Stomach Growling?
 

What is it that makes that noise? What's really going on in there?

That's just me.

LOL!! I came in here to say "that's just Borborygmi."

ETA: here's an actual answer I found on the web:

Borborygmi occur most often when we are hungry, although it does occur at times when you may not "realize" that you are hungry. In response to to this hunger, the stomach prepares for the anticipated feeding by retracting muscles designed to force material which has already been partially digested farther into the intestine and push digested food farther down into the colon in preparation for disposal. This activity causes small pockets of water and air to form in the stomach and intestines and the resulting noises are caused by gases and materials being squeezed between the folds and around resident material. The intensity of sound differs according to the intensity of the contractions and the contents of the stomach and intestines.

Your bacteria is fighting.

Yes yes, I know the name, but what is physically going on to create it? Could we have some serious answers before the joking please?

I'll try google. :(

Sorry Mirhanda, I added to my jokey answer.

here's more that I found interesting. It would never occur to me to think it's an inherited condition. Doesn't it happen to everyone?

Borborygmi is not an inherited trait or condition. Sensitivities that sometimes cause it, however, can be. It is possible (whether you realize it or not) that you suffer from alactasia (or lactose intolerance) – an inherited condition causing the lack of the enzyme needed to digest milk sugar. Try modifying your diet and see if you get better results. If you eliminate milk and milk products (cheese, creams, etc.) from your diet for a few days you may note a dramatic drop in the frequency (no pun intended) in the noise or it may stop altogether. Otherwise, for the time being at least, if this embarrassing situation happens to you in church, the library, or some other quiet setting where others can hear it, a temporary solution that sometimes helps is to apply a bit of pressure to your abdomen or simply slip a cracker or cookie into your mouth to “fool” your stomach into believing that there is more to come. Both of these solutions seem to work for most people.

Yeah, sorry... I know we're supposed to wait for a real answer in JtF before goofing around, but I couldn't resist!

I learned something new today. Whee! I never knew that stomach/intestinal growling had a term.

Mea culpa, I got carried away in the moment.

Could you define the "growling"? Have you eaten recently? What kind of food? That will usually determine the source of the noise.

Me too, didn't know if it was cool yet to post about it.

Edited because I didn't see you'd edited above. I don't usually go back and re-read previously posted answers, thinking I've already read them, you see.

I'm not LI, thank goodness!

It's gas.

Seriously, gas causes the noise and the bloating that may or may not accompany it.

Yes and there is another cure.

Zeener Diode, I haven't eaten anything today. That would explain why I'm hungry! It's not very loud, I can more feel it than hear it. For me, it only happens when I'm very hungry, like today when I've forgotten to eat and wind up skipping a meal.

EDIT: It's not intestinal gas, it's in the stomach (different location.)

"No jokes before a serious answer" is a good rule, but maybe we can afford to be more relaxed about it when the question is one that can be easily googled in about ten seconds? (Not that I'm in favor of stupid jokes, but still.)

That's a point, but do we want conversation or a bunch of googlers? I'd considered googling, then thought that a conversation about it would be more interesting and entertaining. However, if questions aren't welcomed here, I'll just go back to my regular googling and not bother posting questions here.

No no no, don't think that way. I hated that about the SDMB, my very very first timid post there was met (by Duck Duck Goose) with "google is your friend."

I think a conversation is better, which is why I asked whether it happens to everyone or not. I'm sorry I added to the derail, but this place is for sure more jokey and less strict. I agree that no jokes before a serious answer is a good rule, whether the answer can be easily googled or not. (Frankly, some people {like my mom} suck at web searching and are grateful for someone who can provide a quick & real answer.) (Not that I mean you, Mirhanda!)

Of course questions are welcomed here. Getting pissy because someone didn't do the googling you were too lazy to do, not so much.

This is weirdly & unnecessarily hostile, IMO.

That's how I roll, baby!

Sorry, just something about post #5 set me off. I'll shut up now.

Well "I" welcomed the question cause I didn't even there was a name for that. I also didn't mind the jokey answers--it is a message board afterall and sort of expected. In fact that is one of the cool things is that questions get asked and sometimes answered and sometimes go off in odd tangents. All cool.

I have to go tell my kid now that the noise has a name. That is cool!

I think you have a good idea to begin a thread, but it's fair to expect some kind of jokey response. The topic is related to bodily functions and it's natural that some of us find that amusing. If it turns into something serious that requires medical attention, well, we won't joke about that. Not very much, anyway.

Getting back to the topic: My stomach rumbles if I don't eat something within an eight-hour period. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later, but it's a sign that my belly is empty and wants food. What makes that rumbling, I don't honestly know.

Going on what I recall, I believe the rumbling and noise is basically that the stomach is becoming active in preparation. The acids start to build up, but there's no extra liquids or foods for them to act on, so after a while they need to move on. The stomach roils about and pushes whatever's in there down to the intestines, including gas and liquid. Depending on how much and how long it's been going on, you can either just get a rumbling or some noisy gurgling.

I found this write-up on mothernature.com.

I totally agree with this. That has to be one of the most annoying statements that can be made on a message board!

Yeah, jokey answers are fun, and I think they are great and add to the usually welcoming atmospere. I think it would be better if they waited until after the actual answer, but they definitely have a place. Fun is fun!

As I said, I usually google for questions I have, but I've been considering how I don't post here as much as I would like. The question struck me this morning when I was very hungry and I thought this would be a fun question to post rather than do my usual googling (or wiki-ing). If you, Darmund, would rather that questions are not posted, but rather googled by the questioner, then just say that, and refrain from snarking. Post it in "Getting Started" and ask that this forum be removed.

Yep, that's totally what I said. How perceptive of you.

Don't tell me what to post, sweetums. I'll snark if I wanna.

FWIW, if Mirhanda had Googled instead of asking the question here, I would never have learned about Borborygmi because it hadn't crossed my mind. And I like that I did learn about it.

So from these, does it seem to you guys (as it does to me) that the longer you've been hungry, the louder or more "rumbly" it gets? I haven't eaten since dinner last night, and only had some coffee and water today. (I've been busy and forgot to eat anything.) So I've been sipping water since then until I get a chance to eat some lunch. Anyway, the water seems to have quelled them somewhat, but it's still going on. Right after it started I realized I hadn't had anything in my stomach since dinner.

That's what happens to me - the growling becomes more... insistent.

It depends.

It depends on how regular your eating habits are, and how off of that cycle you currently are for starters. Your stomach will get cranking after a while, but (I believe) starts to shut down if nothing's happening after a while. Your hunger feelings cycle as you progress through; I think the stomach often feels a bit tighter as you haven't eaten and it shuts down.

So yeah, if you're regular in your habits and leave your stomach empty through a meal time, it will gradually get grumblier (how rumbly/noisy probably depends on the person), but will start to ease off after a while. Drinking liquids should stop it to a degree because it fills up the stomach, making it feel like it has things to do (and at the least dilutes the acids). Still though, there not being any real food to work with, the liquids will pass on faster.

I've noticed that, and I'm inclined to think that it's because you're emptier - there's more space for the sound to reverberate and therefore you get a bigger, richer sound. Part of the reason for me thinking this is an article over here...

serious part:
I was actually thinking about this this morning as I lay in bed listening to the symphony, nay, the infernal noise, my stomach was making. This isn't just a low grumble but all kinds of noises and I can hear sounds moving from one side to the other. It is very disconcerting. My stomach constantly does this but I notice it tends to be more pronounced when I'm lying down.

What I've read doesn't lead me to believe that there is anything wrong; it is just the body doing it's thing, but some mornings I wonder. I gotta figure out how to record it because I just can't adequately describe how loud and crazy the sounds are.

jokey part:
I think I wanna change my user name to PCMS

Borborygmi isn't just caused by hunger. It is also present with intestinal infections that cause either vomiting or diarrhea. Any time peristalsis is sped up or gas producing bacteria are present borborygmi increases.

Just an FYI, borborygmi is always present in a healthy gut, but it is usually only heard with a stethoscope.

I sometimes get the stomach gurgles just after I've eaten - I presume it is sort of the same thing, just my stomach enthusiastically moving food around?

Exactly.

Part of the mystery illness that my husband has is that you can hear his borborygmi from across the room. Sometimes over the noise of the TV.

We went to a birthday party Saturday night and everyone loves to feed the dog. On sunday morning you could hear her belly rolling rom the other side of the house. Everybody loves to feed the cute little dog.