Why does my stomach keep swelling up?

[TWinklyLittleStar]

Every so often my stomach distends massively and painfully. My abdomen increases in circumference by about 10 inches. It doesn't appear to have any relation to what I have eaten, although it is more likely to happen if I've let myself get too hungry. I had my gallbladder removed about 18 months ago, so not gallstones.

I did see my GP, he asked me about flatulence ( ) and gave me buscopan, which has made no difference whatsoever.

I would go back to the dr. It could be . bowel complaint or gynae.

Gynae wise, I've been diagnosed recently with PCOS and an ovarian cyst - could these be related?

Yes, you can get a distended stomach with it. Mine used to swell up a lot. There is a PCOS diet you can follow which might help.

Thanks, I'd not heard of this as a symptom of pcos before. I've been trying to follow a lower GI diet but I've got lots of bad habits to overcome!

Please go to your GP and request an immediate CA125 blood test. Also, please read the thread 'Ovarian cancer', below.
Hope it's nothing serious but please get it checked out asap.

rollmops that has freaked me out a little bit! I do hate bothering the gp though, I've not been out of the place lately and I'm sure they think I'm a proper hypochondriac.

You will not be wasting GPs time, you are concerned, and rightfully so, about your health.
Hopefully you're suffering from serious indigestion and nothing more sinister but the sooner it's diagnosed, whatever it is, the better the outcome.
Insist on CA125 blood test, please.

IBS? My stomach expands by several inches very rapidly when my IBS flares up, so could be that?

IBS and ovarian cancer share similar symtoms, including a bloated stomach but with ovarian cancer the swelling doesn't come and go.

Please go to the GP and request a blood test to be on the safe side..

With ovarian cancer the tummy keeps swelling till it looks like 6 months pregnant and is fluid, not wind, which has to be drained.

But it is essential you are tested to rule it out.
My DD had a scan and they found a lump, but were convinced it was not a tumour just a cyst. She had to wait 6 weeks and have another scan and it had shrunk to a dot. It was only a cyst, but she didn't have a bloated tummy.

They found a cyst on one of your ovaries, so they should be scanning you again to see if grown or shrunk/disappeared.