@ella
I think I finally solved the bloating mystery!!!
"Sometimes digestion is affected in a pregnancy. During pregnancy, the whole body is strained under the effort of accommodating an infant within a woman’s body. This can tax the entire body, and towards the end of the pregnancy, digestion issues can crop up. Constipation is quite common, as
hormones make the digestive muscles lax. Progesterone is the hormone responsible for that. As a result, digestion slows down, increasing bloating, gas and a general sense of being uncomfortable. Even heartburn, belching and passing gas becomes common during the pregnancy. Eating frequently and drinking a lot of water is known to help."
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/art...stion.html
"There are a number of things that can make you feel bloated, but generally speaking,
you'll feel bloated if your digestive tract slows down. When this happens, you may produce more gas, which fills your intestines and leads to the sensation of bloating, and you may also go quite some time without passing stool, which can also produce the feeling of bloat. Certain foods and medications increase your likelihood of feeling bloated, as do some hormones."
http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/can-...-5488.html
I've done tons of research, as I bet you have also, and I always get the SAME damn answers lol "chew slower, don't swallow air when eating, estrogen causes bloating (ie just before your period)" but this is a different bloating -- this is more like water retention and the bloating I am having problems with is burping and feeling like a balloon filled with air 24/7 no matter what I do! Lol
I think, for me at least, this is DEFINITELY correlated to the amount of progesterone in my body. Towards the end of my most recent program, I was upping my intake of vitex a LOT and my bloating was increasing a LOT. ALSO, I was taking a different type of PM since the ainterol wasn't carried on amazon for a short time. The brand of PM I was taking was NOT pm at all (probably just random powders!) which only further increased my progesterone since I didn't actually have estrogen to balance it in my follicular phase.
But at the time, I thought maybe my body just couldn't take it anymore and taking all of my herbal pills caused an accumulation of air in my stomach. But now I am certain it was the progesterone! Which led to slowing of the digestion process.
In the first link, they give these examples for speeding up the digestion process:
-You have to get your hours of sleep. Not having a scheduled sleep routine can affect your digestive system.
-Get regular exercise even if it means just going for a walk daily.
-Getting active will help improve your metabolism which in turn will also improve your digestion.
-Reduce the quantity of processed and refined food that you eat – ready to eat foods, junk food and refined products –will just add to your digestion woes. Keeping your diet free from pesticides and preservatives and having a high organic content will help improve digestion.
-Increase the fibre you consume by adding more whole grain, fruits, vegetables and legumes to your diet. Remember to increase your intake of water.
-Keep adequate breaks between meals – eating too far apart or too close together might aggravate your digestive system further.
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Introduce probiotics in to your diet. This will restore your intestines’ health. You can take supplements or just eat unflavoured plain yoghurt more regularly.
-If you find it difficult getting back to a healthy lifestyle, try a small detoxification diet first, before making any drastic changes.
This is also why my bloating and burping has subsided a lot this week -- I added probiotics to my diet! I picked up Culturelle from the grocery store and have been taking one a day.
Decreasing the amount of progesterone in your body is also a must (at least for me). The dandelion tea and milk thistle have really helped by improving the health of my liver (allowing my body to cleanse itself of excess progesterone).
The dandelion tea is really strong though. I have started drinking it every other day instead of every day. It makes your pee and sweat smell funky too because it's a strong diuretic. So don't drink it too often since it depletes sodium and potassium levels.
Also, a lot of iron will decrease the digestion process but usually only if you're taking a lot of supplements for iron -- this probably won't be an issue if you get your iron from your diet.
I hope this helps you!!