Swollen Abdomen

[sunshine007]

Hi All,

Has anyone's abdomen swelled.  My has done this now on a few occasions.  I wasn't sure if I was just eating too much as my energy level has been so down and I've been eating whatever is easiest.  Some days by belly region feels normal and others (like today) it's so swollen I can see it through my clothes.  I did read in the Pegasys supplement something about your stomach swelling, but this isn't on my left side, it's really high up right in the middle.  Thanks for your help.

[GrandmaA]

When I had black stools it was because of the pepto bismol the nurse told me.
I've not had the swollen abdomen, but my cousin had it. He was stage 4.

[sunshine007]

I was in a lot of pain Friday night on my left side under my rib cage.  It felt like my ribs were being spread apart.  By the morning it was gone.  Now all day Saturday my abdomen was so swollen even my neighbor could tell.  Now today its not swollen anymore but now I've noticed (sorry about this) a black stool.  I've read (somewhere) black is bad, but can't remember how bad.  Sorry about the gory details!  

I really appreciate any help with this!

[LvdByGod]

swollen stomach can be asceties... fluid buildup from lack of albumin a chemical made in the liver that keeps the viens from leaking fluid... it's from the liver damage not the treatment... ???if it's asceties???  it may be something entirely different so you should give the liver doc a call on it... if it is asceties they will put you on a very low salt diet and give you water pills.... and they will keep a closer eye on your liver at that point...

what stage/grade liver damage do you have?  have you gotton your biopsy yet? usually asceties only happens with cirhosis or serious liver probs... so if your isn't that advanced its probably something different... your liver doc can tell the difference though...

here's some great sites you can get info about it at...

http://forums.delphiforums.com/liverfailure/messages
http://janis7hepc.com/index.htm

[jmjm530]

You definitely want to bring this to the attention of you treatment doctor or a GI if you're not treating. "Black" stool could be something you ate or it could represent something more serious such as bleeding. But even if it's not blood, you still want to find out the cause of the bloating. Your doctor will want to examine you, take a stool sample and possibly order more tests. Because of the dark stool especially, I'd make an appointment right away but try not to worry too much because again it could just turn out to be something in your diet.

-- Jim

[LvdByGod]

a tarry looking stool can be indicative of esophigeal varises that are bleeding from pressure from portal hypertention... based on everything you are saying i would say you need immediate care, like as in the hospital or imediate care from the liver doc... it sounds like you could have internal bleeding going on too... and that is nothing to fool around with. the above sites have info on black or they call it tarry stools... please forget about us just go to the doctor... if the bleed is serious folks can bleed to death quickly... never mess with bleeding out...

of course i'm no doctor and it could be absolutely nothing... but it doesn't sound like nothing...

God bless you and get some attention asap!

[jmjm530]

Yes, these issues have been reported and have had some problems myself. Started during treatment but became more noticeable after treatment when I got back to my pre-treatment weight.