Distended belly
#306567 - 05/04/07 06:01 PM
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line415
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 976
Loc: New Jersey
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Okay, I had posted awhile ago about lots of gas and bloating and I'm happy to say that it is much more under control. It's definitely not completely gone, but I do think that the soy products were the major culprit (ie. the luna bars that I love). I have avoided them for a few days and tried not to eat any soy replacements and I also have been taking Gasstop before my veggie meals and sometimes even lunch.
My problem is that my belly is SOOOO distended sometimes. I know that here it is mentioned so much as a symptom of IBS, but I wonder if I am just overweight and it has all gone to my belly. I used to have a FLAT stomach..then had a baby (c-section), got my flat stomach back after about a year, had another baby (gained 40 pounds on bedrest, c-section), now she is almost three and I have finally gotten within a few pounds of my prepregnancy weight. Most of my prepregnancy clothes fit me again except that my belly is so large. About a month or so ago I lost a few pounds from a stomch virus and wallah!..flat stomach again for about a week. Then gained a few pounds....bloated and REALLY DISTENDED...I swear I just tried on two shirts for a party tomorrow and if I turn to the side there is NO WAY that someone wouldn't whisper, "Is she pregnant?"
It is so discouraging. I have been trying to lose weight so that hopefully I'll lose it in my belly and I have been doing crunches now for over a week (200/day). Part of my belly is "hard"..almost like you can feel the stomach muscles hiding under there...I used to have strong stomach muscles. A few people have said that c-sections leave our bellies "loose" and it's harder to lose the weight. I almost wish I had "rolls" instead of this huge bulge.
Do you think it is excess fat (be honest! lol) or related to the IBS? Today I felt GREAT...bm this morning...not too distended, ate no soy (except for my soyfee which I've had one cup daily for over 6 months), and I felt totally stable. NO GAS today....just LOOKED like I had a belly full of gas.  I don't feel c or anything. But I look terrible. Please help.
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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I don't know, but I do think that it is IBS. Maybe it is gas, but it's not painful. I don't think that it's fat, and just typical IBS bloating (which is my biggest problem!). It could be water weight, too. I hope you feel better soon, though! (I'm sorry that I can't help more.)
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Tierney
IBS-C
www.StandardProcess.com[/url] = the home of REAL supplements
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Thank you for trying. When you are bloated, does it literally look like you are 4-5 months pregnant? It is the strangest thing. My husband thinks it's unbelievable the way my bellybutton protrudes just like when I was pregnant. 
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it could be from the c-section. They cut the musles in order to get the baby out. My sister, who is a marathon runner and wears a size 4, still looks about 4-5 months pregnant eventhough her son is turning 4 next month. After a c-section, you just can't get a flat stomach back.
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Kamikat...
#306584 - 05/05/07 07:12 AM
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line415
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 976
Loc: New Jersey
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Thanks. That really stinks! But in some way I guess it is consoling to know that I am not the only one. I am certainly not a marathon runner....but wow...terrible for your sister that she can't get a flat stomach back after all that exercising. I guess every time I look at my belly I just have to think of the two blessings that it brought me.  (Easier said than done when you're trying to button your pants!!  lol)
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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This is a permanent feature for me too. I wake up with a distended belly, and it only increases as the day goes on...no matter how severe the other symptoms, no matter if I have a BM or not, no matter if I take gas stop or a gas reliever or what I eat. I am thin and could be wearing really nice clothes...but instead, I hide in baggy jeans and tops 2 sizes too big.
If anyone has a solution, please post. Maybe I just don't have any ab muscles. My mom has a pooch belly too...but she had 5 babies!
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IBS-C with pain and bloat
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I don't get an extremely bloated-looking stomach (when I poke it, it always makes these loud "fart" type sounds, though), but I sure do feel uncomfortable! On really bloated days, I tend to wear baggyier (can't spell this) shirts because I feel so self conscious. 
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Tierney
IBS-C
www.StandardProcess.com[/url] = the home of REAL supplements
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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I haven't been on the boards for awhile but just found out I am pregnant again. So, I am surfing around for new info. Regarding the belly, my doc told me that my bulging belly is due to 2 c-sections, too. Last year I actually got below pre-pregnancy weight thanks to EFI and Pilates- 5'7" and 126lb - and still had the little bulge which would grow as the day progressed - every day! I can't wear tight fitting tops either. Once in a while my stomach is sort of flat but it doesn't ever last for a whole day. I eliminated soy, oats, strawberries and tomatoes (which were all causing pain and gas for me). This helped. However, now that I am 5.5 wks pregnant and just shy of 40 yrs old, you can imagine what my belly looks like already. UGH - it's awful but worth it. IBS won't kill us but it does eat at our vanity!
IBS-C (occasionally A), lactose intolerance, GERD, gas and bloating
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I sometimes have a distended belly, and when I do, I take Gas-X and it gets rid of it.
BTW I forget who mentioned their size 4 runner (sister? acquaintance?), but YES, C sections and even regular pregnancies will leave you with loose belly fat/skin.
So will massive (75 lbs or more) weight loss. I've had it all....three fullterm pregnancies (all of which ended in csections, which damages stomach muscles), PLUS massive weight loss (over 100 lbs). So you can imagine what my belly looks like! (LOTS of loose skin and messed-up muscle.)
I dislike plastic surgery intensely (I regard it as very vain, just my personal opinion), so I guess this is how my body will be forever. I have taken my sig line to heart! 
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"A waist is a terrible thing to mind".
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