I have had the same symptoms you describe and they all started after I had children. I believe it to be IBS or food sensitivities. Unfortunately most Dr.s have no idea how to diagnose things that bother women.
I find that when I iliminate all sugars, all grains, milk (including products that contain milk and soy lecithin), white potatoes I do much better. I also have added coconut oil in my diet, and increased butter and olive oil to my diet, and take out canola oil I do much better. Basically when I lowcarb, my symptoms are gone. It is difficult, but I tell you after my first week of back to eating this way I feel like a different person, and when I eat wrong my body always, always tells me.
HANG IN THERE IT IS POSSIBLE TO FIGURE IT OUT!!!!
I hope this will help most of you. I have been thru so.....much that it is time that I start to help the people out there that are suffering like I was. Since Fall 2002 I had Burping, Stomach Growling, Insominia, Gas and Bloating. They thought I had GERD's - Acid reflex. We tried all the drugs and eventually because I started throwing up at night they went forward with a surgery to make it so I didn't throw up anymore. The surgery was called "Nissan Fundolpication". Don't ever go forward with this surgery - it did not help me at all because it wasn't acid reflex. Then they took out my gallbladder because they didn't know how to fix the problem. It wasn't the gallbladder. At my wits end, and no doctor could figure it out. I decided to try a natural healing (Alternative medicine, Osteopath) doctor. He did several tests on me to figure out that I had candidiasys / bacteria overgrowth. Candidiasys / bacteria overgrowth, you develop this when something else is wrong and you develop too much bacteria in digestive tract. Which makes all the other symptoms worse and adds new symptoms - Thrush and Bowel Movement problems (Diarrehia when I ate sugar or Fructose; Constipation when I ate dairy). Still having the other symptoms Burping, Stomach Growling, Insominia, Gas and Bloating. I was a mess. It took a year on a Candidiasys diet - eating very little Carbohydrates, mostly meats, vegies, nuts (raw), water. Trust me, it sounds like a diet that won't work - but if you do it even for 3 weeks I guarantee you will feel better. Go at it slow as adding vegies alone in your diet can cause gas if you aren't used to it.
I see a Osteopath, who has been wonderful in helping me figure out what is wrong. I had these symptoms:
- Burping - Hard till it hurts while it is going into the stomach – only when I eat things that are questionable. Especially if I eat something with caffeine after 6:00 pm. I lay awake till 3:00 in the morning burping. Then by 3:00 I almost feel like throwing up and when I eventually start farting then I stop burping and am able to fall asleep. In 2005 this is why we had to do the surgery to keep me from throwing up at 3:00am. Since the surgery it has made it so I don’t throw up – but the symptoms that lead up to it are still there. 3rd day: Stomach Gurgling and Burping–3rd day on the diet this finally goes back to normal.
- Stomach Gurgling – Days after I eat things I shouldn’t, my stomach will start gurgling when it is low on food. So loudly that people can hear it in the other room. When I eat something I shouldn’t - 3rd day: Stomach Gurgling and Burping 3rd day back on the diet this finally goes back to normal.
- Insomnia – see above. Once I go back on the diet - 7th day on diet – this finally goes back to normal. . 2nd day back on the candida diet: Sleeping/Insomnia goes back to normal.
- Gas / bloating – There is no gas or bloating if I stay on the candidiasys diet. Bloating, I go up 1 pant size by the 3rd day. I am improving; I can wear more restrictive clothes and not be in pain. 2nd day on the diet this finally goes back to normal. 3rd day: Gas / bloating –
Candidiasys: IT IS BETTER!!!! with taking a medicine called "Noxafil" we were able to get the bacteria overgrowth under control. Now we just need to figure out what caused the Candidiasys (bacteria overgrowth). Both the doctor and I think it is a food allergy. So thru Elimination / Provocation we will be able to figure out which food is the really food allergy.
- Bowel Movements – this doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore. I think if I continued to eat what I shouldn’t it would get back to being bad again. I also think that it was the candidiasys that caused the Bowel problems. Now I am also on the Probotic – truPearl that seems to help a lot.
- Thrush – it appears to be gone even when I push the diet.
I totally went through the same thing as you years ago. It started for me as a child all the way into adulthood until I took it into my own hands to recover myself.
I looked up all foods and drinks online for IBS and trigger foods for IBS and I went "Oh....OOOPS" all the many years I was eating the exact foods that trigger IBS. The most commong symptoms of IBS are bloating, stomach cramps, and diahrea or constapation.
Look online for "IBS foods" and follow it regimented and the symptoms will subside over the course of a few weeks.