notafan

Hi everyone,
I'm 26/male and fairly fit at around 145lbs and 5'6". I exercise (running and the gym) a couple to a few times a week. I don't know if it would be better to post this in digestive problems or if I'm allowed to cross post, but I figured I'd try here first.

Within the last year and a half or so, I've had this sudden problem of constant gas - for hours at a time, and bloating. The bloating causes temporary weight gain of about 4 pounds and is very noticeable, at least to me. I was having swift energy changes for a long time, but these have subsided somewhat now. The symptoms mimmicked hypoglycemia or even insulin resistance.

It seems like I constantly have gas, and I never did before. I also no longer have regular bowl movements - in fact, one a week is not uncommon as I typically have one on weekends. Given how many I have, when I do have one, I usually feel like I've been hit by a train afterwards. I've tried the fiber supplements, and I tend to eat enough fiber (in my opinion) as cereals, oatmeal, etc are my typical breakfast and I'm a diet conscious person. The only problem with my diet is I do tend to take in more carbs than I probably should - at least that's the habit I'm in now, and I've found if I don't, I get extremely weak. It's almost as if now I have to choose the lesser of the evils in terms of symptoms I experience. I often crave quick, carb-rich foods but regardless, my diet is anywhere from 50-65% carbs.

I've seen two different primary care doctors about this. The first didn't really have an explanation, other than to try to avoid certain foods. The other said it sounded like IBS, which I've struggled with in the past, but I thought with IBS you typically went to the bathroom!! I have the opposite problem now. They always recommend fiber supplements and a higher fiber diet and that's all. Does anyone have any thoughts?