(November 21, 2012 at 7:03 am)Rayaan Wrote: Okay, I'll just post what it is now and get it over with. Seems like people are not interested in this guessing game. =(

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Answer: The disease is called nephrotic syndrome.

What is it? It's basically a type of kidney disease that causes large amounts of protein to be lost from the blood through the urine. Proteins in the blood usually keep fluids within the bloodstream. But, when they are lost from the blood, fluid can leak into the body tissues and thereby cause swelling (known as edema). Swelling is first noticeable around the eyes, lower legs, arms, and feet. In the later stages, however, the swelling can begin to spread all over the body including around the intestines and the stomach.

So, it is the accumulation of fluid in the tissue (as a result of the loss of protein from the blood) that caused the swelling in my body and the weight gain while having this disease.

This disease, as I said earlier, tends to affect children more than adults and it affects twice as many boys as girls.

"Childhood nephrotic syndrome is an uncommon condition. Every year approximately two to seven children in every 100,000 develop nephrotic syndrome. It tends to be more common in the Arab and Asian populations and in families with a history of allergies. Nephrotic syndrome often starts between the ages of two to five years, affecting twice as many boys as girls." - Kids Kidney Research

"More than half of the children diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome will have relapses." - Abstract

The medication that I was prescribed for this was Prednisone. While I was on it, the increase of my body mass was further fueled (in addition to swelling) because one of the side effects of the medicine was a significantly increased appetite/hunger, thus leading to a greater calorie intake.

The primary causes for this disease are many, but it is still difficult to pinpoint the exact causes in every patient. Doctors weren't able to determine what caused it in my case either.

You can find more information about nephrotic syndrome at the links below:
http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/nephrotic-syndrome/
http://www.kidskidneyresearch.org/public_forums/ns