Stomach bloating and weight gain

[MichaelXY]

We recently found out that she was allergic to Milk, Soy, Corn, Chicken, Ham, Pork, Potato, Cucumber, Carrot, and about 10 other foods

Do you mind sharing how this determination of allergies was made? Was it done at a medical facility or a Naturopath?

Also, I wanted to also inform other bloggers that my daughter ALSO has TYPE A blood. Coincidence?

No! 40% of the world population has this blood type. Why does not half the world population have this problem if we accept you’re rational?

Well, I found a seemingly reputable website that stated that people with TYPE A have naturally thicker blood than do people with Type O

What is your criteria for reputable?

If you eat a food not compatible with your blood type and stomach enzymes, the food is not broken down or digested properly, and the vitamins and minerals are not absorbed into your bloodstream to fuel and nourish your body

Complete and utter unsupported hogwash; do you have anything to support this claim?

Blood Type A, who already has thick blood, your blood becomes even thicker

This is simply preposterous.

For MichaelXY, who tries to downplay and trivialize peoples' concerns, I suggest that you lighten up a bit. It's like you're trying to "one up" people making comments

I will not lighten up for the very reason that I do not take this matter lightly, quite the opposite. So many people are ready to believe something they read on the internet, I am voicing my concern only as a check and balance. I have nothing to gain by giving my opinion, I only find advice like yours dangerous to those that may listen and may also require medical attention. You are doing nothing but proliferating bogus claims and harmful advice. I just hope your daughter does not have to suffer due to your negligence in sound judgment.

I applaud people like Jenny McCarthy who wasn't content with the mainstream answer. Look at the outcome she achieved!

There’s your sign...

[ariela]

hey.... i had the same prob a while ago..... i dont kno if this was said yet but my problem was sorbitol..... i chewed alot of sugar free gum which, along with many other sugar free products, contains sorbitol. same thing, i could eat one cracker and bloat up like i was pregnant. NO FUN!! i went to doc after doc and finally we figured it out.... GOOD LUCK!

[am1az1]

Again I did not join this blog to promote a book or diet...the blood type works for our family. NO ONE is suggesting you try it. I only mentioned it again...to see if there was any correlation to bloating and blood type so if we could stick to the subject it would be helpful

[Jennuan]

Thanks, Am1Az1. I've taken her off of all meat except for red meat, which is the ONLY meat she is not allergic to. However, I think that after Thanksgiving, I'll take her off all meat completely..at least for awhile..and see if that helps since she's Type A.

I have been looking online for alternative foods for Thanksgiving that don't have turkey, potato, corn products, soy, milk, etc. It's been tough given the amount of things my daughter is allergic to. I've kept her on her allergy-free diet, and the bloating has been staying down!! She's a little distended but now it doesn't look so painful. I've also noticed that she's been sleeping through the night and hasn't migrated to our room (she's 7) while on her diet. Also, she's been focusing much better too. I'm wondering if this can be attributed to her diet. At the start of 2nd grade this year, we noticed how far behind she was. We started her in an after school tutoring program. She could not sit still, could not retain info, and now...wow..I've seen some noticeable change. We never ate junk food or fast food on a regular basis before..maybe once a week before...now we avoid it completely, but I always prided myself on our family's ability to prepare food at home. Now, though, I am paying more attention to the ingredients. I've been avoiding corn syrup and a lot of ingredients that are just fillers or preservatives and will now pay special attention to avoiding Sorbitol, thanks to the earlier post. You have to pay a bit more for organic and natural foods, but it seems like it's worth it, considering you can spend so much more on medical bills. I've spent thousands in co-pays at CHOC (Children's Hosp. of OC); much of the costs occured this year with her endoscopy and allergy tests. Dried mango strips is her favorite treat right now. I've had to come up with some pretty creative meal plans for our family in order to accommodate all her allergies while trying to satisfy the appetites of my husband, my 7 year old, and my 4 year old at the same time.

Also, I've been considering buying a sprouter and organic seeds. I thought it would be great for our family to watch the sprouts grow..they can grow within 5-7 days. Also, if you blend the sprouts and drink it with juice, it's supposed to taste okay. I read that sprouts offer so much more nutritional value than raw vegetables (i.e., brocolli sprouts, radish sprouts, etc.) Many also have anti-oxidants, protein, fiber, etc. Has anyone had much luck with sprouting?

[Jennuan]

Just wanted to let anyone who cared to know where I've been searching for data...I've been going to the UCLAhealth.org website as well as other hospital (.org) websites, schools of medicine, and a few naturopath websites. Check out this website link that talks about allergy treatment: http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=1 ... il&ref=123
UCLA states: "The first is what I’ll call more traditional medical treatment, which is taking a medication to prevent food reactions from occurring. The two that are in development right now are Anti-IgE and FAHF2. Anti-IgE is a medication that has been used to treat severe asthma. There have been some early human trials looking at the effectiveness of this drug in preventing food allergy reactions. Unfortunately, there have been some adverse reactions in those clinical trials. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to give food-allergic people the food they’re allergic to without the risk of reactions. FAHF2 is a Chinese herbal formula that has shown some promise in preventing allergic reactions to peanuts in laboratory and animal studies." Hmmm, how 'bout that? There may be something to be said for those Chinese herbal formulas afterall! Also, on a news website, http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/ ... gs.ige.htm, I found it interesting to see that the FDA approved of the Anti-IgE. Hmmm. See any trends, here? FDA approves of this "genetically engineered" treatment given through injection." I think more and more researchers are just now beginning to pay attention to natural probiotics, natural digestive enzymes, and maybe the Western medical field may admit the value of herbal remedies here in the next decade or two. Wow, can you imagine how cheap remedies would be if we all knew what to take to help our bodies adjust to Western Civilization? It may just be to cheap and too good to swallow for the FDA and Western docs. It would also put a lot of nurses, pharmacy labs, and other ancillary companies out of business. (Just food for thought.)

[WellnessCoach]

Have you considered the possibility of a Candida infection?

One of the most common symptoms of people suffering from this condition is gas and bloating. Many women complain they look pregnant when they are infected. Some other common symptoms are chronic vaginal infections, weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, and headaches.

Since Candida is a naturally occurring bacteria, it is difficult for the mainstream medical community to detect. So people often don't receive an accurate diagnosis when they see their doctor.

To find out if you are infected you can take an on-line assessment at:

On-Line Candida Assessment

[Momofthree]

It has been awhile. Had my colonoscopy which really wasn't all that bad. Just drinking the sickening colyte was the worst. It came back all normal. My Dr. has decided we are going to look at IBS as the problem. I will see him again in a few days. Right now we are working on my chest pain and heart rate etc. We think they are 2 seperate problems. 1) the nausea, bloating 2) heart pounding, chest pain. This journey has been a long one and it doesn't look as if we are going to get a solution anytime soon.

Started taking Acidophilus to put the good bacteria back into my colon and was taking some papaya enzymes but stopped those. I was feeling off while on them and am not sure if it was the pills themselves or just another bad bout of feeling bad. Not sure if the Acidophilus is working or not but i know it can't harm me so I will continue until the bottle is empty.

I hope we all have answers soon. Hang in there everyone.

[MichaelXY]

I would be most concerned with the chest pain and heart rate. Is it running tachy, ie. above 110 BPM? How is your blood pressure?

Well, hope you get it worked out...

[jewelck]

Oh my gosh I'm so excited I've found this site! I am a 21 year old girl and have the same extreme bloating. I've had it for about a year and have never had any idea why. After reading many of the posts I came across the fact that Candida can cause bloating. I have had continuous problems with Candida for over 2 years and in all the information the doctors have given me they never mentioned bloating as a side-effect. I tried a new contraceptive pill a few months ago that was supposed to help with the Candida, which it did but it also reduced the bloating. I went back to my regular pill because the other one is very expensive and I wanted to see if it really was worth it. Now that I know that the two problems are connected and that getting rid of the Candida will help with the bloating too I know it will definitely be worth every cent. I will go get the new pill next time I am at the doctor and let you know the result!

Thanks everyone!!!

[MichaelXY]

Oh my gosh I'm so excited I've found this site! I am a 21 year old girl and have the same extreme bloating. I've had it for about a year and have never had any idea why. After reading many of the posts I came across the fact that Candida can cause bloating. I have had continuous problems with Candida for over 2 years and in all the information the doctors have given me they never mentioned bloating as a side-effect. I tried a new contraceptive pill a few months ago that was supposed to help with the Candida, which it did but it also reduced the bloating. I went back to my regular pill because the other one is very expensive and I wanted to see if it really was worth it. Now that I know that the two problems are connected and that getting rid of the Candida will help with the bloating too I know it will definitely be worth every cent. I will go get the new pill next time I am at the doctor and let you know the result!

Thanks everyone!!!

I seriously doubt that the change you noted when switching birth control pills had anything to do with Candida. It is more likely the pill change affected your hormonal balance.
Be wary of claims concerning Candida as most are bogus. Visit the web sites below.

http://www.nutritionlondon.net/phdi/p1. ... nt&part=12

http://www.doctorfungus.org/

[MrMistery]

wow thanks michael. That was a really good read on candida. I didn't know it was such a big scam.

[Girl18]

I am an eighteen-year-old girl, who, like everyone else here, was both excited and shocked to discover other people suffering from inexplicable (and apparently incurable) bloating. I took a few hours to read everyone’s posts here and have the utmost sympathy for everyone. Like most, the doctors that I have seen to this end have been incredibly cavalier about my symptoms – “ you have (wait for it) IBS! Here are some probiotics. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Excellent.

Anyway, after the probiotics had zero effect, I was advised to try a couple more remedies: peppermint oil capsules, various laxatives, I cut out gluten and milk for a few weeks etc.... none of which have made an ounce of difference to my phantom pregnancy (I look around 4 months pregnant). I have that same, hard, round basketballish distension that others describe.

Subsequently, I have been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and am on the Pill to combat that. I am unhappy to report that the bloating has remained the same, despite my frequent and very vigorous exercise and a diet that has always been incredibly sensible and free of all refined foods. A hydrogen test for lactose intolerance came back negative, although after reading one woman’s post about her daughter’s milk protein allergy that contradicted a previous hydrogen test, I will look into food allergies as a possible source of my woes.

A peculiar thing happened though, when I visited the States for two weeks in July of this year: my stomach flattened out nearly completely. I do not know if this was related to different pesticides on the fruit, the smaller portions that I was eating as a result of lack of time to eat hearty meals, or, my complete lack of stress. School had been a great stressor up to that point. When I think about it now, my travels on the internet to understand a little more about the general, airy-fairy disorder that is IBS had led me to believe that there was a connection between IBS, bloating and constipation etc. and stress, that had, in some cases, “responded well” to psychotherapy or, hypnotherapy. I have never been one for the whole “mind/body connection” that I have always considered a little occult, but desperate times and all that. Since getting home, the bloating is back with a vengeance.

For the record, my blood type is O positive, not A. It seems to me, a layman, that this problem might be related to female hormones, since almost all of the sufferers here are female, but of course, I am no doctor, and I have no clue what is wrong with me. Anyway, I intend to investigate the Candida possibility, and the low stomach acid thing, and maybe my gallbladder with the gastroenterologist… beyond that, I don’t know. I reckon my weight is going up slowly but steadily (I have always been slim) and that I’ll just continue to eat the world’s supply of All Bran Flakes, which have a small, but appreciable impact on the constipation, until I’m cured, or, failing that, just continue to expand indefinitely.

Again, lots of sympathy for the other sufferers. If I make any real headway with my problem, I’ll be sure to report it here in case it can help anyone else.