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my stomach swells like im 9 months pregnant..anyone else?

hurtingallthetimet

Senior Member
Messages
612
my stomach will sometimes swell so much i look 9 months pregnant...gets huge and hard and painful....i hate it for many reasons...the pain and uncomfortableness of whatever im wearing getting too tight and causeing more pain...and i use to be really really thin and in shape exercised daily was very fit..i gained alot of weight from medications and i have been diagnosed with IBS....i cant afford anymore specialtist and test...i was suppose to have colonoscopy twice but both times i drank the huge stuff and threw it all up..i begged gi doctor from the first visit to give me the pills id heard of instead of the huge jug of stuff becaue i throw everything up...and sure enough i did..even after throwing up first jug he refused to give me the pills said the jug stuff {forget the name} is what he uses and prefers..

they did the thraot scope and found out i had damage from all the throwing up for years said i also have reflux...i dont eat much becasue i cant..i throw up alot...with the ibs i go from constipation to diarrahea and its really embarassing to get out and the diarahea part start...

do others with ibs have the swelling of the stomach so large? i know that the medications and fact that im sick and cant exercise like i did caused the huge amount of weight gain..but i dont understand why i cant loose much weight with the throwing up and not being able to eat alot...

its frusting because i cant go out to dinner anymore much only a few times a year on kids birthdays....and hubby gets angry sometimes and just doesnt understand....i blow up like a ballon after eating and its so painful and uncomfortable...
 
Messages
15,786
I don't get extreme abdominal swelling, though it's hard for me to tell because I'm pretty overweight :p But I do now have reactions to food that I used to be able to eat. One reaction I have is mild swelling all over my body when I eat gluten, which my fiance and I can both feel along my spine when he gives me a back rub.

Have you tried an elimination diet?
 

Countrygirl

Senior Member
Messages
5,425
Location
UK
I found the near-instant cure of the excessive swelling was the Atkin's Diet. Within 24 hours of being on a very low carbohydrate intake the troublesome swelling disappeared. It may of course have been that the diet naturally excluded most gluten foods. It also fixed the hypoglycaemic attacks within hours and increased my energy.

I hope you find a way of solving it, hurtingalthetimet

C.G.
 

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
Hi Hurting, i used to have this all the time too. Was diagnosed with IBS before the M.E really kicked in 17 years ago, but i don't really have classic IBS symptoms.

Mine was completely cured by an anti candida diet and programme of supplements, including low carbs and gluten free as well. I found that for over a year i also couldnt eat white rice, only brown. Since the candida cleared up my gut symptoms were much better, however i have gone full on back on the suagr and gluten and although my M.E isnt worse, my gut symptoms are, including the occasional stomach swelling.
I need to do something about it again, because i know it will make it go away again.
All the best, Justy.
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
Yes I get the exteme swelling after eating, my husband gives me a "how many months pregnant" rating after dinner each day! It is terribly painful. It is a combination if inflammation and gas, which often is later reabsorbed so you never actually end up letting it out as f@rts.
And I really understand the psychological aspect of this too, it makes me feel so embarrased to walk around looking like this when I was, and still am, very slim and do care about my appearance.

As countrygirl and justy have both indicated, carbohydrates are the culprits which make this flare up.

My best results were on the Atkins diet, I had no swelling and no pain in that but it does take iron willpower to stick at it and it only worked so long as i stayed on phase one.

The anti candida diet makes you cut out all mono and di-saccharides which will also do the job, mostly.

The first thing you should try to get tested for is frustose malabsorption (different from intolerance). Fructose is the one that causes most pain and bloating if your damaged intestine is unable to absorb it.
Meanwhile you should take lots of probiotics which are free of fructose, FOS and any other form of fructose.

You could also try taking N-acetyl glucosamine and glucosamine HCI. I take the Jarrow brand of both of these. They used by the cells in the intestine and they need them to heal. This has greatly reduced the inflammation and pain and I can tolerate a reasonable amount of fruit and other sugars on these without getting swelling.

I also found that I had a vitamin B3 deficiency and part of the cause of my chronic bloated tummy was the same as those starving famine victims you see on TV. Severe B3 deficiency causes chronic intestinal inflammation.

BTW you are probably luck that you could not have the colonoscopy. I have had seven of them, they were excruciating even though I was heavily sedated apparently I was howling and screaming throughout them. And they never found anything becauyse in colonoscopies they are not looking for what we have, they take biopsies and look for crohns disease, ulcerative colitis and a few other diseases from a very short list. If you don't have those they tell you it is all in your imagination, even though you are standing there looking pregnant and sometimes can hardly stand up straight for the pain.
 

Calathea

Senior Member
Messages
1,261
I used to get this too. I don't think it's necessarily about carbs, although chances are it will be for some people and not others. In my case, it stopped promptly when I went on a diet. I changed very little about what I ate, I just started calorie counting and eating less, as well as eating on a stricter schedule instead of at chaotic hours. I hadn't realised that I was eating too much before, I had such trouble keeping track of when I was eating and had been used to being slim without making an effort for years.

Whatever the cause, I suggest you find yourself some nice dieting software which will allow you to make notes and start recording what you eat and how you feel afterwards. Hopefully a pattern will show up if it's any one component (carbs, gluten, a particular vegetable, what have you). If you can't find a pattern, post your food diary and see if other people can. If you still can't find a pattern after that, it may well be that you are simply eating more than you need. By the time you've been analysing a food diary in that much depth, you should have a decent idea of which foods are higher in calories and how to tweak your diet to reduce the overall calorie count, so I'd give that a try at that point. I know you say that you're not eating a lot, but sometimes our perceptions of that can be wrong, especially if we're still gaining weight. Of course, ME completely messes with metabolism and what have you and some people genuinely do put on weight despite eating at a calorie deficit, but it's worth checking anyway.
 

mellster

Marco
Messages
805
Location
San Francisco
I got it often right after eating (thought not that extreme) but the thing that helped me most was Andrographis tea - it relieves the bloating almost instantly (probably because it's the king of bitters and bitters have been shown to aid in digestion and counter bloating).
 

Lala

Senior Member
Messages
331
Location
EU
Gosh, I have the exact same problem. How about parasites? I have often thought about them. My doctor thinks the spastic pain is neuropathic..I too am slim except the abnormally large/swollen belly. The pain usually starts after eating and lessens after going to the toilet.
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
Gosh, I have the exact same problem. How about parasites? I have often thought about them. My doctor thinks the spastic pain is neuropathic..I too am slim except the abnormally large/swollen belly. The pain usually starts after eating and lessens after going to the toilet.

I've wondered about parasites but I am not too convinced any more.
I had giardiasis but curing that made no difference to the swelling. I've had threadworms but they don't cause swelling. I do have babesiosis but I don't know if that can cause symptoms in the intestine.
What other parasites could it be?

I also wondered how much of a role candida plays, I do have that in the intestine.
 

Lala

Senior Member
Messages
331
Location
EU
I've wondered about parasites but I am not too convinced any more.
I had giardiasis but curing that made no difference to the swelling. I've had threadworms but they don't cause swelling. I do have babesiosis but I don't know if that can cause symptoms in the intestine.
What other parasites could it be?

I also wondered how much of a role candida plays, I do have that in the intestine.

Tapeworms, flukes, schistosoma, filaria, who knows how many species can exist inside us. But I too am not 100% convinced about parasites. There are too many possibilities with candida in the first place. And with compromised immune system candida is always present. Babesia can cause abdominal pain as well.

Klinghardt now put an emphasis on treating parasites as a one of the main reasons of chronic illness. His recent ideas are described on wellsphere http://www.wellsphere.com/lyme-disease-article/highlights-from-a-deep-look-beyond-lyme/1427576
 

richvank

Senior Member
Messages
2,732
Hi, all.

Intestinal bloating is caused by gas generation, typically carbon dioxide that results from fermentation of sugars or starches by yeasts.

Why does this happen in ME/CFS?

Two reasons: overgrowth of yeasts in the small intestine, and presence of sugars or starches.

Why is there overgrowth of yeasts?

The first reason is that they are not killed by stomach acid when they come in with food, especially fresh food and foods that contain yeasts, such as dried fruit. In my opinion, the reason for this is that the stomach acid production is low in ME/CFS, due to glutathione depletion in the parietal cells of the stomach.

The second reason is that the gut motility is slower than normal, so that the food does not travel through the gut as rapidly as it should. This allows yeasts and unfriendly bacteria to migrate up into the small intestine. In my opinion, the reason for this is low production in ME/CFS of the neurotransmitters that control gut motility: acetylcholine and serotonin. The reason for this low production, in my opinion, is a partial block in the methylation cycle, which is coupled to the glutathione depletion in a vicious circle mechanism, and this vicious circle mechanism is what makes ME/CFS a chronic condition.

Why are sugars and starches present?

The first and most obvious reason is that they come in with the diet unless they are restricted from it. The second reason is that they are not digested and absorbed properly by the digestive system. Why not? Fructose malabsorption and/or lack of lactase to break down lactose are responsible in some people. Also, the low stomach acid causes low secretion of digestive enzymes by the pancreas, because the acid is what normally triggers this secretion when food enters the gut from the stomach.

What can be done about it?

In the short term, augmenting the stomach acid with betaine-HCl or Allergy Research Group dilute hydrochloric acid, and killing the yeasts with herbal anti-yeast remedies or enzyme products such as Candex or others that contain cellulase and hemicellulase, which digest the cell walls of the yeast, or with anti-yeast drugs will knock down the bloating. Avoiding sugars and starches in the diet will also help.

In the longer term, the vicious circle needs to be broken. That's what the methylation treatments (discussed elsewhere in these forums) are designed to do. The one I have suggested can be found at the end of Part 7 in the General Wiki section of these forums.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Rich
 

hurtingallthetimet

Senior Member
Messages
612
thanks everyone so much great advice and info..it helps to know im not alone with this...
i am finacally drained from when i first become ill all the doctors specialist..test after test...physical therapys i cant afford anything mroe...i just cant..

is there a cheap way to do these things? does it show on packages if it has gluten in it?

i know its not normal and im horriblely embarassed...ive never told anyone this but when i was visiting at sister house..i had eaten very little in days..usualy toast...becuase everything maeks me sick...i got hungry and ate some hard candy...and my stomach blew up to its 9 months pregnant look..and they were working on bathroom...i had to go outside and pretend to take the dog to potty and find a place in the woods to use the bathroom..i cried..i was humliated..no one seen me but i knew it..and im very clean and neat...and the thgouth of having to do that just writing this makes me want to cry..but that is how bad it has gotten..

i want to do a clenase somehow to lose weight....but i dont know of any that would really work and me loose weight...anyone know of any on the web that might help? and that would work for the extreme bloating issue?
thanks agian i will look into everyoens suggestions i could never ever tell the doctor about the incident at my sisters but i felt like my belly was going to burst...and all i had was some hard candy...
 

mellster

Marco
Messages
805
Location
San Francisco
I think the emphasis on checking for low stomach acid as mentioned by Rich is very important. Over the years the industry made it sound like almost everybody suffers from high stomach acid and for any symptoms acid reducers are being pushed. Reducing (already low) stomach acid makes you more vulnerable for yeast and infections.
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
Hurtingallthetime,
I had an experience like your forest incident. I was in Germany in the Black Forest visiting family friends of my husband, meeting them for the first time. They took us for a long drive all over the forest and let me just say, once I had finished that trip, it should have been renamed the Brown Forest. I cried for about two hours solid when we got back to our room because I was so humiliated.

Where do you live? If in the UK, most of the main Supermarkets label anything that has gluten and have Gluten Free shelves of products. Tesco is particularly good, but now they all do it I think. If you are outside the UK I am not sure. Australia is a good producer of gluten free products. The US was harder last time I went there. You can do a search on celiac disease websites to download a list of gluten-containing foods to avoid. However the best thing is to try to avoid starches in general. It would be best if you just have rice, quinoa and a small amount of potato when you need some starch, but try to fill up on veg instead. And fish and meat of course. Use white rice not whole grain, because the husk of rice is too rich in fructose and could be very fermenty for you.

As far as doing a gut cleanse goes, I know how you feel. I have had seven colonoscopies and they give you an extreme purgative that empties you right out. It is absolutely horrific for 24 hours, but I do feel a lot better for a while afterwards. i feel clearer headed as well as getting rid of that awful heaviness that is always there in my tummy. I think it dislodges a lot of bacteria and maybe candida as well. The problem is, the relief is too short lived in comparison to the suffering you go through.

It is better to take fibre, I swear by psyllium husk, which will keep your intestine moving faster. Rich has explained why it slows down and there is not a lot you can do about that in the short term, but if you couple psyllium husk (which is cheap) with LOTS of water, you can get things moving a bit faster. If you want to test your intestinal transit time, you have to take a large dose of charcoal - the best way is to buy a charcoal biscuit from a health food shop, otherwise take a large dose of charcoal tablets. You should do a black poo 24 hours later if your gut is moving properly. In my case it is 24 to 36 hours later that it comes out. I do go to the loo several times a day, this is not constipation, it is as Rich described, everything just goes too slowly.

If you cannot afford other things, the two things I would recommend are NO SUGAR, low starch and psyllium husk.

If you look at the Atkins Diet website you'll find lots of low carb recipe ideas.
http://www.atkins.com/Homepage.aspx

If you follow the strict Atkins diet you'll lose weight but you don't need to be that strict to reduce this bloating, any reduction in the carbs you currently eat will translate into a degree of improvement in your tummy. Just take it as far as your willpower allows you.
 

Lala

Senior Member
Messages
331
Location
EU
I do not know, I was on Betain HCL and Similase for some time and it did not help with the pain at all...I was also on fluconazole for 6 months and it did not help too, though it apparently cleared candida from my body.
I suffered from low intestinal motility- very bad constipation for 30 years. Then I started antibiotic treatment and it went away during couple of weeks and have never returned.

Is there a way how to clear bad bacteria from small intestine? Can rifaximin establish permanent change?
 

hurtingallthetimet

Senior Member
Messages
612
Hurtingallthetime,
I had an experience like your forest incident. I was in Germany in the Black Forest visiting family friends of my husband, meeting them for the first time. They took us for a long drive all over the forest and let me just say, once I had finished that trip, it should have been renamed the Brown Forest. I cried for about two hours solid when we got back to our room because I was so humiliated.

athene, thank you so much for sharing your story..i thought i was the only person to have gone through something so humliating as that...im sorry you went through it but again thanks for sharing the story it helps me to know that im not the only one whos been through something like that...it was the first time i told anyone about it on the boards and even after i did i wanted to delete because i was so embarased even though its been awhile..im still embarassed by it but i couldnt figure out how to delete...i just wanted to konw if anyone else had same problems and if they had found anything to help them so im glad that i left it up...i live in USA.
i will look into the advice and info you and everyone has given me...i will look at packages to check on gluten free or not...i cant afford to go to gi doctor anymore...so im going to see what i can do on my own..

have you lost any weight since doing the gluten free? i use to be so thin and exercised daily but since being ill the most exercise i get is when i go shopping and if i dont feel to bad i will park away from store to get a little exercise doctor suggested that....and on worse days they suggested scooter in store but ive not been able to bring myself to use it becuase of feeling embarassed...i hate these illness and everythning that comes with them...ive gained alot of weight from medications and not being able to exercise...but eat very little because of stomach problems..youd think id weigh alot less but im huge...

thanks again
 

xrayspex

Senior Member
Messages
1,111
Location
u.s.a.
lala I read klinghardt link you provided, very interesting. his autourine protocol really jumped out, wow, havent heard tht in a while, have people been talking about that at forums? it was always joked about when making fun of new age stuff in movies etc
 

Athene

ihateticks.me
Messages
1,143
Location
Italy
hurtingallthetime,

I am glad hearing my story helped you. I have never shared it before but I decided to, becaue hearing your story helped me feel bit better about it. I never spoke to anyone before who could understand just how awful it really feels.

I haven't lost weight just going gluten free, but I have lost a bit of bloating which i suppose was fluid retention. If you do the anti-candida diet, cutting out sugars as well as gluten and reducing other grains, then you definitely do lose wight, even if you cannot exercise at all.

You could consider taking vitamin D for a while and see if that does anything. Apart from boosting your immune system, Vitamin D is essential for the body to burn stored fat up for energy, so you cannot lose weight if you don't have enough of it. I lost a LOT of weight when I went on D, without changing my diet at all or doing any exercise. (I lost about 12 pounds over the course of 6 or 8 weeks). Then I started being a bit more active and lost more. Now I am trying to muster the self discipline to go back on the proper low carb diet to get my guts a bit better, I know from past experience that will make me lose a bit more weight too.

I do agree with Lala in having doubts about the low acidity thing. I have twice had gastroscopies and they found gastritis with high stomach acid both times. I think it fluctuates because I certainly don't have high acid permanently and I could well have had periods of very low acid.. but it's not al the time. There must be something that is destabilising acid production. Can food alleriges do this?

Lala, I've had rifaximin and it does help things for about 5 months, then the effect wears off. That is because of having a damaged immune system which cannot maintain the right balance by itself. Considering the improvement you've had from your current antibiotic treatment, I personally don't think you'd get more improvement than that from rifaximin. In my experience, the only additional improvement you would get would be from probiotics.

BTW I also took fluconazole for a long time and it didn't get rid of candida, even though one of my docs said it had done. In my experience that stuff doesn't work very well. Maybe it does get rid of candida but it just come back as soon as you stop taking the stuff. I think maybe that is what happens??