Menopause Bloating

As hormonal shifts and declines occur during menopause, the body produces excess gas and retains fluids, causing pain and tightness in the abdomen. During menopause, women experience these effects as chronic bloating that leaves them feeling full, heavy and uncomfortable. In fact, menopause bloating can even affect eating habits: meals that were once enjoyable leave women feeling gassy and swollen.

Definition of Menopause Bloating

This menopause symptom creates feelings of “fullness” and distention in the abdomen area due to water retention or gas buildup. Menopause bloating can create feelings of swelling and over-fullness in the stomach and abdomen. Many women experience heightened levels of bloating after eating or consuming salty foods, leaving them feeling uncomfortable, swollen and “heavy.” Menopause bloating can lead to unnecessary weight gain as the body retains water and overproduces gas. Women may also experience a reduction in appetite, burping, flatulence, abdominal pain, and fuller figures as a result of menopause bloating.

Symptoms of Menopause Bloating

Menopause anxiety may be indicated by the onset of panic attacks, difficulty breathing, profuse sweating, clammy hands, and cold extremities. Heartbeat generally becomes racy (tachycardia) or erratic (arrhythmia). Thoughts may likewise race, bouncing around from fear to fear. Some individuals become so anxious that they develop phobias, and in some cases cannot bring themselves to leave the house or perform daily responsibilities. Anxiety can also lead to indecisiveness, depression, and difficulty focusing.
Browse through other anxiety symptoms caused by menopause.

Causes of Menopause Bloating

Lifestyle factors such as psychological stress, obesity, poor diets and excess soda consumption can all contribute to bloating during menopause. Some women may also experience a worsening of menopause bloating due to pregnancy during menopause, or medical conditions such as diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome or other abdominal health conditions.

However, in most women, the cause of menopause bloating is simply hormonal fluctuations that occur as women transition out of their fertile years. In fact, bloating occurs during menopause largely as levels of important hormones fluctuate. In particular, sudden estrogen spikes that occur during perimenopause serve to increase bloating as water retention happens to a greater degree in response. Estrogen declines can also lead to reduced bile production, causing a lack of lubrication in the digestive tract. As a result, women can experience hardened, dehydrated stools, leading to constipation that worsens bloating sensations during menopause.

Hormonal fluxes that occur during menopause can also cause an increase in gas production in the body. In fact, between one- and two-thirds of menopausal women experience excess gas during menopause, causing feelings of abdominal bloating to worsen.

Treatment of Menopause Bloating

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may help to rebalance hormone levels in the body, but serious health risks associated HRT have caused it to fall out of popularity as a menopause treatment . Additionally, one of the possible side effects of hormone replacement therapy is bloating which would make any existing bloat even worse.

Menopause Bloating FAQs

Q: What dietary choices can help reduce bloating in women during menopause?

A: While the cause of menopause bloating is hormone-related, some dietary choices may help reduce bloating. Fruits, such as grapes and bananas, protein such as eggs and peanuts, and other foods such like rice and yogurt can help combat bloating due to excess gas. Reducing sodium and sugars can also help prevent water retention and reduce bloating.

Risks of Menopause Bloating

Q: What are some things I can do to calm menopause anxiety?

As a result of excess gas, many women may experience embarrassing side effects of menopause bloating, such frequent burping or excess flatulence. Women may also experience the effects of weight gain as a result of bloating during menopause, making their clothes no longer fit well, particularly after meals. Some women may have difficulty sleeping as a result of uncomfortable bloating that occurs during the night hours.

Many women become reluctant to keep regular meals as a result of menopause bloating, leading to a decline in appetite over time, and risks of malnutrition. Self esteem can also be affected by chronic bloating, as women experience a negative change in appearance.