Why Am I So Bloated? A Pelvic PT's Guide to Menopause Bloating
Why Am I So Bloated? A Pelvic PT's Guide to Menopause Bloating
You wake up feeling fine. By lunch your waistband is snug. By dinner you're unbuttoning your jeans and wondering what you ate.
If that sounds familiar, you're in good company. Bloating is one of the things women bring up most often when they come see us in their 40s and 50s. And most of them have been told some version of "that's just menopause."
Hormones are part of it. But they're not the whole story, and that's good news. A lot of what drives bloating is stuff you can actually change. I recently enrolled in a Menopause Class by Stacy Sims and between that and Girl’s Gone Strong - I want to share more on our typical symptoms and WHY things happen. Unfortunately, symptoms are often considered maddening to have to deal with, and knowing you are not alone can sometimes be helpful. There are many who are reseaching and tackling this tough topic. Of course, I am not a dietician but this info is what we talk about at a few of my other conferences too…FIBER….water…real food and movement…Check it out!
What's going on in there
Your gut slows down. Estrogen and progesterone help set the pace of digestion. As those hormones shift, food can move through more slowly. Slower movement means more time for gas to build and more backup.
You hold on to more water. Those same hormones help your body manage fluid. When they change, you may notice puffiness, especially after a salty meal or a glass of wine.
Tension adds pressure. This is the piece most people never hear about. Your diaphragm, belly muscles and pelvic floor work as a team. If you hold your stomach in all day, breathe shallow, or have a tight pelvic floor, it's harder for gas to move and harder to fully empty when you go. That's where pelvic floor PT comes in.
Start with your plate
Fiber is your friend here. It helps stool stay soft and move along without a fight. Less backup, less bloat.
The catch? Go slow. Adding a ton of fiber overnight can make bloating worse before it gets better. Add a little more each week and drink more water as you go.
Some easy places to start:
Breakfast: oatmeal with berries, chia pudding, or yogurt with ground flax
Lunch and dinner: lentil soup, roasted sweet potato, broccoli, beans, brown rice or quinoa
Snacks: a pear or apple with the skin on, a few almonds, popcorn
And please don't fear carbs. Potatoes, fruit, oats and beans digest slowly and keep your energy steady. The ones to go easier on are the heavily packaged kind.
Help your body let go of water
It sounds backwards, but drinking enough water helps your body hold less of it. Keep a bottle you like close by and sip through the day. (Sipping actually helps your body absorb up to 6x more of that water than chugging!! So sip, sip, hooray!!)
Watch the hidden salt, too. Most of it comes from packaged and restaurant food, not your salt shaker.
And take an honest look at the nightly glass of wine. Alcohol can leave you puffy the next morning and mess with your sleep. You don't have to quit. Even a few alcohol-free nights a week can make a difference you can feel. It’s alaso a carcinogen and the latest reseach states that it also increases several cancer risks. There is no amount currently recommended to be “beneficial.” I like Ashwaganda for those anxious nights and some of the fancy teas. Also Chinese Herbs can help - I trust Christian at Soul Arrow Acupuncure.
One more: eating fast, chewing gum, straws and fizzy drinks all add swallowed air. Slowing down at meals helps more than you'd think. In fact, place your fork down in between bites. This gives your brain the message that you are SAFE. Sit down to eat too. Chewing around 40x a bite improves absorbtion rate of the gut for that food by up to 40%!
Move, breathe, let go
This is my favorite part, because it's where PT makes a real difference.
Walk after meals. Ten easy minutes after your biggest meal helps get things moving.
Stop sucking it in. Holding your belly tight all day adds pressure and keeps your pelvic floor clenched. Let it rest. (my fave move is to go on all 4s/hands and knees and let the belly just relax with gravity…then zip it up…then RELAX).
Try diaphragmatic breathing. Lie down with your hands on your lower ribs. Breathe in and let your ribs and belly widen. Breathe out slowly. Five minutes a day is plenty even 2 min will help… I promise.
Give yourself a belly massage. With gentle pressure, stroke up your right side, across under your ribs, and down your left side. This follows the path your colon takes. I have videos on this too! Shoot me a message!
Make bathroom time easier
How you sit on the toilet matters.
Put your feet on a small stool so your knees are higher than your hips, then lean forward. Relax your tailbone/butthole.
Let your belly soften and breathe out as you go. Don't hold your breath and push.
Go when your body tells you to. Holding it makes stool harder to pass. The job of the large intestine is to suck out water… the longer it sits, the more firm it can become.
If it feels like soething is blocking, the whole piece will not come out, or an incomplete bowel movement - that could mean a few things. We would love to help diagnose this and help your pelvic floor move better.
When to call your doctor
Most bloating is uncomfortable but harmless. Still, check in with your doctor if you have bloating most days for more than 2 to 3 weeks that's new for you, feel full very quickly, have belly or pelvic pain, see blood in your stool, or notice a change in bowel habits or weight loss you can't explain. Those deserve a closer look. Functional Medicine may be a great stop too if conventional medicine can’t seem to find a cause…I have lots of referrals here :)
You don't have to just live with it
If you've tried the basics and still feel bloated, backed up, or like there's pressure down there, pelvic floor PT can help. We look at how you breathe, move and use your core and pelvic floor, then build a plan that fits your life.
We see women in-home, in our Mt. Juliet office, and virtually. Book a visit here or call us at 615-696-9818.
Want a printable version? Grab our free Calm the Bloat handout below