Abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and weight retention

judarsh · Newbie Joined: 19 Jan 2007 Posts: 2

[I have the same problem as you. im sick of it. and i cant find anything wrong medically. its been 9 months that I've had serious constipation with a lot of abdominal pain. ive tried everything. now im on Zoloft, just a few days now... how is it helping for you?

quote="Guest"]It sounds like IBS to me. There's two types. IBS with diarrhea, and IBS with constipation. I have the second one. It's awful. Abdominal pain, constipation, gas... it hurts, big time.

I also have a problem with weight gain, and being able to lose it. Basically, I can't.

My doctor put me on Zelnorm.. and because I have such a bad case of IBS with constipation, and he also put me on Zoloft, which is a depression medication (and I have that too), because reduced Seratonin levels (which are part of depression), also "slow" everything else down too, like mood, bowels, everything. Makes your entire body "sluggish".

So seratonin also helps with constipation sometimes too, if depression is also one of your side effects.

Still, I often have probs with constipation, along with other symptoms that led me to believe I might have hypothyroidism. My doctor did blood tests though, and I don't have that. So I'm thoroughly stumped, and almost feel despair because I can't figure out what's wrong with me.

If anyone knows what else could be causing these symptoms, please let me know as well.

Thanks.[/quote]

judarsh · Newbie Joined: 19 Jan 2007 Posts: 2

I have the same problem. It happend suddenly 8 months ago and I havent been able to go to the bathroom without laxatives since . I just started Zoloft 3 days ago.. how is it working for you ?

madalina · Newbie Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 1

Hello i have the same problem as yours and recenty i have discovered i have parasite(giardiasis) from blood tests(antibody) not the stool .I felt better after one week of treatmet but unfortunatellu the simptoms came back so i have to do one more time the treatment.
Test for parasite!

Dani · Guest

I have been reading the posts about IBS and feel like I might have it too.

Symptoms:

~Frequent bowel movements followed by bouts of constipation
~Major bloating - to the point that my pants don't fit and I keep having to wear long jackets to hide by big belly
~Always feeling full in the abdomen but also hungry but when I eat even two bites of food I feel soooo uncomfortable
- Like I have a lump or something in my stomach permanently

Does anyone else have this???????? Is this IBS do you think? I am going to see my doctor but am just curious to know.

Guest · Guest

OMG!!!I can't believe so many others have the same symptoms I have been having. I am having trouble figuring out if I have constipation or just some problems with bowel movements. I have gained over 10 lbs. in the past year and am soooo depressed. I already take anti-depressants and none of these cause weight gain. My belly is getting bigger and bigger and I work out about 25 miles a week and maintain a 1500 cal diet trying to prevent more weight gain.
My doctor never asked me about my digestive system but rather, thinks I have to just get used to the weight gain.
Can anyone tell me a bit more about IBS constipation? I go off and on. Brief periods of normal movements and then followed by severe constipation, gas pain and narrow stools. Then, I get a bout of diarrhea. Any answers anyone?
You have given me some hope....Thanks!!
Joan

Guest · Guest

Get checked for Celiac Disease

cpeacock24 · Newbie Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1

I have been struggling with IBS now for around 6 years and reading all these posts it seems that you lot are all in the same boat; constipation, bloating, abdominal cramps, gas e.t.c i understand how bad it can be and not just paunful but dam inconvienent aswell.

The most effective treatments i have found are;

dieting - avoiding certain foods which are hard to digest and if you suffering from constipation take more high fibre foods aswell as loads of fruit and veg. if we all went on a strict diet of vegetables, fruits and healthy nurishing foods then most of us would not have a problem. Although eating like that everyday is impossible! so i try to include as much fruit and veg as i can manage.

I have also had food sensitivity testing which revealed i should stay away from dairy, peppers and paprika!? avoiding these foods has helped but i have no will power to completley avoid all these foods.

Colonics - THIS IS A MUST, the colonic itself helps clean out your bowels and you find that you have old stool in there which can lead to bacteria problems. The clinic i goto help me SO much and prescribe me herbal tablets which i take every day before meals. They mostly contain a mixture of herbs like fennel, rubarb, ginger, lobeila - they are so effective that when i take two with my main meal i will definiately go to the toilet before dinner the next day. They dont act like laxatives, they actually exercise your bowels over night - sounds mad i know but they have been a life saver for me.

Even though i have more control and relief over my IBS i still do struggle at times. Its like i can sort out the affect but i need to find the cause. at the moment im doing an elimination diet and tryign to pinpoint which food really upsets my system, so fingers crossed. i think the big problem for us all is there are so many factors that can make your IBS better or worse its just finding which to avoid and ones that help.

one last thing for the abdominal cramps ask your doctor for omerperazole. they sort me out everytime.

chaz2a · Newbie Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 3

emmysmom03 · Newbie Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 1

Hello, I'm so glad I found this website. I have most of the symptoms I have been reading about in this post. I am waiting for my blood tests to come back to see if I have hypothyroidism, because I have all of those symptoms as well. I had a baby 10 months ago and have been unable to lose weight despite cardio exercise 35-45 minutes 7 days per week plus 3 days 20 minutes of strength training. For about a week I have increased my fiber drastically even though the last time I tried this I gave up because I was in so much pain. Today I am having horrible stomach pains (I assume gas), and extreme constipation. The constipation is MUCH worse than before I increased the fiber. How is this possible? Has anyone tried this and does it take more than a week to even itself out or something? I am so tired of feeling sick all the time! I'm glad I found all of you. What kind of doctor do you all go to to be diagnosed with IBS?

Guest · Guest

I cant believe I am reading this, and I want to share my story briefly.
After being on prozac for five years with some weight gain, I fairly suddenly started putting on belly fat, and my blood sugar seemed out of wack. having always been small this has been hard on me in many ways. because i am forty three and in some stages of peri menopause, i thought this would contribute. anyway, i gained about twelve pounds in two months on top of the twenty five i gained over the years from being on prozac. Here is what I did, so far. I have weaned myself off of prozac, I have not taken it for over two and a half months. I still have the bloating and water retention and hard fat in my middle. but I have done some research, and here is what I think has happened. the prozac has consistantly screwed with my seratonin and cortisone releases for over five years, and now its all out of whack. I think that the trigger of cortisone has caused the round the belly hard fat, concentrated right under my breasts. my water balance is out of whack, and my blood suger falls through the earth if i dont eat. but when i do, like others who have wrote, i cant eat any more than a handful. so, I quit prozac (slowly) after doing the research on the side effects long term. I have not lost any weight yet, but I have started taking 7 keto dhea and L-tyrosine. This has been a godsend for my depression, and I am hoping what is going to help repair my adredal and thyroid from the damage of the prozac, so hopefully I can help my metabolism again, and lose some belly fat. I am also taking flax seed oil with essential oils. my depression is being handled well with this, if I get enough rest and eat right. I also just got a prescription for zelnorm because irritable bowel with constipation, and started it yesterday. I am trying to stay positve and give my new approach a chance, although from what I have read about damage from antidepressants I may have been on it too long. I think the supplements working on my depression is a good sign my body can get right again. One more thing, I think the people who wrote that they are on zelnorm and antidepressants, will eventually still gain weight ..just my guess. I wish everyone luck with this ladies, and if my way works, I will post my results.

Abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and weight retention

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