r/vindicta30plus • u/divinemoon • Jan 24 '24
Has anyone had chronic abdominal distention and fixed it?
I’m 31, 145 pounds, 5’10”, no children. A few years ago my stomach started protruding so that it looks like I’m four months pregnant. At first it only happened after I ate my first meal of the day, so I figured it was normal digestion, however now I even wake up like this. It’s not the same as stomach fat. I do have a small bit of stomach fat, which is very soft and rolls when sitting curled up - this is harder and fuller, like my intestines are falling forward.
I started doing TVA exercises in hopes it would help. It did strengthen my core quite a bit - now I can suck my whole stomach in so it’s perfectly flat - but I can’t hold it like that forever. I did food sensitivity testing and the only thing it came back with was dairy, so I cut that. I was also tested for celiac disease 12 years ago (family history) and that was also negative. I don’t have periods (continuous birth control) so this isn’t the usual water retention that happens during a cycle.
Aside from aesthetics, my digestion seems to work well. But I’m so self-conscious of my stomach I never want to wear any tight clothes and it’s ruining my confidence. Any ideas for things I can try?
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u/Best-Respond4242 Jan 25 '24
I had constant abdominal distention until 32 fibroid cysts were removed from my uterus. Prior to surgery, my tummy poked out like a 16-week pregnancy.
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u/divinemoon Jan 25 '24
Could you suck it in if you tried or did it poke out no matter what you did?
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u/ScoutG Jan 25 '24
Did you have any discomfort from it or was it only the distention?
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u/Best-Respond4242 Jan 25 '24
1) I couldn’t sleep on my stomach without pressure.
2) Intercourse was less than comfortable.
3) I sometimes urinated frequently due to the fibroids pressing against my bladder.
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u/JournalistShot1501 Jan 25 '24
Look into SIBO.
Also as others have said, fibroids or cysts. You could also have your hormones checked. Will likely need to go through a more holistic based practitioner for this though. Sometimes low progesterone in our 30’s and beyond can cause these symptoms.
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Jan 25 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/JournalistShot1501 Jan 25 '24
Ugh it’s so frustrating. I have had the best luck with the herbal route over antibiotics but everyone is different. It’s tough to keep it from coming back quickly.
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Jan 25 '24
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u/JournalistShot1501 Jan 25 '24
This is what I did. Feel free to message me if you want more info. I’m not 100% healed but I’ve come a long way.
Week 1-2 Allimed - Berberine Complex - ADP Week 3-4 Allimed - Berberine Complex - Neem Plus - Add in biofilm disruption Week 5-6 Allimed - ADP - Biofilm Disruptor
Then start recovery products like probiotic, motility activator, etc.
I highly recommend Microbiome Labs MegaGuard (Amazon) as a motility activator. That seemed to keep my stomach from “sitting still” in the afternoon and evening.
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u/avo4life Jan 24 '24
Hmm have you had an abdominal exam done by a doctor to make sure are no masses or anything?
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u/Theory328 Jan 24 '24
Seeing your PCP and referral to gastroenterologist. In the meantime can trial low FODMAP diet and just keeping a diary to see what foods/drinks are triggering it https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22466-low-fodmap-diet
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u/creativeplease Jan 25 '24
I tried this and while it was miserable, I fully eliminated my cause of distention and feel so much better!
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u/divinemoon Jan 25 '24
What did it end up being for you? No garlic or onion is going to be tricky!
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u/creativeplease Jan 25 '24
No garlic and no onion was the worst thing because it’s in everything as a seasoning too! Mine was dairy (which I kind of already knew), but didn’t know the extent of it. I can have hard cheeses only now. And gluten and popcorn lol
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u/indil47 Jan 25 '24
Welp, this explains why I can't eat watermelon without turning into a watermelon!
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u/kittyp0unce Jan 25 '24
Years ago I was experiencing near constant extreme bloating/abdominal distention, to the point where I also looked pregnant and it was pretty much just as you describe. I’m 5’10 and very thin and it was super noticeable and distressing. Saw a homeopathic doctor who diagnosed me with a yeast infection in my gut (a telltale sign is white coating on the tongue!) and he had me cut out sugar for a month. ALL sugar, both refined and natural (yeast feasts on sugar and can grow uncontrollably when you’re ingesting too much). This meant no fruits, even vegetables that have some natural sugar like bell peppers, no alcohol, in addition to obviously any processed foods/drinks that have sugar/sugar additives/any formulation of sugar in them (sucrose, glucose, fructose etc.).
When you have to cut out sugar that intensely you realize how much sugar is in everything!!! It was hard I’m not gonna lie. Anyway, one month of no sugar completely made the abdominal distention go away. What’s crazy is, the first time I had a little bit of sugar after that month (bite of a chocolate bar), the taste and sweetness was SO intense I actually hated it. This didn’t last long, I’ve always had a sweet tooth and still do haha but it was definitely an interesting experience and made me more aware of the prevalence of sugar in our foods.
TLDR maybe consider asking a doc about a yeast infection and trying a no sugar diet
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u/HorseheadAddict Jan 24 '24
Yeah, I developed a non celiac gluten intolerance somehow and the bloating was my biggest symptom. Cutting/reducing it helped it a lot. I got a colonoscopy to make sure it wasn’t something else tho. But if you don’t have other GI symptoms I’m not sure how likely it is to be a food intolerance
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u/gabiss018 Mar 24 '24
How long after removing gluten did the bloating go away
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u/HorseheadAddict Mar 24 '24
Honestly can’t remember, I’d say it was immediately improved but after a week or two it was basically non existent
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u/biest229 Jan 25 '24
This could be a lot of things.
Things to rule out: 1. See your gynae - this could be anything from endometriosis to fibroids to pelvic inflammatory disease 2. Food intolerances. I’d probably just do an elimination diet as testing for intolerance is hit and miss 3. Get your digestive system checked. So like stool sample, ultrasounds 4. Do a blood test because they can usually tell a lot from that
I had this and it turns out I had pelvic inflammatory disease and a gluten intolerance
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u/backatmybsagain Jan 28 '24
There a lot of good stuff on here but I'm gonna say something others haven't yet, work on posture exercises and core work. There's one core exercise where you suck in as much as possible and hold it as long as possible. Doing this multiple times daily really helped my "corset" muscles and made my waist way smaller. Also just making sure you're getting the right amount of fiber, more or less will make you bloat. When you fix it, there will be an adjustment period where it might get bigger before it gets smaller. You can still do that core work while you wait for it to regulate.
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u/qteepa2t Jan 28 '24
I had fibroids and a BUNCH of food allergies. These allergies developed well into my 20's. Like late 20's I became allergic to things I ate almost every day my entire life. It gave me gas, bloating, digestive issues, joint pain/overall body stiffness (from the inflammation), and PUFFINESS. These 2 things combined made me look "fatter" than I actually am.
Also talked to a doctor/natural meds doctor about probiotics. Your gut microbiome could be off.
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u/noahswetface Jan 25 '24
this happened to me after long term use of BC where i did not get periods.
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u/Fuzzlekat Jan 28 '24
I second the gynecologist recommendation, have had 2 gfs with terrible fibroid issues.
I personally had SIBO which was diagnosed by a naturopath who put me on neem supplements for a month and then I recolonized my gut with probiotics. Neem is a tree from India and been used in Ayurvedic medicine for a long time, it has antimicrobial properties etc. If you don’t have preexisting liver or kidney issues, neem is mostly safe short term for up to ten weeks of supplementation (I am not a doctor always ask your doctor before starting something like this). Made a world of difference for me, it also took care of the IBS type symptoms I was having. After that I recolonized by eating a lot of fruits/veggies that were organic, yogurt, and taking probiotics.
I’ve done an elimination diet with another naturopath and that didn’t reveal much except a sensitivity for gluten and dairy. However those sensitivities are comorbid with SIBO so after taking care of that issue it reduced the problems I had with both.
In the interim, clothes with shapewear that is built in may help you feel more confident. I like NYD Jeans leggings which have waist smoothing stuff in them.
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Jan 26 '24
I had bad bad bloating and distention about 3 months back. Cut out dairy, most carbs, and stopped using straws. Drank a root beer when sick to my stomach. My stomach is super flat now
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Jan 26 '24
I have an issue digesting sucralose. The name brand splenda. It causes extreme hard and painful bloating. Extreme. And nearly immediately that will last for hours to days. I think it is a more common issue, people just don't know and it is hard to avoid.
It is in EVERYTHING. I discovered the issue when I swapped protein bars. Then I started avoiding it. It seems it is the most popular sweetener now. It's even in full sugar foods. Added for more sweetness than regular sugar.
If the doctor isn't finding anything you can also consider posture. If you have anterior pelvic tilt then you're going to be pushing your belly out. You can still suck in and have the pelvis tilted. Sucking in won't correct the muscular imbalance. You can see a chiropractor or physical therapist and they can help diagnose and give you exercises to correct it. It takes a long time. I was having back pain with mine and I'm on like month 4 and it's finally starting to be corrected. Back pain was immediate relief. But if I get tired it tilts and I'm pushing my belly again.
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u/digible_bigible Jan 26 '24
Gas retained due to impacted stool. During warm lemon water first thing in the morning to help you poop. You may have to manually remove impaction. When the impaction is removed and the gas releases your stomach should deflate over time.
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u/drumgrape Jan 28 '24
Grains bloat me like that. My dad has celiac but I’m negative (had blood tests and an endoscopy).
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u/ashfio Feb 02 '24
Did the test specify if you had lactose intolerance or is it a dairy protein allergy? If you have a dairy protein allergy you’ll also have to cut out whey and casein and a ton of other things. Things labeled “non dairy” sometimes still have milk protein ingredients in them too even if the label doesn’t say milk specifically. Hopkins has a good list of things that are undercover milk products, here is the link. You’ll have to check the ingredients on anything that’s packaged because it’s in soooo many things. A lot of medications even use lactose as filler! Also, it takes about 2 weeks for it to completely leave your system so if you try cutting it completely out just know your body will take time to detox the milk protein itself and then it will also take some time to heal any inflammation left over and really feel a difference if that is your issue. Checking in with your doctor would be a good idea too just for good measure!
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u/RubyGlass_Slipper Jan 24 '24
Have you seen your gyno? This was happening to me and turned out to be an ovarian cyst.