moving on down...

Since you have had sonograms to check if it was a 'female' issue, I assume you had a uterine ultrasound to rule out any problems there. It's unlikely, with no other symptoms, but I know that ovarian cancer can have a swollen belly as one symptom, so I'm sure that would be something your doctor would have considered. If all the tests have come back normal, maybe it's just the way your body weight distributed over the years after menopause. Do you recall if your mother or aunts carried an unusual amount of weight in their abdomen?

Dear Megs2, I am not a doctor but have been through so much with menopause too much to get into. If you read some other topics you will see my story. I just started with bio-identical hormone replacement pellets. You should look into it. Just google it and you will open yourself up to a new world. Just started 5 weeks ago and feel a difference already. Prior to beginning I was on estrogen patch for 2 years. I also take 100 mg of prometrium every night and still do even with pellets its important when you have all your parts. Hoe you will look into it and good luck. Let me know how you do. lostnj

I have a 12 year old Dobe and she has been incontinent since she was spayed at 6 months of age. I found that switching her to a raw diet (no grains) really helped. As she got older, I used a combination of Proin and Black Cohosh. The Black Cohosh allowed her to remain leak-free on a lower dose of Proin. We also tried estrogen, but it did not work for her. At age 7 she developed arrythmias due to Dilated Cardiomyopathy. We verified via holter that Proin increased the arrythmias dramatically (3,000 on it, 300 off it), so we discontinued the Proin. I have been living with a leaky girl for 5 years. She is now in congestive heart failure and on a diuretic, so the leaking can get quite bad. It is manageable though. As with your Rottie, potty pants do not stay on her well. The best thing I found was inexpensive cotton women's panties (high cut) in combination with a sanitary pad. I cut a hole for her tail and tacked a couple gathers in the elastic and they stay on much better than the commercial potty pants. But I also have a doggie door and want her to be able to use the yard when she needs to, so I don't use the "underoos" very often. I've lined all of the dog beds with vinyl and just launder the covers as needed. I put water proof crib pads down where she lays routinely and she's good about staying on them most of the time. Those go in the washer as well. She is now leaking through the pads so I've added shower curtains cut to size under them and that's working very well to protect my floors. I also use Nature's Miracle Advanced on the carpet and Simple Solution for hard floors as needed. It can be a pain, but my old girl is well worth it. :o)