Swelly Belly Back With A Vengance

Hi All! Hope Everyone is doing well. I had my TAH/BSO 7/6. Started external radiation last Tuesday (6 treatments so far). I thought I was 'downsizing' my swelly belly, and it's back I spoke with the doc extensively and I'm having a CAT Scan on Thursday to see if there's anything going on -she doesn't think so -but heck -I'm bummed & it hurts :sad: , so I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my tummy hoping for relief. Anyone else dealing/dealt with this?

Thanks!

well, Its been over a year and I still have it. part swelly, part 20lb weight gain. hope nothing else is going on in there. It does hurt.. I do think its pretty normal .you arent that far out at all. Take care and hope you have a speedy recovery!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't had a problem with swelly belly at all but if I had and it had gone away and then come back plus it hurts, I'd want it checked out too. I'm sure it could be normal, but it can't hurt to check further. I hope you feel better and there's nothing out of the norm going on.

Hey Magichorse,

I started radiation three weeks ago and since last weekend I have swelly belly again, too (after 9 sessions). I'm a bit afraid it could be lymfedema so I will ask my dr. tomorrow when I have my weekly appointment with her (radiotherapist). I thought it may be caused by my intestines. I had an awful evening last week when I had horrible painful cramps and nothing going out b/c I took Imodium (TMI - sorry). After that it showed up again.

How's your radiation going?

Please keep me informed what the outcome is of your CT-scan?

Hey Catarina & Firen - thanks for responding. I'm relieved to hear I'm not the only one who's experiencing this. I too have lymphedema concerns so I'm actually going to a specialist and will learn manual drainage techniques as an 'insurance' policy. I'm being told it's too early to tell because I'm still swollen from surgery. I feel like my body has turned into a slow game of 'bop the weasel', and I don't know what will pop up next...

For what it's worth, I had a 'chat' with my body before I went to sleep last night and got a wonderful response 'Don't worry things will take some time to settle down, but you're going to be be fine'. So, I'm going to take my body's word for it.

Also, make sure you maintain hydration. Hope you'll do well through radiation -I'll be sure to post about my CT.

Hey Magichorse,
I mentioned my swellybelly and lymphedema concerns to my radiotherapist today and she did a quick physical exam. Nothing weird to be found. What she told me is that often after surgery with an abdominal incision this will happen because of retaining water. The surgery has cut thru lymphnodes and they are still recovering; the radiation doesn't really help - so it will take longer for them to do their thing. Second, radiation often induces gas and that too can cause swelly belly.

Sounded perfectly logical and I thought I'd pass it on to you, too.

Bye

My swell belly didn't go away until the end of my 5th month. I hope you are feeling better soon!

OK - got my CT results today - nuthin' - which is a good thing! I'm just chalking up the discomfort to bad constipation, so, onward through the fog!!

The gas pains can be terrible. It could just be that?

gas from radiation??