ABDOMINAL BLOATING WITH NORMAL CT SCAN???

[mamashana]

Perplexing:  Unusual abdominal bloating and pressure regarding my 84 yr old mother; feisty, not at all frail. Although she has suffered from chronic constipation for many, many years - it is well controlled (has a myriad of remedies to ensure regular bowels.)
- Took her to the ER last week due to inordinate lower abdominal pain, sometimes more prevalent on the right side. VERY BLOATED!! CT scan of abdomen/pelvic area proved negative. The pain has since subsided - but oh the bloating - can hardly fit comfortably in to her pants. Gas / bowels maintain regular. GI apt next week, but with a negative CT scan, what should we expect? It is difficult to get her to eat, as she is afraid food will cause more distention, yet limiting her caloric intake can cause gas, otherwise unhealthy. I try to ensure she gets in veggies & protein. labs in ER were normal

[mamashana]

As per the GI, "AIR" Just gas; precipitated by any number of things; not the least of which is anxiety. Gave her a sheet on gas-causing foods, but still want to read up more on gluten..
Thanks.

[mamashana]

Thank you very much for your response - I had been thinking about gluten,,,,we see the GI later today - wish us luck!!

THanks again,
Sally

[cnoevl21]

Could be a food allergy. My suggestion would be to keep her meals very bland and stay away from things like gluten, dairy, grains, and red meat. So have her eat chicken, veggies, and fruit.