Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Support Group

I'm not sure but I think it's because of having large kidneys. Maybe the stomach has nowhere to go but protrude?

Hopefully someone will be able to answer for you.

I'm only 100 lbs (can't gain weight no matter how hard I try it seems) and just this past week I've developed a "bump".

I'm not pregnant, haha...I don't really know what's going on.

It's making things even more uncomfortable for me...but I'm just going to hope it passes and if not...I'll just deal I suppose.

Again, I hope someone has some answers for you. :)

kidneys are normally tucked in neatly in the rib cage, well protected. PKD kidneys need somewhere to grow and will look for the path of least resistance, often the abdomen.
along with cysts on kidneys livers which are in the front often get cysts and can cause that pregnant look.
I've been out and sometimes see a man with a "belly roll" and want to ask if he has PKD. my brother had a huge "beer belly" which disappeared when he had a bilateral nephrectomy.

As Helen said, it's the path of least resistance. Your kidneys first grow long and skinny, then need somewhere else to go as they continue to develop more cysts, so they head toward the front. The are amazingly strong for being such fragile organs and can push aside the colon and instestines and voila, you can see and if you gently (very gently) palpate, you can usually feel your kidneys from the front.

For a man, it's a beer belly (ha ha; all men develop beer bellies from pizza and beer and a good ball game; it just means he's jolly and a fun guy to be around). For a woman, well, we must be preganant and thus society feels compelled to comment on how we look when they don't even notice the man.

I've long been considering making a t-shirt that says: No, I'm not pregnant. THIS IS POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE! But I can't figure out what size to order...I keep expanding!

Instead I carry a bunch of PKD "what every family needs to know" fact cards (bifold information brochures from the PKD foundation) in my purse and hand them out to anyone who asks me about when I'm "due" or even looks like they're going to ask (or asks my husband or infers, etc.). I'd rather educated one more person about PKD and show them the ugly kidney picture on the back than just say "no, I'm not", and walk away. Maybe that one person will understand or support us or know someone with PKD and let them know they're not alone, or actually have PKD and suddenly discover they're not alone, or be the one person who finds the cure just because someone gave them information (ever the optimist!).

Hope the info helps.
Ruth

Yep, I keep saying I'm going to have T-shirts made saying "No I'm Not!"
As you say, it's the massive kidneys and liver pushing outwards. I'm otherwise skinny, so I can even feel the cysts through my abdominal wall. I can't keep up with the increasing girth and the need to keep buying bigger and bigger clothes. It's also very uncomfortable now, but you have to keep trying to adjust as best you can.

Chewitt and I have had many online discussions about this very subject! I get asked when I am due almost daily. Sometimes I tell people about my PKD and other times I just smile and take whatever they are offering...a seat on the bus or cuts to the front of the line in the bathroom! Those things are still very helpful to me even though the reason is not pregnancy! I have had a lot of emotion surrounding this issue because I went through years of unsuccessful infertility treatments. I am now at peace and a mom to a wonderful son through adoption so I can finally enjoy the fruits of my "pregnancy". I will have a bilateral nephrectomy in the near future and my husband refers to it as the "twins' due date."

at my last scan the lady was scannin under my arm! quite alarmed i asked just how big my kidneys were. she smiled and said " they dont fit on the screen, its like your permanently carryin twins!!!!, they measured 22 and 23 cm as apposed to the normal 9_11 cmof a normal kidney.although my tummy muscles are quite strong and i dont yet look pregnant my insides feel it. every thing pushed aside and squashed and my ribs hurt like hell and it hurts to breath at times.when there was talk of removin one my 1st reaction was " you cant i,ll be lopsided!!!!" ha ha .all i know is we should be on permanent maternity leave carryin these huge things round 24_7 ..