Bubble gut – VAT, SAT, both - or something else

[Deleted member 43589]

Exactly.....to me when science can't seem to agree, we have to go back to the trenches. All who have ever had weight issues and been low T know that when increasing your T levels your fat starts dropping. Then we can let science figure out why it is we keep getting these results we do instead of telling us we are not getting them.

 

[mcs]

 

[mcs]

Is this an alien baby about to burst out of me?

You can see the protruding midline bulge when I lay on my back and tilt my neck up. You can also see an umbilical hernia. I really wonder whether specific PT core exercises will fix this over time - or if this will eventually require surgery.

I still have no clue what caused this over time. Poorly managed ab exercises (too much planking) or weightlifting exercises? It's gotten out of hand over time. Next step is to seek medical attention.

Yet another rabbit hole to deal with .

 

[Deleted member 43589]

You DEFINITELY have Diastasis Recti..

 

[mcs]

I had no idea Phil Heath had DRA + double hernia + intestinal strangulation!

MUSCLE INSIDER | THE SCIENCE OF BUILDING MUSCLE

The science of building muscle! Industry insiders cover the latest training, nutrition, supplement and drug research.

muscleinsider.com

“I Was on a Roll”- Phil Heath Believed He Could Win 10 Mr. Olympia Titles Before the Devastating Injury

7x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath recently revealed that he believed he could have won 10 consecutive Mr. Olympia titles if not for that injury.

www.essentiallysports.com

Looks like he came through it ok.

 

[Deleted member 43589]

Very common in guys that lift heavy weight. I have had 3 hernias,1 intestinal strangulation that lead to emergency surgery and DRA. I have not see this so much is guys under 200lbs but those super heavy weight it is much more common. I had an old friend, Paul Chek who suggested that this could be avoided by sucking the belly button into the spine as you squat. Of course it doesn't work so well when you are squatting big weights. Thanks for the two articles.

 

[mcs]

Very common in guys that lift heavy weight. I have had 3 hernias,1 intestinal strangulation that lead to emergency surgery and DRA. I have not see this so much is guys under 200lbs but those super heavy weight it is much more common. I had an old friend, Paul Chek who suggested that this could be avoided by sucking the belly button into the spine as you squat. Of course it doesn't work so well when you are squatting big weights. Thanks for the two articles.

Did you have surgery to correct? Looks like DRA can be corrected sometimes with certain exercises but not always. May take too long and not reverse. Umbilical hernia can only be corrected with surgery. I think I should talk with a surgeon to get his take. According to Heath, his surgery went well. He went to one of the top surgeons in Ohio that specialize in the Shouldice procedure.

 

[Deleted member 43589]

If the DRA is mild it sometimes can be corrected with exercise. Mine is pretty severe and no I have not had it corrected. I have also previously had 3 unbiblical hernias and one was strangulated. Yea, I think you should talk to a surgeon. Let us know how this goes!

 

[mcs]

If the DRA is mild it sometimes can be corrected with exercise. Mine is pretty severe and no I have not had it corrected. I have also previously had 3 unbiblical hernias and one was strangulated. Yea, I think you should talk to a surgeon. Let us know how this goes!

Did you have the hernias surgically repaired?

 

[Deleted member 43589]

Yes I did. Three surgeries so far.

 

[mcs]

Yes I did. Three surgeries so far.

Were they succesful? Was mesh used?

 

[Deleted member 43589]

No mesh, they did it the old fashion way. Never had another problem with that particular spot.

 

[mcs]

No mesh, they did it the old fashion way. Never had another problem with that particular spot.

Did your hernias come from improper form, straining during lifts and not strengthening core enough?

 

[Deleted member 43589]

I believe it was a genetic deficiency in the abdominal wall. No doubt years of deadlifting and squatting with very heavy weight didn't help.

 

[Deleted member 43589]

Here is something about core strength that most don't know:

Comparison of Core Muscle Activation between a Prone Bridge and 6-RM Back Squats - PubMed

The purpose of this study was to compare core muscle activation during a prone bridge (plank) until failure and 6-RM back squats. Twelve resistance-trained males (age 23.5 ± 2.6 years, body mass 87.8 ± 21.3 kg, body height 1.81 ± 0.08 m) participated in this study. Total exercise time and EMG...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Abstract​

The purpose of this study was to compare core muscle activation during a prone bridge (plank) until failure and 6-RM back squats. Twelve resistance-trained males (age 23.5 ± 2.6 years, body mass 87.8 ± 21.3 kg, body height 1.81 ± 0.08 m) participated in this study. Total exercise time and EMG activity of the rectus abdominis, external abdominal oblique and erector spinae were measured during 6-RM back squats and a prone bridge with a weight of 20% of participants' body mass on their lower back. The main findings showed non-significant differences between the exercises in the rectus abdominis or external oblique, but greater erector spinae activation in squatting. Furthermore, in contrast to the prone bridge, the erector spinae and rectus abdominis demonstrated increasing muscle activation throughout the repetitions while squatting, whereas the prone bride demonstrated increasing external oblique activation between the beginning and the middle of the set. It was concluded that since squatting resulted in greater erector spine activation, but similar rectus abdominis and oblique external activation as the prone bridge, high-intensity squats rather than isometric low intensity core exercises for athletes would be recommended.

The results showed that the erector spinae were activated 4X more during the squat, but the rectus adominis was activated 30% more in the plank.

 

[mcs]

DR update.

Video here so you can better see what has happened.

This is how I used to look back in 2014 and 2015 before all this started. As you can see I did not have an umbilical hernia and my abs were normal. I still don't know exactly why this happened. All I know is that it was very gradual.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Just curious here. What are your triglycerides ? Are you on any meds at all?

Have you ever got a L4/L5 CT scan ? You can pay out of pocket and get your doctor to call in the order.

You may have visceral fat. I have the same problem of low subcutaneous fat and VAT accumulation, but I know what caused mine.

How to decrease HIV related belly fat accumulation

Decreasing HIV Related Belly Fat Accumulation In the mid-90s with the advent of the first antiretroviral (AVR) drug combination therapies, Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) lesions and lipodystrophy (wasting away of body fat) rapidly faded from public consciousness as signs of HIV infection. Only to be...

www.excelmale.com

 

[mcs]

Just curious here. What are your triglycerides ? Are you on any meds at all?

Have you ever got a L4/L5 CT scan ? You can pay out of pocket and get your doctor to call in the order.

You may have visceral fat. I have the same problem of low subcutaneous fat and VAT accumulation, but I know what caused mine.

How to decrease HIV related belly fat accumulation

Decreasing HIV Related Belly Fat Accumulation In the mid-90s with the advent of the first antiretroviral (AVR) drug combination therapies, Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) lesions and lipodystrophy (wasting away of body fat) rapidly faded from public consciousness as signs of HIV infection. Only to be...

www.excelmale.com

Trigs: 100
Recently had a lumbar MRI:
Mild to moderate degenerative disc disease L1-L2. Mild right paracentral disc bulge. Mild narrowing of the right lateral recess. Disc touches the right 2nd nerve. Mild to moderate degenerative disc disease L5-S1. No stenosis. Osteophyte (bone spur) touches the right 5th nerve. Mild degenerative disc disease L4-5. Minor narrowing of the proximal left foramen. Disc/osteophyte in contact with the left 4th nerve.
Rx: Telmisartan 80mg; Bystolic 5mg; NDT 160mg; Xarelto 10mg; Metformin 1500mg
Not on TRT (yet)
VAT (hard belly) killer: was taking ipamorelin/CJC-1295 200-300mcg in a.m. + ipamorelin 200mcg+ tesamorelin 2mg p.m. until my IGF-1 skyrocketed to 500+ and I started getting carpal tunnel, worse trigger finger, joint pain. As we know, tesa (brand Egrifta) especially targets VAT, but has only been studied and is effective in HIV lipodystrophy cases. Will it work as well in HIV neg persons is the question. AFAIK, all we have is anecdotal info on that.
I recently had an abdominal ultrasound that was normal. I think I'd need a DEXA scan to rule out VAT, wouldn't I?
From everything I've researched, it seems more likely that I have DR, epscially if you see the photo upthread with my midline sticking out like an alien is going to pop out.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

You may want to read this about Xarelto :

Can Xarelto cause abdominal bloating and fluid retention?

19 Answers - Posted in: fluid retention, abdominal distension, xarelto - Answer: I was diagnosed AFib with RVR 2 months ago. I'm very bloated from...

www.drugs.com