Replied by Lisa (Thousand Oaks, Ca, USA) on 10/13/2009
Hi Shaunie, I had my fifth child at 42 and had never had this experience until then. I had been a ballet dancer all my life and was very fit so I took it for granted when my body would just return to its fit state after my births. This time it was different- I completely lost my waistline, had a stomach that felt distended and no matter how much exercise, it would not go down. My husband would say to be patient, after all, it took 9 months to make the baby it was my fifth and she was the biggest baby I'd had- almost 10 lbs and I am small, 5'2". A year passed, then two, then three... I finally resigned myself to the fact that many women have this even after their first and I had been lucky... Then, after 4 years, I went to an acupuncturist of which I had not done in years. I went for totally unrelated reasons to this. I was actually going for my hips and how much mobility I'd lost after this birth. After the third session I was dressing and caught my reflection in the mirror- at first I thought I was imagining things and I went closer. My stomach had gone flat AND I had a waistline to boot! It is 5 years later and I have retained my waistline but I will periodically return to the acupuncturist when my stomach begins to feel that bloated feeling. My acupuncturist is really great and he has explained that it is the stomach that can cause so many seemingly unrelated problems. I just went 4 days ago after about 5 months of not going for this very reason. Anyway, I hope this info helps and that there is hope. Ask around and check the acupuncturist sites to find a well-qualified acupuncturist. Good luck.