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Once upon a time....

Posted , 8 users are following.

FlipDover_Aust
FlipDover_Aust

When I was in my 20s I went to a fabulous Indian resturant with my then boyfriend (couldn't remember who it was to save myself) and my brother and his current girlfriend (ditto). We ordered a banquet for four. It was the BEST thing I'd ever eaten. It was so good that we decided we'd get ANOTHER banquet! And the we ate it. All of it.

Not surprisingly, the staff were amazed.

Also not surprisingly, as I lay in my bed that night, my stomach hurt so much I thought I would die.

I was so full the skin on my stomach was stretched to it's limit (clearly this was before I'd had a baby!).

What has this got to do with PMR? My stomach feels the same way - it's been getting worse for the past two weeks and I can barely stand having my pants on.

I'm not the thinnest person in the world but neither am I extremely obese (ok, well, just a little bit obese lol) but now my stomach is distended to the point I am waddling like I'm pregnant.

I know that bloating is a side effect of pred, but this is rediculous! Could it be 'just' the pred, or should I consider that my immune system has gone completely insane and I'm now intolerant of gluten/lactose/fresh air??

This is driving me NUTS.

0 likes, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • EileenH
    EileenH FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    Should have asked before - are you also on a PPI? 

    And I did develop an allergy to modern, highly processed durum wheat - the stuff that is normally used to make bread and spaghetti. I can eat gluten - rye, spelt and kamut are all OK. I can even eat Canadian soft wheat, the stuff that is used to make French bread! It is durum wheat alone - and apparently this is recognised, it is mentioned on an NHS coeliac site. In my case it didn't show up as anything more than a bit of bloating in terms of gut problems - but I developed an intensely burning itchy rash which was very similar to dermatitis herpetiformis which is a form of coeliac disease. No durum wheat, no rash...

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust EileenH

      Posted

      No, Eileen, I'm not on a PPI, although I take the occasional over the counter heartburn medication - have done for a number of years now - well before PMR.

      (Warning: TMI lol) After 4 days of continuous mustard/orange frothiness, the extreme bloating and fartiness (what a wonderful new word!) have completly disappeared. And Mr Flip told me this morning that most of the puffiness has gone from my face! I will also report that I'm feeling better than I have in months.

      I now have to suspect it's either gluten or dairy/lactose. I'm sticking to the elimination diet for a month and then I'll slowly reintroduce one thing at a time.

    • EileenH
      EileenH FlipDover_Aust

      Posted

      Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder and is now often being diagnosed in adults. Get your doctor to do a blood test for coeliac quickly - once you have not been eating gluten for a while the test isn't valid until you eat gluten again. It might show something. I was told very sarkily that I had to have been eating a good amount of wheat for the previous couple of months before they would do a skin biopsy - and the thought of the itch was enough to put me off getting a proper diagnosis from her! I asked the local coeliac expert and he said "If you can manage symptoms, don't worry about a fixed diagnosis - symptoms sound good enough to me."

      However - if you like a real belly laugh after the TMI, google "Bristol stool chart cake"! Too many years in the NHS creates a strange sense of humour...

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust EileenH

      Posted

      BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

      ....have you ever watched "Getting there" with Jo Brand? One of the best 'comedies' I've ever seen. Where "Humourless, imperious doctor Pippa Moore's riveting work to expand the Bristol Stool Chart to "an exhaustive 31 types of patient faeces......."

      What a shame it was never continued.

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust EileenH

      Posted

      You simply must see it (from what little I 'know' about you I think you will enjoy it)!!! It's not on YouTube as far as I can see, but it is on DVD. I can get it on Foxtel (paid/cable TV in Aust?).

      Very black humour - about a ward of elderly/dying people and the staff....oh dear, now I'm going to have to watch it again!

    • EileenH
      EileenH FlipDover_Aust

      Posted

      I've found a few videos online - will have a closer look when I have time! The bit I heard sounded perfect NHS (Dr thing going on about her research interests).
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