Gassy.

Yea, you read the title correctly. Gassy. It’s what I am and as long as I can remember my friends and family always joke about how much gas I always have. I even got a bottle of Beano in my Christmas stocking one year as a genuine attempt to resolve my not-so-comfortable situation.

I’ve always chalked it up to a bad stomach or digestion problems that I’d always have and accepted myself for all that I was, gas or no gas. Over the last several years finding a good gastro doctor in Manhattan was on my to-do list but has always been left undone. That is until recently, when I noticed that I was feeling a lot more bloating and discomfort than what I had in the past. So I made it a priority to get a check up and get to the bottom of what was causing all this gas (ha, ok, pun intended).

Was it lactose intolerance? Was it a wheat allergy? Was it because I eat to fast? Drink too much red wine? What could it possibly be...?

Finally, I was determined to find out. I was referred to new internal medicine doctor, conveniently located on the Upper West Side near my apartment, by one of my co-workers. I couldn’t have been happier when I told him about my little situation and he referred me to his Guyanese buddy, a long time gastro specialist, also in another very good location near Columbus Circle. Side note: location is everything in New York so finding a doctor you can get in to over your lunch hour or on your way to work is uber important. Which is why I oftentimes find myself focusing on that over actual medical credentials at this point. Go figure.

I showed up for my appointment on time that Friday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by the order and cleanliness of Dr. Seeoocmer’s office. I’ve had one too many gross-out situations in the city of dirty and there’s always a sense of comfort associated with tidy and clean, especially when it comes to someone providing me with healthcare. Dr. S welcomed me into his office for a consultation and started firing off the questions.

What does your normal diet look like? Oatmeal with flax and fruit or yogurt, granola and fruit for breakfast. So basically a high fiber dose to kick the day off. Coffee. Every morning. No matter what. Or a 1-pump vanilla latte from Starbucks if I feel like splurging. A boring salad, sandwich or soup from one of the stale options near my office for lunch. Sometimes I step it up and gorge myself on sushi. A mid-afternoon snack sometimes consisting of dried fruit, string cheese or a granola bar. And dinner... well that depends. It could range from a fresh cooked meal at home. Salmon, sauteed spinach, pasta or healthy pizza. Or it could be Chinese, Thai or Italian take-out on my lazier days. Or in the worst-case scenario, it’s a big night out at a fancy restaurant where I’m entertaining clients or celebrating life with my girlfriends and quite frankly I’m eating too much to keep track of.

And the questions continued...Do you have any family history of this or that? Are you allergic to anything? What medicines are you currently taking? And so on and so forth.

Twenty minutes later I was in love with this man, not only because he wasn’t very hard on the eyes, eh em, but he seemed to actually care about me and my gas. He backed up to the diet question as he took me into the exam room to do some blood work in an attempt to test for a possible wheat allergy. Who knew they could test for such a thing? Apparently it’s becoming much more popular so they are actively testing for this when patients come in complaining of stomach issues. He did some more digging, asking if I’ve always eaten breakfast. Yes, every day, never skip it. Then he asked if I always eat high fiber foods for breakfast. Yes, every day, never skip it. His eyes lit up as if he just discovered sliced bread and suggested that the fiber is what keeps me regular (which is not an area that I have issues with... every day at 10am, as if you cared to know) but might be the root of my digestion, or better known as “gas,” problems. He suggested that by eating a lot of fiber in the morning, it’s harder for my body to break it down, resulting in a gassy or bloaty feeling in the afternoon. Bingo.

So for the next few weeks until we have the blood test results back, and after completion of the lactose test next week, I was given an homework assignment of eating a protein-only diet in the morning. He warned that I would get hungrier sooner but that it could help increase positive digestion.

I suppose there is nothing to lose so I’m going to give his idea a whirl. And if this man just diagnosed my situation after 29 years of dealing with gas attacks I might just kiss him. Now we wait and see... I will report back in with the update on how this all pans out.

Here’s to the hopes of having a gas-free future!

Signing off Gas X’d,
Renee Brennan