Hi everyone,

I'm a 12th grade student with severe OCD, and self-diagnosed mild depression. I also suffer from derealization and panic attacks.

Most of my panic attacks happen at school, and I was just getting used to them but I've been having this strange fear/obsession happening while I'm in my classes. I guess I started fearing that my stomach would growl during class and everyone would hear, and even though I'd had enough food it would start to growl! So I'd have to either go to my locker and get more food to devour, or just suck in my stomach to the extreme and just try to make it stop.

So now my situation is: I have to basically be eating all the time during school, including my classes, or else my stomach will automatically get the feeling that it will start to rumble. My teachers don't know what's going on so I'll just leave secretly and get food, or bring food into class and eat it as discreetly as possible. :/ It's SO embarassing and completely distracts me from my school work. I often worry about my stomach growling.

Note: I'm not a big eater, and I usually don't eat continuously throughout the day. Like, as soon as I get home, any feelings that my stomach will rumble are gone. I can easily go 3-4 hours without eating. Because of this, I think it's related to a phobia or maybe panic?

Has anyone ever had this, or anything similar to this? :/ It seems like such a small thing, but it's really bothering me. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Borborygmus (plural borborygmi) (pronounced [ˌborbərˈɪɡməs]) (from Greek βορβορυγμός) also known as stomach growling, or rumbling, is the rumbling sound produced by the movement of gas through the intestines of animals, including humans. The word borborygmus is an onomatopoeia for this rumbling.

The "rumble" or "growl" sometimes heard from the stomach is a normal part of digestion. It originates in the stomach or upper part of the small intestine as muscles contract to move food and digestive juices down the gastrointestinal tract and functions as a sort of intestinal "housecleaning". Sometimes it occurs as part of the migrating myoelectric complex.

Although this muscle contraction happens whether or not food is present, it is more common after the animal has gone several hours without eating. This may be why a "growling" stomach is often associated with hunger.

Rumbles may also occur when there is incomplete digestion of food that can lead to excess gas in the intestine (sometimes known as "bubble guts"). In humans this can be due to incomplete digestion of carbohydrate-containing foods including milk and other dairy products (lactose intolerance or the use of α-glucosidase inhibitors by diabetics), gluten (protein in wheat, barley, and rye) (celiac disease), fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, and high-fiber whole grains. In rare instances excessive abdominal noise may be a sign of digestive disease, especially when accompanied by abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea or constipation. Some examples of diseases that may be associated with this symptom include carcinoid neoplasm and celiac sprue.

[Sabrina]

I am sorry about your problem and have no advice to offer ohseedee.

I wanted to thank you for your informative post TheByzantine!

[Hippie]

Yes, when I was your age I had the same fear!! Can you talk to your teachers after school and tell them why you're eating? It would be one less stress.
I found if I ate a saltine cracker before class my tummy cooperated.
Good Luck to you!!

[N3ItIrY]

Wow you just totally described me I know how annoying those noises are, i have recently suffered a panic attack in school with all the adrenaline and horrible feelings that come with it because of that .It was soo bad i was so nervous and stiff my face felt icy cold as well as my whole body and i was hyperventilating SOOO horrible and it was weird considering that i have been dealing with this for three years now !So it was a very random situation! Its soo silly to get all worked up for a dumb little thing like that but it has been bugging me so much ever since that i have been trying everything to avoid that stupid growling bubbling noise. I have tried driking a glass of water with baking soda its suppose to help you but well it hasn't done much for me but who knows it might work for you and also i always have a bottle of water handy it has SAVED me a lot i don't eat much and i'm so clumsy and indiscreet that i can't get away with eating in class so water works great and besides no one will think its weird if you take some occasional sips during class. So far that's all the tips i have so i hope I've help you and if you have found any other helpful tips feel free to share them they'll be very appreciated!