Spontaneous Inflating Abdomen: Untreated, Undiagnosed and Unhappy

March 11, 2008 — -- The first time Jane Kim's belly ballooned to twice its size, she wasn't afraid.

"I was in the emergency room already [for other things]," said Jane, who preferred that her real name not be used. "They told me not to worry, that it was gas or something. They told me it would go away."

And it did go away -- suddenly, as if it had never happened. Her abdomen shrank from the size of a basketball back down to its normal appearance in a matter of minutes, Jane says.

Since then, the 45-year-old says, her abdomen's size has been erratic, expanding and contracting from hour to hour.

"It's very strange," Jane said. "It will be normal -- and then it blows out. I look nine months pregnant."

To date, Jane's condition is unheard of; shuttled from specialist to specialist, she has stumped the more than 20 doctors she says she's visited.

None of them, she said, had seen the phenomenon before or knew what to do with it. Currently, she lives in a state of struggle, waiting for some form of answer or treatment.

Ten years ago, Jane says she was the picture of health. She loved skiing, tennis and golf. She had never needed to visit a doctor or a hospital.

Suddenly, she says her health went into a tailspin: She suffered a mild stroke, a heart attack and came down with a host of problems including copious bleeding, headaches and fatigue. Later, she says she developed an autoimmune disorder that causes blistering skin sores.

However, it's her belly ballooning out that has Jane the most frustrated. She says the phenomenon happens several times a day for hours at a time; it can be painful, and makes it difficult for her to breathe. But Jane says the worst component of it is that it's not always there.

Jane says that skeptical doctors who didn't see her belly expand sent her away without an attempt at diagnosis. Other doctors saw her only when the belly was fully distended. Of course, this led to other conclusions.