, i've had to go part time in work and am suffering anxiety and depression and struggle in most social situations.

My gp says it's IBS and that there's nothing i can really do about it. The worst noises seem to be caused by trapped wind. I'd really appreciate ANY advice. I've tried varying my diet and have cut out wheat which has helped slightly but i've hit a brick wall. Thankyou for reading!

Thankyou for your reply. I do see a specialist, every 6 months. I told my old gastro about this a few of years ago and she was very dismissive, made me feel really stupid, i got a response of 'well yes of course you have noises, you have crohn's disease'. I've never spoken about it since and just thought it was part of the condition but it's really affecting my life now. I plucked up the courage to speak to my gp about it as he's very approachable but, as i said, i didn't really get anywhere with it.

Do you think something could be done about it? Im not getting pain, sickness or bowel movement problems (nothing major anyway although i never feel quite 'right') so i can't imagine they'd put me on any meds for it. Thanks again for the reply

In my daughter's case, you could hear the sounds across the room. Even before she was diagnosed with Crohn's, we both wondered why she had such loud abdominal rumbles.

Then, when prescribed Zithromax for a sinus infection, my daughter was told to eat yogurt to replenish the good bacteria which would be wiped out by the antibiotic.

An accidental benefit is that her rumbles died down to nearly nothing. Just from eating yogurt once a day.

Two years later, when diagnosed with Crohn's, she started on Entocort/SCD diet which put her into remission - and the sounds disappeared completely.

Of course she still eats yogurt once a day.

Hi there Pippy,

Well i had surgery about 9 yrs ago and although i felt a major improvement afterwards, i still had bouts of D and suffered bloating and distension. When i informed my GI of this and asked whether it could be the Crohn's coming back he very quickly brushed it off and said "you look fine" and that i was in remission. He said the symptoms were just IBS and it was perfectly normal. Basically he meant go away and stop wasting his time. Back then my knowledge of this disease was very minimal and i didn't question his comments. So i trusted him that i was in remission and should just get used to the "IBS" symptoms. Which i did for the last 9 yrs and in the last yr they've gotten worse and i bloat so bad i look 6 months pregnant, my tummy has started making crazy and embarrassing noises every time i eat and the D is gradually getting worse. So I requested from my GP that he refer me to a new GI as i had discovered this website and was given some very helpful advice from other members that this was most likely a stricture.

So i had a colonoscopy last wk and an SBFT today and wouldn't you know it, the area they resectioned is narrowing badly and now there's abnormalities in the large bowel too. It's obviously been getting worse over all those yrs (he didn't put me on any preventative medication either after my surgery) So i would definitely recommend that you get your GP to refer you to another GI, even if you have to travel a little further, it's SO worth it. I feel like going back to my old GI and punching his lights out for being so dismmissive and patronising. But i don't think that'd be a great idea   I might just make an appt with him and confront him about his 8 yrs of crap advice. Better to get it off my chest than to be feeling angry about it!!

So i personally feel that when your tummy starts making those noises, it's yelling out for some attention, literally! and there is most likely some narrowing somewhere. Try to get to the bottom of it asap. And although it's easier said than done - try to be assertive and don't take any nonsense. I am generally a quiet and shy person but i have lately become very outspoken when it comes to doctors and i refuse to be fobbed off with the usual rubbish, and believe me, they may not like it very much - but i have actually gained much more respect from doing so. It's like they suddenly take you seriously when you act like you mean business and don't just agree with everything they say.

Sorry about the long reply but I just think the sooner you find out the reason for this, the less problems you'll have to deal with. Hopefully i'm wrong and it's just a case of loud digestion. Best of luck anyway and be stern with those docs.

Hi Pippy,

To answer your question - no the noises were as you describe - from all areas! And the noises from the rectal area are the most emabarrassing (i work in a small office too) as they sound like something else Oh the joys of this disease...And sometimes when i'm having the noises i can also feel what i can only describe as a ping pong ball trying to move through my intestines, i can feel exactly where it is as it's moving. I guess thats the food trying to get through the stricture.

As for treatment, in my 8 yrs since surgery i've never been put on any anti inflammatory medication. So now that it's been confirmed that i have a pretty bad stricture, my crap GI straight away said "another surgery is the only way to treat it". But he's officially DUMPED and i'm going to my new GI on March 5th and to discuss treatment options with him as he is keen to treat this asap. I have no idea what medication he might prescribe but i guess he'll suggest whatever is best for healing a stricture. If it doesn't work and if the stricture is caused by scar tissue then i may be facing another surgery. But i dare not think about that right now.

Although the noises i'm experiencing are extreme right now, i've always had noises of some sort or another over the last 8 yrs. So  i suspect that those noises and the bloating and distended feeling were the gradual narrowing taking place over the years. I just wish i had known back then what was going on. I am on a gluten free diet as i feel it helps a little, i try not to eat dairy and i have cut out sugar apart from fruit. Along with this i no longer eat processed food anymore as it's a killer for me, and simply because if you think about it, its just full of all things unnatural. Also i take probiotics which definitely help with the noises and D. Sometimes i give in and eat some bread or a couple of slices of pizza and i feel so mad with myself when i do but when i adhere to all of the above i generally feel alot better. Yet the bloating never ever goes away and that general uncomfortable feeling as though i'm full of gas, so i guess that's just because of the severe narrowing.

Hope my answers are of some use ....Lila

Hi Pippy,

I can see why you would think it might not be a stricture when you have no pain or D. That's what i was thinking all along because when i had my 1st surgery i was literally doubled up in pain 24/7 and i had non stop D no matter what i ate. So i just assumed that i was still in remission and if there was anything wrong then i'd have all those symptoms again. I actually don't have much pain and the D is not really bad and i'm being told i might be facing my 2nd surgery. It's mostly the noises, bloating & discomfort etc. So don't underestimate any of your symptoms. But i will def keep you updated on the situation......Lila