Extreme Bloating

  My father has had extremely uncomfortable bloating for the past six months.  It has become almost intollerable.  He said that he even has difficulty breathing sometimes.
  HIS MEDICAL HISTORY:  He had polio as a child, hepatitis (I'm not sure what kind) when he was a young man, then he had to have a leg amputated when he was 37 due to a car accident and has been confined to a wheel chair, and a massive heart attack when he was 57, he is now 59.
  The results from a scope ran down his throat recently didn't result in any problems found.  He also ate a scrambled egg which was tracked to ensure that he was digesting properly and the doctor said that more should have been digested in the time monitored, but no major problems noted there.  
  He just had a cat scan and we are awaiting the results.  
  I wonder how much of this could be related to his previous polio or hepatitis.  He was also asked several years ago to have a liver biopsy due to an enlarged liver.  The doctors seem to be targeting the liver as the area of concern.  The nurse even mentioned gall stones.  Would this be causing his bloating?

[HFHSM.D.-rf]

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Dear Crystal,
It is difficult to know the specific cause for your father's bloating. Delayed gastric emptying is a frequent cause for this type of problem.  You should ask the doctor whether treatment for this problem should be tried.
Gallstones are not a cause for bloating.  Gallstones cause pain.  In general terms, physicians are reluctant to attribute nonpain problems to gallstone disease.
This information is presented for educational purposes.  ASk specific questions to your personal doctor.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: bloating, gallstones
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