Stomach Bloating for 2 years, help need diagnosis

[xtrafancy]

I have been suffering from Stomach bloating for two years now and the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong with me. I had every test under the sun. Upper GI, colonoscopy, CT Scan, Xtray, test for stomach cancer, etc. The only thing that temporarily helped it was antibiotics which made it go away for awhile, but then it always comes back. I have stomach bloating with constipation, sometimes I have what I guess would be considered hot flash, I feel super hot and sometimes nauseus, I have pain right above my bellybutton and it feels like someone is twisting something around in my stomach other times it radiates to the sides and to my back and shoulder blades. I have strong smell in my urine, now I have to pee all of the time which is a new symptom and I tested negative for a uti, the other day I had burnning in my stomach for two days, now I'm just bloated and constipated or at least it feels like that because I feel an intense pressure in my stomach like something needs to get out. This most recent bloating was brought on by my drinking a ton of wine on saturday night and after that my stomach has been like this. I had an ultrasound last week of my liver, gallbladder, spleen etc and it said my gallbladder was distended and they said my xray is normal. A distended gallbladder doesn't sound normal to me. Distended means enlarged. So I'm having another endoscopy of the gallbladder, pancreas etc next week. Did you ever find out what was wrong with you? None of this happened to me until I got off of atkins. Then all of a sudden I gained 20 pounds in a month and started having these issues. I started working out a lot recently and Iost weight which has been hard to do because of this stomach issue. It makes you heavier and I can't fit into any of my clothes when this happens and it looks like I'm six months pregnant.  Before this problem I was so skinny. Last week I was at the doctor and he weighed me and then this week after the stomach bloating it said I was 9 pounds heavier how do you gain 9 pounds in a week you don't. So I know there is something wrong with me. Anyone have any feedback or know what this could be?

[fructose]

This discussion thread points strongly to fructose intolerance. The genesis of such intolerance is still unknown, but the culprit is a missing sugar transport enzyme for fructose (glucose however is usually well tolerated). The unabsorbed fructose is feasted on by bacteria, causing bloating and gas, and can also cause diarrhea. You can test for this with a breath test, or try a fructose free diet (google "sue shepard fructose"). The person pointing to gluten-free nutrition brings up an additional point: gluten-free nutrition is typically free of fructans, a form of sugar which can cause issues like fructose above.

[bonbon214]

I agree with you -- these GI symptoms are often related to OB/GYN.  Bloating, Distension, constipation, menopause and bleeding, irregular periods need to be evaluated.  Please see a Gyn and if you don't get results pursue and pursue.  This Ovarian CA is No longer a silent killer/disease.  There are suspected symptoms.  Good Luck I have the same thing and just had a CT scan yesterday.

[Dingy1]

Have any of you been checked for ovarian cancer.  I was shocked to find that the symptoms are gastro.  It is the silent killer of women please look up the symptoms and make and appointment right away

[maddycfaussie]

stomach bloating is a big symptom of coeliac disease or gluten intolerance ! that explains the carb thing because everything with carbs contains gluten/wheat and that would flare up your symptoms.

do you feel tired/lethargic all the time when you eat those foods?

when you are allergic to gluten you lose a lot of vitamin d, which promotes calcium absorption- which means you are losing bone mass as we speak.

hope this gives some insight !

LAY OFF THE CARBS!!!! :)

also if you havent been eating for a long time or eating erratically it can cause rapid changes in weight and stomach distention.

this also happens with extreme fluctuations in diet-

for example : you live off a vegetarian raw food diet for a long time, then switch to good old fried chicken !

write back soon !

[stag1123]

Well Been on the atkins again for about 4 weeks or so and lost about 30lbs.  My stomac with out the carbs feels 100% better.  I still have not gotten a test for SIBO as the only testing is far away and I can not take any time off of work right now.  But no carbs, no problems, so if this is my answer for now, I will happily give up the carvs for a normal stomac.

[stag1123]

Do you remember what dosage of Cipro you were taking?  The Doxycycline didnt seem to do anything for me but again it wasnt nearly a high enough dosage to treat SIBO, as it was given to me for IBS.

[xtrafancy]

Hmm maybe it is SIBO then because as soon as I got antibiotics which was Cipro it went away, but then it came right back. I think the bacteria in your stomach feed off carbs and sugar so that would explain the stomach bloating whenever I eat either. But it still doesn't explain why after being on atkins we got this. .  Anyway let me know what happens after you finish antibiotics. You have to do true induction for your stomach to stay flat which means no alchohal either. 22 pounds in two weeks wow thats a lot. Atkins never worked that good for me. Maybe 6 in two weeks. :) My friend gave me the name of a holistic doctor which is what I'm trying next because the doctors at the hospitals say the same thing IBS, but my gastro doctor finally concurred it was SIBO like 6 months ago  because the antibiotics cured it. But he told me it will keep coming back. I went back to him twice and he refilled my antibiotic prescription, but then it came back so I didn't bother going back there again. MY GP wasn't helpul at all.

Basically we don't know whats wrong with you so you have to live with this and have no idea why you have it. Let me know what happens and I will keep you posted as well.

[stag1123]

After doing extensive research on the net, I decided that I wanted to get tested for SIBO. Unfortunately,  it seems that there aren't many doctors in my area that have any experience with it, nor do they have a clue where to go to get tested, so of course they just tell me its IBS not SIBO.  Anyway, I called many hospitals in my area to get the hydrogen breath test for SIBO but got the run around.  Seems that the only hospital I could find is hours away from me in another state.

I did get one of my doctors to treat me with antibiotics for IBS and he also gave me some samples of ALIGN (which I have also ordered online).  The antibiotic dosage however is no where near what is recomended for SIBO, since from what I hear is extremely hard to kill and will return if you dont fix what is causing the SIBO in the first place.  Well I am on day 6 of 14 on the Align and Doxycycline.  I figure I will see how I feel after and if I still have issues I will schedule a test for SIBO.

I was also thinking about going back on the atkins myself.  I had gotten back on it a few months ago for a weight loss contest i entered at work.  I lost 22lbs in two weeks.  My stomach seemed a little bit better and for one day and one day only it was completely perfect.  Unfortunately it did not last more than one day.  Im thinking after I finish up with the antibiotics I will go back on the atkins.  

Well good luck with everything and please keep me posted!  This whole thing is so crazy and agrivating!

[xtrafancy]

I don't know how I missed boron's comment from June. But here is some more info. Gallbladder test came back negative they went in there with a camera and said they didn't see anything.  But I think you are right because that makes total sense. My doctor at one point did give me antiobiotic for Sibo and it did cure it temporarily and then as soon as I ate any type of carb pasta, crackers etc my stomach would blow up huge like I am pregnant. So basically I had to go back on atkins permanately and now its almost back to normal. My stomach still bloats whenever I eat any carb though. Also when I was having stomach bloating I then went to gyno and was told I had a bacteria overgrowth below as well. So it seems like its spreading. I got back on antibiotics and it fixed both issues. But then it comes back as soon as I eat any carbs. I never had this problem until I went on atkins. My doctor said well you are obviously eating something you are allergic to, but I can't help you. you are going to have to figure it out for yourself.

Well I figured out if I avoid carbs my stomach goes flat, but I don't know why I can no longer eat a single carb. I also take Align which is a probiotic which has helped me. I also tried threelac which is to cure a systematic yeast overgrowth. Why did I take this because the symptoms are similar on the internet. That also seemed to help my bloating. Normally I would never buy this **** on the internet, but my doctor isn't helping me so I had no choice but to try and figure it out myself.  AFter I started taking the three lac and the probiotic some of my other symptoms dissapeared -I was getting joint pain as well and I'm still young so this stuff does work because my joint pain dissapeard after I started taking it. But it didn't cure my problem completely. as I still get the bloating. Next step maybe talk to a nutrionist. I don't know what to do anymore and I have no clue why I have this problem or what to do. IF I do have a small stone stuck in my gallbladder, how do I get it out? Do those gallbladder flushes even work? I've seen some on the internet, but I would never try them necessarily because they sound kind of dangerous. Don't give up hope either stag. Hopefully someone can tell us what is going on

[stag1123]

xtrafancy-
Wow, it was almost like someone put all my words down.  I have also been experiencing all the same symptoms and you for the over two years now.  I have had all of the test you have had and more, over the past 2+ years.  I have even taken off weeks of vacation from work just to drive down to hospitals with specail Gastro testing and they have all found nothing.

I was an avid body builder for many years and very self concious of my body and like you was also doing the atkins for a very long time.  This problem has made me extremely depresed and is affecting all aspects of my life.  It was like dejavue when you said you felt like you were 6 months pregnant, I have also refered to myself that way through all of this.  The crazy thing is that every once and a while (very rarely) my stomac will go back to completely normal were I can see my stomac muscles and everything is fine, then next day bam i look like i swallowed a beach ball!  

I had actually given up for a while, but have since motivated myself for finding a cure.  I am actually on vacation next week and will be trying another doctor (i cant even remember at this point how many doctors i have gone to) so hopeful i can find a solution to this mess.  

I will check back and let you know if i find anything new.  Good luck and dont give up hope!

[LilyGraceS]

Did anything work? Y'all are saying exactly what is happening to me. Same everything. Except I haven't gotten tested. Did you ever find anything out?

[boron]

There may be two issues here:

1. Gallbladder. Distended gb is probably from stones, and it looks like a small stone blocked bile flow from the liver into intestine. This results in biliary stasis in liver and bilirubin enters the blood and - urine. This bilirubin is probably the cause of smelling urine (urine would be dark yellow, amber, in this case).

2. You said you went off of atkins. Carbohydrates you eat now, and alcohol (wine) are food for intestinal bacteria, which produce gas and cause bloating.

What to do:
- proceed with gallbladder tests
- restrict sugar (sweets, fruits) and alcohol intake, also starch (potatoes) -well, no need to go back to total atkins again. If this won't help, you should have a breath test for small intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO), which is treated with antibiotics.