Caput medusa are clearly visible in that last photo.

Look at the last picture in his linked photos and then google photos about ascites. It's a textbook case.

Adding a second comment, since looked at the link you provided -- that last photo of the difference in just two years really raises a concern from my perspective.

I would recommend going to a doctor as soon as possible, and ask about liver testing especially, but also blood tests to show blood sugar levels and triglycerides. Ascites can be a sign of liver disease, and if the gain has been very quick, they recommend procedures to at least initially drain some of that fluid.

Here is a link about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, with a list of possible symptoms or other co siderations.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20354567

The good side is that the liver has regenerative qualities and can bounce back from stress/strain/scarring, but you gotta work with a doctor to see if this is wah it is and if so, try and find out what is causing it.

Edit: saw the last photo too -- the symptoms looks like liver failure to me, I'm sorry to say. Definitely go to a doctor that is well versed in liver health.

Although I am not a doctor, this looks a lot like ascites, which is fluid retention within the abdomen. It's commonly caused by excessive drinking of alcohol over many years and can show up quickly once the body's lost a lot of its ability to filter fluids (I don't know the technical terms around that-- but mine developed over maybe 2 years after 10 years of heavy drinking). It can also be cause by other things like congestive heart failure or clogging of vein within the liver.

As I mentioned, I had drank heavily for years (2-3 20oz sugary colas in the afternoons and alcohol in the evening) and was developing a similar condition. I quit alcohol and sugary beverages entirely and dropped about 45 pounds with no other interventions (essentially, I lost all the weight in my midsection) over the course of maybe a year and a half. So the weight loss was slow but steady.

Your case definitely looks like fluid retention to me, but since I don't know you, I am not sure if that ends up being true and if so what factors are contributing towards it. Diets heavy in salt can cause fluid retention too. So if you're eating frozen microwavable meals, many types of fast foods, or cans of soups (or really any meal that has high sodium), that can be something you target to eliminate from your diet.

I'd recommend getting a second opinion from a doctor that looks into liver functioning and heart functioning, but specifically mentioning exploring whether ascites might be a possible diagnosis. There may be some underlying condition that's causing the fluid retention that hasn't been identified yet. Best of luck! ✌

I just commented on MPH, but now knowing your major, there is a great connection to public health, especially with looming public health problems that we don't know much about, such as healthy aging, alzheimers, etc. There's a lot of research about how the brain works that can be applied to cooperative agreements on best practices that go out to states.

Check out the Community Guide, just one of many starting points.

https://www.thecommunityguide.org/

Get a Masters in Public Health. The doctor treats the individual, which is great. But working in public health, you can have a much more tremendous impact on health at a population level. There's so many different topics in public health, that you can have an entire career and a half just working in different areas. There's a ton of career paths within the field -- research, practice, academia, state and local, federal, consulting, global, etc, just to name a few.

If you pair it with an MBA or MPP or MPA, you can get into healthcare management, too

I once saw shoots growing out of a cut log that was sitting in a semi-permanent puddle of water in a ditch. It was pretty cool, as in an "A for effort". I am sure the shoots would never get to be trees, but it was really interesting to see.