I am into month 4 after my liver transplant. I was close to underweight before transplant and i am at the border line to normal weight for my height (5’9"). I noticed my belly growing (sticks out) as i gain weight. I have put on about 15 pounds after my surgery. I have good diet plan and eat healthy. Does anyone else have a belly even though they are exercising and eating right, post liver transp.lant?
thanks,
Mike.
Mike,
Are you on Prednisone? You probably are post-PSC to prevent recurrence, etc. That in itself gives you a voracious appetite and unless you really have a lot of self-discipline in that area you may tend to eat more than you need to, that was my case. I have noticed though that the right side of my belly especially sticks out more than the left which I believe is due to the transplant. We are probably all different in that respect but those are a couple things that come to mind. Another thing, is that with any abdominal surgery there’s going to be fluid build up. I finally had to take lasix for a while to get that fluid off. I hope you are doing well otherwise. Things will get better with time. Just keep up with a good exercise regimen to keep the scar tissue from getting too bad and painful. Take care and do keep in touch with the group.
Mark
This happened to me after my transplant and has remained a challenge years later. It is a struggle because of the extent of the abdominal incision. In my case, they had to reopen the same incision twice after the original exam for cancer. The damage to my abdominal muscles was permanent.
If that’s an incisional hernia, the bulge is from one spot. A surgeon’s physical exam can confirm that easily. Otherwise, you might be just gaining weight.