Abdominal bloating. What is wrong with me?
Jenny came to my office with a serious look although minutes before I had seen her laughing in the waiting room watching a video.
–Tell me how I can help you?
Doctor for about 3 years i have felt my abdomen with abdominal bloating and distention. Every day I wake up with my abdomen very inflated and full like a balloon 🏀. The pants squeeze me as if they had shrunk and you can’t imagine the discomfort I feel. There are times when I feel so bad that my breathing is shortened. It has altered my life because it doesn’t let me work in peace and with my husband things have never gone back to the way they were before. I visited several gastroenterologist but I feel the same. Just today one of my colleagues asked me if I was pregnant. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry
–What else do you feel?
I have the feeling that there are a lot of gases inside me but I can’t expel them. I go to the bathroom and try but nothing… they don’t come out
– And your fecal matter?
That’s the strange thing, I feel that they are normal, that I do it easily and I don’t have bleeding. They always ask me if I have bleeding but I don’t. It doesn’t hurt me
–And your diet?
My food is super healthy 🥒 🥕 don’t eat soda or fast food. I avoid eating dairy, gluten, red meets…….for a time I was vegetarian, I did the low fodmaps diet and now I am doing intermittent fasting. Everyone I know tries to help by telling me what I can eat and what I can’t, but the truth is now I feel like everything is bad for me… even water is bad for me.
– In these three years have you had any exams?
Surprisingly ……many. I had a colonoscopy that was normal, they only removed a small benign polyp but they told me that this is not causing my discomfort. I then had an upper endoscopy to look at Helicobacter or inflammation in my duodenum and was told everything was OK. One of my doctors asked me for an ultrasound to check that I had no fluid in my abdomen or problems with my ovaries, but again it was normal 😞
A gastroenterologist told me that maybe I wasn’t digesting sugars well and then i did a breath test for fructose malabsorption…..was normal. I didn’t take the lactose test because I can’t even see a spoonful of milk. They also tested me for celiac disease but imagine what doctor…. normal 😢 . Even the fecal calprotectin was normal
–Obviously your doctors have done what is recommended in these cases. Have you taken medications?
Ugh, you can’t imagine. They have given me anti-spasmodic medications, antibiotics, probiotics and they even gave me some medicines for emotions but I did not tolerate them because they made me dizzy and very sleepy. Plus I don’t want to feel worse than I already am.
And what do you think is causing your abdominal bloating?
Something is wrong with me but I don´t know what it could be……I’ve thought about it many times but I know something isn’t right. I am super healthy and I have never been sick. I don’t drink liquor, I don’t smoke, I exercise, I don’t eat on the street, I do yoga every day… My husband tells me that it could be stress and although I admit that I am somewhat anxious and stressed, I don’t think that’s it.
– And what do you want to do Jenny?
I know I must have something doctor. I have read that SIBO causes all of this and I want to do whatever it takes to know that I have
– What happens if the test result is negative?
I’m going to keep looking because something is wrong with me. What do you advise me?
–It’s okay to take the breath test for SIBO but I don’t think doing the tests from A to Z is going to help you…
Today I am not going to tell you the outcome of this story but for me the most valuable thing are the messages that remain with me 👉
If you have had abdominal bloating for a long time don’t lose hope of feeling good
You always have to take some exams. However, don’t get frustrated if the test results are normal. Test are one thing and what you feel is another thing.
When restrictions in your diet hardly helps or doesn’t matter to you, then it is unlikely that your food is causing the problem.
Your emotions are not seen in a test but they always accompany you and you must attend to them
If you need me to help you find the solution to your abdominal distension, write to us on WhatsApp or call us on our cell phone 📲3207571313
Greetings
Mauricio González Hernández
Gastroenterologist in Medellín
