Bloating
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wabmester
Posts: 2,748 Member
I had a distended belly Friday morning. I found it odd since the last meal I had eaten was all meat.
I spent a little time googling around this morning to get a better understanding of what causes bloating. Wow! It turns out to be one of those complicated medical mysteries.
One thing they've found is that it is almost never excess gas, as most people believe.
Another fascinating aspect is that there are psychological factors (I was stressed out just prior to surgery on Friday). I also learned that the gut produces most of the serotonin we make, and higher blood levels are associated with IBS.
Finally, I loved this article in the NY Times:
Think like a doctor: the gymnast's big belly
It took docs something like 14 months to solve this mystery. See if you can solve it quicker.
I spent a little time googling around this morning to get a better understanding of what causes bloating. Wow! It turns out to be one of those complicated medical mysteries.
One thing they've found is that it is almost never excess gas, as most people believe.
Another fascinating aspect is that there are psychological factors (I was stressed out just prior to surgery on Friday). I also learned that the gut produces most of the serotonin we make, and higher blood levels are associated with IBS.
Finally, I loved this article in the NY Times:
Think like a doctor: the gymnast's big belly
It took docs something like 14 months to solve this mystery. See if you can solve it quicker.
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Replies
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If you just had surgery on Friday, I would definitely contact your doctor. It may something wrong. Wasn't it something with your kidneys? Talk to a medical professional. Just my thoughts.
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Mine was mild and temporary. Bloating is pretty normal. It happens to something like 30% of people, which I found surprisingly low -- I thought it happened to everybody. I also thought it was related to gut bacteria dining on undigested food. Apparently not.
Paging @karlottap. Any guesses about the gymnast?0 -
Artificial sweeteners!!! For the win Wab!!!0
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Nailed it! 0
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It's amazing what those things can do to a body! Think of the money they spent!0
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In her case, it was phenylketonuria. She was unable to digest phenylalanine. And she loved diet soda loaded with the stuff.0
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Cool article though! Thanks for twisting my brain a bit! Glad you're wasn't like that. I did think that was a picture of you at first, lol! I'm sure that why @Batlady49, recommended a doctor visit!0
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That is not what the answer was in the medical answer to the condition. It had to do with muscle dysfunction, both pelvic and in her diaphragm.... The medical answer was a separate post and explained this quite well. It is what was classified as a functional GI problem, in the category of IBS and different troubles...0
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You're right -- I was going by the reader-contributed answers that the NY Times had tagged, but the follow-up article gave a different answer. In any case, the variety of different causes is interesting.0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »That is not what the answer was in the medical answer to the condition. It had to do with muscle dysfunction, both pelvic and in her diaphragm.... The medical answer was a separate post and explained this quite well. It is what was classified as a functional GI problem, in the category of IBS and different troubles...
Do you have a link to the follow-up post with the answer? The article doesn't seem to have one.
I'm kind of surprised no one thought to do something about the eggs she was eating before it got down to "pretty much just chicken and eggs," since they're a known allergen.0 -
I have some bloating right now from falling off the wagon, some of it must be air as there is a hell of a lot being expelled...0
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Dragonwolf wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »That is not what the answer was in the medical answer to the condition. It had to do with muscle dysfunction, both pelvic and in her diaphragm.... The medical answer was a separate post and explained this quite well. It is what was classified as a functional GI problem, in the category of IBS and different troubles...
Do you have a link to the follow-up post with the answer? The article doesn't seem to have one.
I'm kind of surprised no one thought to do something about the eggs she was eating before it got down to "pretty much just chicken and eggs," since they're a known allergen.
It was way down at the end, two paragraphs before the comments:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/think-like-a-doctor-the-gymnasts-big-belly-solved/
And yeah, I thought of allergens, too...probiotics...so many additional factors...0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »Dragonwolf wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »That is not what the answer was in the medical answer to the condition. It had to do with muscle dysfunction, both pelvic and in her diaphragm.... The medical answer was a separate post and explained this quite well. It is what was classified as a functional GI problem, in the category of IBS and different troubles...
Do you have a link to the follow-up post with the answer? The article doesn't seem to have one.
I'm kind of surprised no one thought to do something about the eggs she was eating before it got down to "pretty much just chicken and eggs," since they're a known allergen.
It was way down at the end, two paragraphs before the comments:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/think-like-a-doctor-the-gymnasts-big-belly-solved/
And yeah, I thought of allergens, too...probiotics...so many additional factors...
Thanks, that's apparently the one line I skipped over in reading that. *facepalm*
The next question then becomes "what caused that mess?" The most obvious culprit seems to be the GI upset she had, though I suspect it's more complex than that, given how uncommon her issue is compared to the rate of GI issues in general. I'd still lean on an environmental issue (but then, I'm of the opinion that most modern issues are). It's hard telling with so many variables and so little information. It'll be interesting to see how this branch of medicine grows.0 -
Another fascinating aspect is that ... I also learned that the gut produces most of the serotonin we make.
This is absolutely amazing, you have no idea how much you helped me. This puts a few more pieces of the puzzle together - I have GERD and do not produce enough acid which results in my body not absorbing nutrients. I was prescribed and am taking medicine which is known to affect the liver. I used to have a blood test every 3 to 6 months. I haven't had a test of my liver in 5 years. I am going to discuss this with my doctor on the 15th.
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Based on my own background, I was guessing celiac disease. Stomach pain, fatigue, D then C, and a huge belly? Check. Check Check. I never left home with a sweater I could hold over my belly because it was embarrassing and painful.
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Dragonwolf wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »Dragonwolf wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »That is not what the answer was in the medical answer to the condition. It had to do with muscle dysfunction, both pelvic and in her diaphragm.... The medical answer was a separate post and explained this quite well. It is what was classified as a functional GI problem, in the category of IBS and different troubles...
Do you have a link to the follow-up post with the answer? The article doesn't seem to have one.
I'm kind of surprised no one thought to do something about the eggs she was eating before it got down to "pretty much just chicken and eggs," since they're a known allergen.
It was way down at the end, two paragraphs before the comments:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/think-like-a-doctor-the-gymnasts-big-belly-solved/
And yeah, I thought of allergens, too...probiotics...so many additional factors...
Thanks, that's apparently the one line I skipped over in reading that. *facepalm*
The next question then becomes "what caused that mess?" The most obvious culprit seems to be the GI upset she had, though I suspect it's more complex than that, given how uncommon her issue is compared to the rate of GI issues in general. I'd still lean on an environmental issue (but then, I'm of the opinion that most modern issues are). It's hard telling with so many variables and so little information. It'll be interesting to see how this branch of medicine grows.
I don't think it was in the comments, but somewhere they said it seemed to have started with some sort of GI distress/stomach bug. Basically, she caught the flu or something, and antibiotics may have been the tipping point or something (they weren't certain), but essentially, something put her GI system in full distress. Add to this situation that I have to imagine that the intensity of her gymnastics and stuff just contributed to triggering the pelvic floor dysfunction. Maybe @radiii or one of the others who suffer this type of pelvic floor dysfunction might be able to offer some more insight. My type of PFD is the opposite of hers - too loose, for the most part.
Then when she had the diarrhea for a while, she probably overtightened everything to restrict from accidents or misery, and it trigger a systemic reaction, at least that was the way I took it.0 -
That is an interesting case.
I recently got heavy into Probiotics with heavy use of Prebiotic fiber and at first lost two inches at the belt but I am now deflating again.0
all of this when I am debating getting rid of my diet dr. pepper and splenda habit. Hmm.. interesting. Decision made... 
