Severe Bloating?

[ladybug162]

I was just wondering if anyone has had any problems with severe bloating after starting Tec?

I have always struggled with weight issues, but this is unlike anything I've ever experienced. My stomach is like super swollen and bloated. My stomach has never been tiny by any means, but before it was smaller and always been kind of flabby for lack of a better word. Now it's like I've swallowed a watermelon and it's super hard. I seriously look like I'm pregnant!

It's rather frustrating as it seems to be getting worse. I feel miserable and look horrible! I'm not even 100% sure it's the Tec causing it, but I just figured since I read it can cause bloating and it began after starting the Tec. I just wasn't prepared for the bloating to be to this extreme.

I also suffer from terrible heartburn....another symptom I've never had to deal with until after starting Tec, but I control it by popping a Zantac before each dose. It's annoying, but not as much as the stomach bloating.

I plan to talk to my doctor about it, but just wanted to know if anyone else has been suffering from this? Is this Tec related? Or could it be something else since it is so severe? It's quite depressing walking around looking like you're pregnant when you're not. I just keep waiting for someone to ask me "when are you due?"

[KatW]

Yes, I had this on Tec. I also had a rash and had to discontinue the medication. Later I learned that I had an ulcer. Nexium helped. You may want to see the doc and try some Nexium. It was expensive but helped immediately.

[HobbitHead]

I had/have (once in a while) the bloating.

I found that gas-x helps a lot!

[winstonzoe]

Just be careful with this. I was on Tec and had the same symptoms, felt like a basketball in my lower abdomen... Turned out it was a horrible attack of diverticulitis. Antibiotics & pain meds. Read somewhere that Tec lowers your ability to fight infection. Not on Tec anymore after 6 months. MRI was unchanged after a year so neuro took me off any DMD's. Feeling SO much better! Becky

[ladybug162]

Update!

Just thought I'd provide a little update...

Over a year later and I'm finally getting some answers as to what is causing my severely swollen abdomen! It has been a very frustrating ride. I started out asking my Neuro if it was Tec related and he said while it can cause bloating he's never heard of it causing severely swollen abdomens. So I went to my PCP who thought it might be an ulcer since I have horrible heartburn. She prescribed me Dexilant and said it should help with the bloating and heartburn. While it did wonders for my heartburn, it did absolutely nothing for my stomach bulge!

I went back to my Neuro and mentioned the severe bloating again and again he was baffled so he referred me to a GI specialist. The GI specialist did tons of blood work which all came back normal. She thought it was just digestion issues, told me to keep a food diary and to avoid certain foods etc. Also advised me to start taking a pro-biotic which I did, but nothing helped. She told me I just needed to eat healthier and get more exercise...lose some weight. While I do need to lose weight, I know when something is just not quite right with my body and this swollen stomach I knew wasn't simply an affect of being overweight.

I just recently started going to a new Neurologist due to insurance changes and it was the best choice ever as he is so much better than the Neuro I had been going to! So much more thorough in his exam and actually had me tested for jcv which I had never been tested for before. He couldn't believe my previous Neuro had not had me tested. This Neuro is actually an MS specialist and a migraine specialist which is great for me since I have both! Anyway, he could not understand my stomach bloating either.

Back in March I went for a GYN appointment and the doctor could not palpate my ovaries so she ordered a transvaginal ultrasound. I also had tons more blood work done. I just had the ultrasound yesterday which showed I had fluid in my abdomen which is causing the bloating. My ovaries still were not visible due to a mass that was found and an enlarged uterus. I got nervous because the ultrasound tech paged another doctor to come in and talk to me about the results.

He seems to think I have something called Meigs Syndrome. I've never even heard of it. It's basically characterized by a mass or tumor on the ovaries, ascites and pleural effusion. He's ordered an mri of my abdomen and a chest x-ray to make sure I don't have fluid in my lungs. Oh and more blood work. I'm not a big fan of mri's and I've already have my annual mri of the brain scheduled for September and now I've got to have another one of my abdomen. Ugh!! All in all though I'm just glad to finally know what is causing this horribly swollen stomach of mine!! I was beginning to think I was losing my mind and all of this was just in my head.

It's nice to finally have answers.

[rsinger]

severe bloating

I once met a woman at a dinner given by Biogen. During the course of her MS she had been on different therapies. At one point she had suffered a heart attack but her doctors kept looking at MS or the medications that might have been causing her symptoms. She was actually having a heart attack that had nothing to do with MS. I will never forget my conversation with her. She said...."Not every symptom is MS or medication related." I think we must be very careful not to ignore the possibility that something else could be going on in our bodies. The human body is very complex.

[Jazzberry]

glad you finally found the problem causing your severe bloating. Now on to a successful treatment! Makes me think I may need to mention my bloating to my doc - thanks and good luck!

[bree2013]

Becky - just wondering

Just be careful with this. I was on Tec and had the same symptoms, felt like a basketball in my lower abdomen... Turned out it was a horrible attack of diverticulitis. Antibiotics & pain meds. Read somewhere that Tec lowers your ability to fight infection. Not on Tec anymore after 6 months. MRI was unchanged after a year so neuro took me off any DMD's. Feeling SO much better! Becky

Hi Becky,

Can you clarify for me? Was your MRI unchanged while you were on Tec and your neuro felt with the attack of diverticulitis you could come off Tec? Orrrr, after 6 months on Tec, you stopped it and after a year your MRI showed no change so your neuro felt comfortable advising OK to stop DMDs?

I hope you don't mind me asking...I'm probably going to have to stop Tec (not because of bloating my low lymph & white counts) and I'm not sure what to do. I'm going to get second opinion regarding next treatment option, but at the very, very back part of my brain, I'm wondering if I should not take anything for a couple months and then consider plan..... but that scares me too. I feel I should be on something as soon as I stop Tec.

Thank you,
Bree

[ladybug162]

Update: The bloat is now gone! Yay!!

So long story short, after many tests I was diagnosed with a fifty pound tumor on my left ovary. Yes, fifty pounds!! My doctor feared there may be a chance of it being cancerous and also did not want it to rupture so she immediately scheduled me for surgery with a gyn-oncologist.

The day after Labor Day I had my surgery. I was scared out of my mind being my first ever surgery! The surgery itself went well, but there were some complications during my 3 day hospital stay. I was given general anesthesia along with an epidural. While in the hospital my blood pressure got extremely low and my heart rate shot up. They thought it could be a blood clot in my lungs so they rushed me for a chest X-ray. Luckily, no blood clot. Just side effects of the epidural so they removed it.

The pain was horrible while in the hospital and right after I got home. Had to be rushed to the ER a couple times due to a fever spiking and feeling as if I was having a heart attack. Anyway, the tumor along with my left ovary was removed and analyzed. Thankfully it was benign!!! They also removed a hiatal hernia I didn't even know I had.

As of now I'm doing great!!! I'm fifty pounds lighter, I can breathe a whole lot easier and I no longer suffer from severe heartburn!! No more pain either and the only reminder is a scar from my naval to my pelvis which is slowly fading.

Not long after my surgery I had my yearly brain MRI and check up with my neuro. I have no new lesions!!! So I get to stay on the Tec!!! Yay!! I'm glad because I have no complaints about Tec so far and I've been on it for two years.

So this definitely goes to show you that not every symptom is MS or medication related! Here I was blaming my bloated stomach on the Tec. Little did I know!

[Maricuya]

Severe GI Tecfidera

Dear ladybug, it has been a while since your post. I am new with Tecfidera, only one month. HATE it, it is making me feel sicker than my MS. Severe bloating, chest pains during evenings, nausea, vomiting twice a day.

Can you share with me if you finally overcame this horrible effects? I need to know how long should I expect them to last... my doctor says to "wait until my body adjusts", but don't know if I can endure feeling this sick much longer...

Thanks for your feedback.

Warm regards