What could be the cause of my distended stomach?

Wow - I'm surprised how many responses and how long this discussion has been ongoing. I've always been extremely thin and had bowel issues. Last year, I discovered celiac disease and suspected I might have it,so put myself on a gluten free diet and gained about 7 pounds. I also found out at that time that I have wheat and milk allergies. Until about 3 months ago, when I started having such severe reflux that I was unable to sleep, and my stomach felt hard as a rock and pouched out, was sometimes painful. Went to the GI who did a gastroscopy and discovered a polyp (which was removed and benign) and granularity to the stomach, but said if I had celiac it was a light case of it since my small intestines were only slightly inflamed and the villi looked okay in the biopsies that were taken. I was becoming terribly constipated from not having enough fiber in my diet, so went back on to eating gluten since my GI said it was okay to do so. Now I have the diarrhea again, which really doesn't bother me that much since I lived with it for 30 years anyway. But I also gained 20 pounds over the course of one month, amazing for me since I have never been 140 pounds in my entire life except for when I was pregnant.

Had a CT scan 3 weeks ago, and no hernias or masses were found. I am at the point where I'm just not eating anything anymore, and life just sucks!!

I've gotten to the point where all I am eating is chicken broth or tomato soup with saltines (yeah I know there is wheat in them but not very much), sometimes an apple or a banana, and vitamin water. I still cannot lose the weight and still have a hard stomach, distended and painful at times. I've had to buy all new clothes, although they are very uncomfortable and am beginning to feel like I just don't want to bother with life anymore if it is so uncomfortable. I tried Activia months ago and had a severe reaction to it, cannot tolerate it.

I am on prilosec for the reflux, so at least can sleep now. But the underlying cause is still there and the doctors don't seem to be bothered by it all since I'm not losing weight (gaining still instead, it just keeps going up no matter what I eat).
Thanks for listening - hate to say it but it helps to know that so many others are going through similar problems. Maybe there is some new malady out there that the docs haven't figured out yet and aren't bothering to try to???

i feel your pain here im allergic to all the things you are too had all the tests like you nothing,ive a swelled stomach and im 2 stone heavier than i ever was no masses etc and i was a fitness fanatic/runner ,i think the last doc said because of the allergys you get gastritis which is from the acid and in turn your stomach/intestinal tract swells and you can look pregant,you gain weight due to the fat cells and the water keeping hold of it all,hope that helps whats caused it in the first place who knows with you everyone is so different but as you, if i eat certain foods the diarrhea comes back so i live on bananas and chicken,its ruing my life too im 42 female with children

In my case with the gluten free if I eat even two saltines I will notice a difference. I had 2/3 of a small hamburger bun and had a distended stomach for four days afterward. Yesterday I had one mini homemade cupcake and today I am more irritable than I have been since I got off the gluten. So, if you think you have celiacs and have been diagnosed with a no like I have been, then keep entirely gluten free anyway and see what happens. It's worked for me and every one of my symptoms is gone (until the moment I eat gluten again):
teeth staining
acid reflux (severe)
lactose intolerance
heavier periods
exhaustion
irritability

Good luck.

I have had all the same problems that most of you have had and they believe they finally found out whats going on but they found it purely by accident after doing a CT Scan. I have a tumor in my right adrenal gland that sits on top of your Kidneys. However not cancerous yet it can if it keeps growing. It causes a condition called Cushing Syndrome. Because of this tumor it also can mask itself of like 60 something other digestive problems (most of which I have seen most people have been tested for in here). I know how frustrating it is to keep getting tested and being told "we didn't find anything" . Looking 9 months prego and feeling tired and unattractive. I am a diabetic and have ditriviculosis so its worse for me because it is causing my numbers to be all over the place and I am laxative dependant. Please go and have your adrenal glands checked because this can turn into cancer and can spread to you lymph nodes and once it does that the cancer will be very hard to contain.

I have read that they can simply take either the tumor out or remove the glands and just give you a hormone to replace what you are losing and then you should see a significant change in weight and body structure...as well as eliminating alot of other health issues that seem to be associated with it.

I hope this helps.

Hi I've had the same symptoms you might want to test for an intolerance to gluten celiacs often get this hope this helped

A HARD, DISTENDED stomach is often a sign of a GI blockage, but can also be air or fluid in the abdomen, all 3 options would need to be removed to return your GI tract, and stomach to normal, but don't-worry, it is relatively simple.

Bloating up right after eating can often be caused by a food intolerance such as Celiac, or lactose intolerance, and can usually be "weeded out" by going on an "elimination diet" for about 2 weeks to see what foods are causing the problems. However, if you have any GI perforations, ulcers, etc, it could cause increased problems after eating!

The fastest way to diagnose these problems would be an x-ray to look for air/fluid levels (called an obstructive series) and/or a barium contrast study (also involves x-rays but would line your GI tract with a liquid that would appear white on the images and help look for any perforations, growths, or other abnormalities).

Good luck and God Bless!

check out candida.  my partner had bloated/other problems and no help from doctor.  He found this diagnosis by accident online, went on anti-candida diet and after 3 months feeling loads better - bloating gone and many other symptoms too.  I'm beginning to get symptoms too but been ill with pregnancy and finding it difficult to stick to the diet!  Hope this helps??

All of you need to pay close attention. I googled this because my stomach is distended and I don't know why. I think it may have something to do with my alcohol consumtion in order to deal with my personal issues and possibly so. However, for the people that are so uncomfortable and can't breath. You need to see an electrophysiologist. I know I didn't spell that right but it doest matter. My husband has a genetical heart disease that causes many scary issues. One of the main things that interferes with his everyday life, seriously even more than the fact that he needs a heart transplant is the congestive heart failure. It doesn't effect everyone the same way. Different people carry the extra fluid in different places. In his case its in his stomach area. He literally has to starve himself of food and liquids in order to be mobile at all. I honestly don't know how he does it, but then again its not life or death for me. Oh and by the way we are both 38 years old so don't discount your symtoms because of your age.

I am in my 40's and suffering with these same symptoms for two years. My clothing fits in the morning and by afternoon everything is tight. I have so much fatigue, weight gain, and frustration. All the testing and specialist have not helped at all. I am in the middle of a diet my new doctor suggested that eliminates all the food groups like dairy, gluten, sugars, etc. and the symptoms are gone! In a few days I will start a structured introduction of the eliminated foods one group at a time and see which food or foods are the culprit. A diet change may be the answer for this.

I actually went on a treatment program which included the anti-candida diet along with anti-fungal medication and probiotics. I was told that people who have taken a lot of antibiotics in their lifetime (including birth control medication) could develop a yeast overgrowth. Having a swollen tongue that is more white than red is also an indicator. I have had a swollen stomach for 6 years now. I have had no other symptoms except mild constipation. After 2 months on the program, I did not see a significant change in the stomach distension, but I did lose 10 pounds the first week. I think that this is a common problem that no one has heard of. Go to a health and wellness center, if you can afford it. Regular doctors just give you pharmaceuticals.

hi ,have you been tested for helobactor pylori ,its an infection that lives in the musus part of yoyr stomach lining,which eats it away until you have a hole in your stomach lining ie ulcer ,you should ask your doctor for a test ,they can do a blood test breath test and stool sample ,hope this helps,as i have had helobactor and so has my sister.her stomach extended so bad and so has mine ,make sure you have no blood in your stools thats a real big sign debs make sure they give you antibiotics

did they ever figure out what the cause was?

Did you ever find a cure for the extended stomach?

i have had alot of these problems as well every time i eat whatever it is i will bloat like 2 or 3 pounds i now look like i am 6 months pregnant! i found out after 10 months of this i had a stumic ulcer

Sounds like you might have celic design or a gluten intolerance.