Swelling belly and prostap are they related??

[smiley1]

Hi

Just had first prostap infection two weeks ago and am now experiencing my belly swelling up and feeling tight during the day. Not sure if the two are related or just a coincidence. Has anyone else experienced this??

[ShortStuff88]

Hi Smiley1,

I am due my fouth and final prostap injection this thursday coming, you are not alone in the swelling dept. My belly used to swell around 10am most days since my 2nd lap last october however since being on prostap the rate and size at which it swells has increased ten fold. I work in HR and so a lot of my time is spent at a desk - thankfully. I can literally sit here and feel my belly swell and i have to un do my trouser buttons, only last week i literally heard my zip un do as it become so large. I look at least 6 months pregnant and have took photos to show my consultant. It is so round but more predominantly on the right side, my skin looks as though it could tear at any moment its that taught, I try and suck it in as i have very strong pelvic floor and stomach muscles but the more i try to hold it in the worse it becomes and the pain increases. Walking round the office is a joke when trying to hold my trousers up.

I found cutting out carbs such as potatoes, bread, pasta, rice help big time, i know its not good for me but i have a few small portions a week and make sure that i eat brown rice and pasta and granary bread. Other things such as fizzy pop, sweets, chocolate, sounds mad but grapes dont seem to help either. Fish, chicken, fresh veg for me as a bland diet but i am learning to make them more enjoyable by adding herbs spices etc. I did nutrition as part of my degree at uni and so understand what these foods can do, they dont stop the swelling but by not eating them they dont add to it if that makes sense.

I hope this helps. If you have any more side affects it would be interesting to hear from you, I know i have had loads but dont like to make a fuss of them in case i sound like a moaning fool. I hope the prostap helps you, from personal experience it has only made life worse for me but everyone is different xx

[smiley1 in reply to ShortStuff88]

Thanks Digger its good to hear that someone else has had swelly belly as I call it. I must admit I look about four months pregnant which is quite upsetting. I hear what you say about foods and I did about a year ago I changed my diet by reducing my intake of fizzy drinks, sweets, alcohol, biscuits, bread etc because I was trying to have a more healthier lifestyle but I have lost so much weight in the last few months due to all this pain that I have now started to increase my intake of this "junk food" as I call it just to try and put some weight on which is a struggle.

The only other side affect I am experiencing is feeling quite emotional and prone to crying just lately but I am also taking amitriptyline so it might be that or a combination of both.

X

[ladybird7]

Oh crikey, I really hope I don't get that! due my 2nd injection next week. Been lucky with side effects so far. Cross fingers. Thinking of you both xxx

[smiley1 in reply to ladybird7]

Good luck ladybird7 with your next injection. Will keep fingers crossed as well for you about the side effects.

x

[ShortStuff88]

I love that name you have given it, swelly belly. Its quite heartbreaking when you cant wear certain clothes because of the size our bellies can become. Im kind of glad we had a poo month of June weather wise, it meant i could still wear hoodies to cover it and less fitted tops when i went out. I have named the jab itself The Granny Jab, just because it has made me feel sooooo old. I ache from head to foot and with all the other side affects my family and i joke that if i were a horse they'd have put me down.

I have lost some weight due to the change in diet but not so much as you by the sounds of it, i had put so much on in the last 12months that it was getting me down. Hopefully you wont get the adverse affect of loss of apetite if you need to gain a few pounds as that has been a biggy too.

Have you tried taking Vit D or investing in a SAD lamp? I dont know if it will help but i had it suggested to me for my feeling of lonliness and sadness. I dont know if the Vit D is working but i take it anyway.

fingers crossed that these symptoms will ease up over the coming weeks and start to make you feel more human again xx

[smiley1 in reply to ShortStuff88]

Love the name granny jab but poor you having such horrible side effects. Is it helping though?

My appetite before I was diagnosed wasn't that brilliant but after two ops in 2006/7 I put on quite a bit of weight and eventually started to do some step exercises as well as changing my diet to help tone me up and it did but for some reason when I'm in pain I don't want to eat which is why I have lost weight again.

I must admit I haven't tried taking Vit D might do that as just recently I have started to feel quite emotional which I'm not enjoying.

Do you find that you can't wear certain types of clothes? I find wearing trousers or skirts annoying at the moment as the waistband irritates my belly.

[ShortStuff88]

The only way i'd say it is helping is that im not getting that distinct shooting pain i get for 3/4 days while im on and the 4days either side where i am in agony. I wish i oculd sound more positivie for you but all i can say is everyone reacts differently.

I usually love food, my fella calls me a machine but at the moment i just cant stand the smell of food let alone eat it. Hopefully you pain will decrease so your appetite comes back and you are able to go back to your step exercises, putting on some pounds will make you feel better

Yeah clothes are a nightmare, i think i live in the same things week in week out. I cant wear trousers that require heels, the tilt of my pelvis makes me swell and puts me in agnoy, i cant wear "going out" dresses, more floaty summery ones, i struggle with jeans so take them off as soon as i get home, work trousers im going to have to get new ones which will be slightly bigger and i know its drastic but i may have to get an automatic car cus clutch control and breakin hurts