[ivy]

all the bloating caused by IBS makes me look suspiciously pregnant to co-workers. i have a huge potbelly if the bloating is really bad. i miss wearing a tank top and showing off my belly button (sigh!) gone are those days for me!on days when i'm not bloated, i have little folds of skin sagging down. i exercise a lot in an effort to firm up the tummy area a bit but no luck once i'm bloated like a balloon again. i know this sounds so vain and i should be more concern with what i eat and not the aesthetics of the body. i feel very sad about being bloated all day, just looking at my potbelly makes my insides feel much worse.

 

[3478]

Yikes! I thought it was only me and the "pregnant pot belly". I have even had people ask me "when I am expecting"! My abdomen gets quite bloated and I am not a big person so it really is noticeable. Lately, I am unable to wear some of my pants unless I am having a "good day". It is a total drag.

 

[Kellina]

I seriously look about 6-7 months preggo half the time! Though it's been that way for about 1 1/2-2 yrs, so no baby on the way! lol!I wonder too if people think I'm really expecting or not! I wanna wear low-rider jeans and little tops to show off my tattoo on my lower back, but that nasty arse tummy hangs out! ARGH!

 

[SMax82]

I understand exactly what you mean... I weigh 100lbs. and no matter what I eat, I always seem to "balloon up." I have just resorted to wearing baggy jeans and a swearshirt. Because it is going to be summer, I dont have anything to hide myself with! I hate it when my stomach gets so huge...it's so embarrassing!

I wish that there was some pill that we could take that would take away the bloating! But I guess that's just wishful thinking on my part

 

[Bewitched]

Count me in too!I am small framed and tiny all over,but i always look a few months pregnant.I have been asked more times then i can count.I hate my belly!

 

[Guest]

WOW! I needed to find you all today! Bad day today. Look 6 months pregnant. Doctors love to tell me to get a tummy tuck, or "your metabolism has changed - you're just fat!" No one, thus far, in the medical community has taken the time to understand how demoralizing it is to have this distension. To wonder (and hope) every nite what your ab will look like in the morning. I'm covered up every day in a big sweater, and barely squeezing into my skirt/pants b/c of the abnormal looking bowling ball there. My least favorite time of the year is fast approaching, so...Does anyone know of meds that help this symptom?

 

[JennyDarlin]

OMG! I thought I was the only one! It's good to know that there are those of you who have the same problem. I look in the mirror some days and swear I could be pregnant, then the next day feel like i lost 10 pounds! I hate this. I can't fit comfortably in my pants, shorts anymore and am not looking forward to bathing suit season.

My tummy area is the only area that I've ALWAYS had probs with. I could never get it to shrink, no matter what ab work or exercise I do. Now that I'm a little older, I've noticed more pooching plus the added rolls of fat along my upper abs.

I can't seem to get rid of it! I exercise and eat pretty well, but nothing seems to be helping. It's so frustrating.

The only pills I can think of that would help relieve this would be the anti-gas pills. I sometimes take Symax which helps with the cramping/bloating. I also have been taking metamucil capsules, but lately have noticed it giving me excess gas and sometimes making my D even worse. So I don't know.....oh Whoa is me!

 

[Guest]

does the bloating/distension get worse for anyone during ovulation, and then on toward your period? if it makes u feel better (or less crazy), the "fat" on my ab also goes away (or is much less) if i've had a 'cleansing' for any reason. so if the MDs tell u you're just fat, RUN to the next MD!one doctor recommended fennel tea. so far, it's done nothing for me. (tastes good, and that's about it)

has anyone tried LIBRAX for it? results?? also, i hear of this NUVEL. does anyone have any experience with it? TY!!

 

[Guest]

oops. I meant "NULEV" sorry, had a senior moment...

 

[ivy]

I'm surprised at the replies, yay! i'm not alone being pseudo-pregnant! I wanna have a tummy tuck too but I'm worried if i bloat it would only stretch the skin again. So far Zelnorm (tegaserod) helps with my bloating, it gets all the trapped air out, so i have days where i can fit into tight jeans (but i have to wear a loose shirt or blouse to cover up the sagging tummy skin though).when i have my period i dunno if the cramps come from my tummy or my ovaries, i can't tell the difference anymore.

 

[BloatedLady]

Lady Fish,I notice nothing special during ovulation, but yes I do get a swollen/bloated abdomen a few days before my period. I think this is pretty common. Mine can vary greatly too... in some months there is hardly any differencew, in other months I notice my pants are tighter a few days before I come on. Once my ovaries were so swollen that they looked like two lumps on each side of my abdomen... that was a one-off thou. Sometimes my belly looks massive before my period, btu that is rare thank God.So I am not the only one then...

 

[abb08]

Wow, I cannot tell you how relieving it is to hear that you're also dealing with this. I can lose weight and still have a pot belly, I usually call it my three month old... sadly I have IBS D. so I've never been able to explain the connection - I am five feet tall and that little belly has been a sore spot for years.

 

[em.london]

Is so good to know I am not the only one, I look 7 months pregn all the time. I always have to wear baggy clothes.

 

[JennyDarlin]

Ladyfish- I definitely notice that I get more bloated maybe a week or two before I start. But then w/ibs I usually feel bloated most of the time! What is fennel tea? where can u get it? I could lose at least 10 lbs and be in a normal weight, which I'd like to do b4 I get pregnant. But even at 5'2, and 120 as opposed to 130, I still have the pot belly! And being short, it makes me feel fatter than I know I am!

 

[AD]

As a male, I can't say that I look pregnant. However, I can tell the distention is bad from the giant "bubble" that seems to start just below my chest extending all the way down. It seems strange to me to have this very small, thin chest and then have an enormous bulging abdomen.Also as a male, I don't have as many options for loose-fitting clothes. Whenever I'm at home, I remain in a long nigtshirt. Sometimes I wish I could just take a needle and make the whole thing pop like a balloon.

 

[LyndaG]

Wow...sure makes one feel better to know there's so many of us trying to deal with this annoying problem.I too am smaller (5'4"...about 110 lbs) and have never had a 'belly issue'. Well, first came menopause & out of nowhere that ugly little 'fat pad' across my belly. Boy was I ticked about that

, considering I was working out with a personal trainer & the rest of my body was really starting to look great. Then the IBS started...after taking an antifungal med for a week...stopped the pills immediately, but alas, the IBS stayed.

Of course, as you've all said, then came the distended belly. I must say that mine is only bad when I'm having a D episode, but on top of the 'old age fat pad', boy it's a whole new thing to deal with & sure makes 'what to wear' a completely new challenge.

(needless to say, the workouts stopped due to the IBS, so the rest of the body has 'regressed', to say the least!)If there's so many of us out there, wonder why we only ever notice the women walking around with those flat stomachs, you know the ones that make us want to run home to hide & to burn our bathing suits...

Well, we're all in this together...& we must remember that we're all beautiful in many other ways, nevermind the day-to-day challenges we all have to contend with. Heads held high now...

Take care all,Lynda

 

[JennyDarlin]

Thanks Lynda!

 

[Wmtand]

I'm Male so the prego thing is out, but I can sure relate to everything that is being said. You need 2 - 3 sets of clothes dependant on the degree of bloating. It is so damn uncomfortable and frustrating as I work out on a regular basis,, trying to find my AB's. Just when I see a glimmer of them,, I bloat up for a day or two and they are gone again. Oh well, grin and bear it. Sometimes I take charcoal tablets and that helps a bit.

 

[Bewitched]

Has anyone actually measured your belly to waist ratio?My waist is an even 28 inches and my belly is a 33 1/2 inches.

 

[Guest]

1. THANK YOU, Lynda! i hear ya on only seeing those flat-tummy ladies out there! 2. Fennel tea: u can get it at most good health/organic food stores. (not GNC or ones like that). Alvita makes it. drink it b4 u go to bed. Aparently, the Germans swear by it, for whatever ails yer tummy!can someone tell me what IBS "C" and "D" are? im a bit of a neophyte here.