Swollen belly

[Bettyooze]

I’m in peri (41- found out last year) and am suffering with the most awful bloated stomach. I am a slim size 10 but by the end of every day, my stomach looks like I’m 8 months pregnant. It doesn’t seem to matter what I eat/don’t eat, the outcome is the same. I am uncomfortable and self conscious.

Is this just life now? I’ve always been prone to getting a bloated belly, but this is something else. I assume this is due to perimenopause?

Any tips on how to help this? I long for the days of my lovely flat tum.

Maybe go see your GP… I don’t want to alarm you but there are several medical conditions that it could be, including heart failure or liver failure. Get a health check to rule things like this out, and assuming it’s nothing sinister, then GP may have ideas.

Please go and see your gp asap. There can be various reasons for bloating and enlarged abdomen. You need to be examined.

Possibly so. I became less tolerant to certain foods and slowly gained a stone by my mid fourties. I felt like I was in someone else’s body for a few years. I always had a smallish waist (size 8) and found it was something I missed. HRT helped.

Mine was food intolerances, I’ve had bloating for ages but recently cut out milk and coffee and I’m eating more home made food. I made a switch to peppermint tea which helps my digestion, I was able to wear a bikini for the first time in ages this summer.

Sometimes constipation can do this as hormones control so much.I got so bloated last yr I got checked out as DM had ovarian cancer.She looked 9 months pregnant at 64.
Fortunately mine was ovarian cyst.
Please get medical advise and eat more fibre and drink plenty.

You need to see your GP to rule out anything serious.

I get bloating before a period and definitely look pregnant, probably for about a week and it’s embarrassing. Intermittent fasting and cutting carbs worked for me. As pp say you had better get checked first.

Fibroids can do this and are very common, especially in women in theirs 40s and over. Get checked out just in case (they aren’t harmful but can be very uncomfortable and cause issues down the line)

My pregnant belly turned out to be a massive fibroid. Took a long time for that diagnosis though as GP was convinced it was IBS. I had to fight for a hysteroscopy.

Does it go up and down? If so, most likely time of the month and / or food intolerance. I can't drink alcohol or eat "supermarket" bread now without it happening. UPFs are off the table too.

I had bloating as well as constipation, and the gp took tests (blood and stool) and sent me for a scan to rule out/in ovarian and bowel cancer. Im not saying that’s what is causing yours but it’s something to be aware of and it’s very important to get checked for any unexplained or sudden new symptoms.

My bloating turned out to be adenomyosis. I'd been getting weird little pains too, easily dealt with with paracetamol. Was overweight, not the best diet, assumed it was all that and didn't think anything of it.

Til I ended up in A&E in the worst pain I'd ever encountered.... Then got diagnosed, read about it and connected the dots.