Abdomen bloated like I'm pregnant - I'm not!

[Petals23]

I've always been fairly bloated, but it seems to have gotten worse. I'm fairly flat in the morning and by evening I look like I'm a few months pregnant! I've shown a couple of family members and they're amazed. Until last week I had no other symptoms. For about 3 days I had an awful pulling sensation but it's fine again. I've suffered from bloating for years so it's nothing new but I'm just wondering what it could be. Should I see my doctor?

Any swelling in the stomach area should definitely be seen by a doctor. It's likely fluid in the stomach, however it will be a reaction to something it doesn't just happen. I don't want to scare you, because it's the worst case outcome but someone I knew had serious swelling and it turned out under the fluid was a tumour. Please get it seen x

Yes, see yoir doctor. It could be food related but don’t change your diet until you’ve seen your doctor. I’d ask for routine bloods including a test for coeliac if I were you.

Agree this could be serious and you need to see your gp urgently. When it happened to my Dsis, it turned out she had liver disease, and had 6 weeks in hospital. She nearly died.

It could be ovarian cancer. Obviously I dont want to worry you and it could be diet related but get yourself a doctors appointment ASAP even if it is only to put your mind at rest

Depends on your age. If you are under 35 and feel well with no other symptoms I would wait a few weeks before seeing your GP if it continues. If you are older or have other symptoms (change in bowel habit, weight loss, fatigue etc) see your GP sooner.

Could it be that serous even though I've suffered bloating for years? I'm 43.

@Petals23 yes, minor every day bloating is significantly different to serious swelling to the point you look pregnant

I used to have exactly what you describe. I genuinely looked pregnant most of the time with a swollen tummy and felt very uncomfortable.

I gave up gluten and supplement my diet with pre and probiotics, magnesium citrate and linseeds. It has made a world of difference to how I feel and I now have a flat tummy.

I should add I was repeatedly tested for things like ovarian cancer, fibroids, had a colonoscopy etc.

My friend suffers from this. She is a size 10 but sometimes her belly swells to the point that she needs to wear a 14 and she looks pregnant. She's had tests for all sorts but they have wrote it off as her IBS as they couldn't find any other cause.

I find there is certain food stuffs that do this to me. Wheat, gluten can be a big culprit, as can bread as the yeast ferments in your stomach and bloats it out. I would do a couple of days where you cut it out your diet and see if the bloating stops.

It's more likely to be food-related than anything else OP, especially if it fluctuates during the day. The comments here are unnecessarily scare-mongering, though you should see a doctor. Have you had any other symptoms?

Ascites - fluid related to cysts or cancer - does not fluctuate on a daily basis.

I'd agree this is more likely to be food related as your tummy is flat of a morning.

Before I found low cabbing, I would start the day a size ten and would have struggled in a 14 by the end of the day, I'd genuinely look six months pregnant and be uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed, I even tried tablets like windeze etc as I could not work out what it was.

Now I seldom have it, and my tummy is the same at bedtime as it is in the morning.

I get this. I'm fairly slim so when some foods make me bloat the effect can be pretty dramatic! Onions, quorn, eggs, very garlicy food, sometimes beans or pulses start it off but I also get it mid-cycle. Ready meals are bad as I think it's the flavouring like onion powder? Anyway reducing onion in my diet has helped a lot but also a big pot of unsweetened boring natural yoghurt instead of lunch / dinner for a couple of days seems to "reset" things for a few weeks IYSWIM

The other thing that can do it is booze, so if you've been drinking wine say and eating a heavy carb diet, ie pizza of a weekend, you can find your much more bloated for a couple of day's after.

Porridge is also bad for it.

"Vyvyan's having a baby!"

Sorry OP, couldn't help but think of it!

I get horrific swelling from my IBS. But also get bad swelling from my post ablation sterilisation syndrome. Could be a number of things but always worth checking with a go.

I had it for months and then got tested for Helicobacter Pylori by my GP. The test was positive so I had quite strong antibiotics for about 10 days. The difference was amazing and only then I realised how bad it was when I was feeling normal and not bloated whole day.