Feeling Gassy Before My Period

If you are a woman, the feeling of being gassy a few days before your period is not a strange or unusual one. In fact, many women feel the same, bloating being one of the signs that tell your period is close by.

Still, it may be one of the symptoms you wouldn’t want around before your period because you already have to endure quite a few. Your breasts are sensitive, making every clothing piece seem annoying.

You feel like a balloon, every pair of pants you own squeezing you uncomfortably. Not to mention you have mood swings, especially if the PMS is present as well. In fact, feeling gassy before your period is considered to be a part of the PMS, this syndrome not yet being fully understood in the medical world.

Feeling Gassy

feeling bloated

But let us take bloating aside and talk a bit about this symptom. It would be great if we could just get locked inside the house for the entire pre-menstrual and menstrual time so we can avoid situations that can embarrass us. Unfortunately, we can’t, as we need to go to work and do our daily tasks normally, or at least as normal as possible.

Still, it is very bothering to feel gasses rampaging through your intestines while you are trying to have a conversation with your boss or co-workers, or when you are sitting in a queue at the cash desk in the grocery store.

Not to mention those moments when you accidentally release these gasses, thinking they will not make a sound, but they do, and every head in the building turns towards you with a muffled laughter. So yes, gasses aren’t welcome at all.

Causes

Still, why does this happen? What is the connection between your stomach and intestines, and the hormonal changes that happen in your body before your period? It’s true that the hormonal imbalance is behind all this.

Hormonal levels increase suddenly before your period, and this triggers muscular contractions in your stomach. If flatulence is not accompanied by painful cramps, you are among the lucky ones because some women have to experience pain as well, together with the feeling of being bloated.

When the period finally begins, things are not getting better at all because farting becomes a permanent problem. A chemical called prostaglandin is released in order to make your uterus contract and eliminate blood and tissue collected on its inner lining. [1]

When this chemical is released in larger quantities than normal, bloating and gases also occur, making your day even worse. If you know you have a sensitive digestive system, or even suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, it could be an explanation for why you are so prone to dealing with these issues before and during the period.

Hormonal changes during menstruation decreases motility of intestine, water retention and increase blood flow to the uterus all of which contributes to gas or bloating [2].

How To Reduce It

Is there a way to efficiently manage gasses during this period? Well, you are in luck, because you don’t have just one solution, but several you can try in order to see which one works best.

Diet

First of all, be careful about what you eat. Make sure you have sufficient fibers and avoid foods that contain caffeine, too much salt, sugar, or spices, and let go of dairy and highly processed foods.

Also, do not eat beans, cauliflower, potatoes, and cabbage, and anything else you know that produces gases even on regular days. Make sure to take potassium rich food and drink a lot of water because water will help your bowel movement and diminish the presence of gasses [3].

Exercise

You should also exercise before and during your period, not only because it is great for your digestion, but it will also make you feel much better.

You can easily enjoy yoga, aerobics, even meditation, as long as you do something to move your body and do some physical exercising. You can also resort to medicine as a last method to deal with gasses and other inconveniences connected to your period. [4]

Pills

Drugs like Aleve or Advil will reduce the levels of prostaglandin, but it will only do it for a limited period of time.

You also have to be careful not to exaggerate with these medicines because they can be harmful if abused. If you suffer from an ulcer, asthma, or bleeding abnormalities, don’t even try taking such drugs because they are not recommended in these cases.

You can also relieve bloating symptoms by taking Diuretics prescribed by a doctor.

References

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