I've searched for this topic but not found it yet, so 'scuse me if you've heard this one before.

I have been bloated for as long as I can remember. I'm not gassy though. My abdomen sticks out, not unlike the malnourished children you see on famine-relief/sponsorship ads. This isn't ALL the time, but most - I tend to hold it in, and when I release it's like WHOMP, there it is. Sometimes, it's just there, like I'm pregnant.

I am not that overweight either, maybe 10 pounds. It doesn't seem like it's just fat. It's like a beer gut - solid, with a layer of fat on it.

I am suspecting a food intolerence somewhere, although I don't really have any other symptoms. I do have a mould allergy, and hay fever. Used to have terrible bread/cracker/potato chip cravings, which have cleared up since lc-ing (thank god).

Anyway, if anyone has insight on this, my ears are open.

Tracy

Waywardsis,

Have you been eating sugar free candy? That does it to me.

Try drinking warm water w/ a squirt from real lemon slice. This always helps me.

Good luck

I had that bloating too. I found out I have several food intolerances and once I eliminated those foods from my diet my belly deflated. Whenever I back slide, my belly balloons out again.

For my, the foods are gluten, dairy and I think soy. Enterolab.com does food intolerance testing, you might look into that.

Josiemk - I don't do artificial sweeteners, ever ever ever.

NancyLC - first of all...I LOVE your bunny pic! I'm not eating any wheat, that I know of anyway. I may try eliminating dairy, tho' I don't want to!! I'm in Canada, and there are places I can get tested here but it's super expensive.

Would I be having other symptoms though with food intolerance?

Potentially. Common ones include bloating, gas, constipation or dairrhea, brain fog, emotion distress, migraines, eczema, neurological issues like nerve damage, gait disorders, and others.


The worst offenders for food intolerances seem to be:

Wheat, dairy, soy, nuts/legumes, eggs, corn, rice

You could try a paleo diet for a couple of weeks and gradually add foods back in.

If it isn't food... could it be something else in the abdominal area? Ovarian cyst? Have you had an exam recently?

Have you seen a doctor to rule out any medical causes?

I am *gasp* overdue for an exam. I've been bloated for years and years though, so I don't think it's anything like that...

I'm not eating wheat, corn, rice or nuts/legumes (as far as I know). I just realized that my salad dressings and mayo are made with soy oil, and I do eat a lot of eggs. But...

I am suspecting dairy, since I love it. I don't drink milk, really (used to) but I do have it or cream in my tea all day long. I drink a ton of tea. I also ADORE cheese with a passion that's deep and real. I don' t recall ever going a day in my life without a dairy product of some kind: cheese, milk, yogurt, etc. So I'm going to give it a go and see what happens.

What's a good length of time to omit a food and then reintroduce? Should I also avoid butter for now? (Please say no, please say no...)

BTW: I had all the tests a while back, and they gave me some data, and my insurance company declined to pay (they allow $60 for testing, and the full panel was US1300) and I felt pretty much ripped off.

YMMV.

I don't think these types of tests are covered here (by our gov't coverage), and I can't pay for it! I figure it's only bloating - I can test myself, right?

LOL! I'd say 2 weeks should do it.

For butter, I would suggest getting or making ghee. That is basically butter with the milk proteins removed. They call it clarified butter sometimes too. You can easily find instructions on how to make it online. Very easy to do. It doesn't taste like butter, but it is quite yummy!

Waywardsis ,

Do you have pain in the upper stomach. When I had gall stones, I had real bad bloating & pain in the upper belly.

Could it be muscle?

I'm having the same problem with bloat, too. Most of the time it seems I just can't hold my stomach in--and lately it's been very upset. Since I'm gluten intolerant I figure it's the dairy. I had added back in about 1/2 cup whole milk and ended up with strong cramps. Now I just use cream but it still burns. I'm thinking it's either the cream or coffee. I'm going to try using coconut milk for a while and go completely off dairy--except for clarified butter.

I went to your gallery and my stomach sticks out like that too, and I don't believe it is just weight. Trial and error, I guess. I love dairy, especially cream but I'm going to try the cream on top of regular coconut milk.

Josiemk: nope, no pain. I've had this bloating since I was a teenager - around 15 or 16. Thought it was just how my tummy was. Now I am older and paying attention, I notice it's worse some days, better others. I was huge this morning, for some reason.

NancyLC - I may give the ghee a try. I totally lost my no-dairy motivation. I haven't had cheese (my weakness) but have been putting cream in my tea - and I drink at least a pot a day. That's a lotta cream. If I want to get to the bottom of this, I have to commit to dairy-free. 2 weeks won't kill me (it'll just suck)

kebaldwin: gawd, I hope not! It's the hugest muscle on my bod, if it is. Like J-Lo butt, but on my gut. Actually I do worry about that, since I am back lifting weights now, that it'll end up looking bigger/rounder. There used to be a trainer there whose ab muscles protruded, like a turtle shell sitting on his belly, and it was really creepy. (BTW, guys here call beer bellies "Molson muscle", LOL)

That is the exact description of the symptoms one of my friends has, and she suffers from PCOS. some days she can hardly fit into her pants, some days she is less bloated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycy...ns_and_symptoms

UP to 10% of women worldwide have PCOS and less than half know they have it...

dhania