Anyone Get Severe Upper Abdominal Bloating

[sue1234]

I have severe upper abd. bloating, and don't really know if it is POTS related. I had it before POTS, but it has gotten worse since the onset of POTS. It feels like my stomach literally pushes up on my lungs, and keeps me from breathing well. I can get cycles of this, sometimes going on for weeks, then a week or two respite, before it starts all over again. It is really becoming my worst symptom. I can sit in my recliner all day, but I can't take having trouble breathing. By the way, I am still waiting on my celiac testing, so it may be from that.

[Maisie87]

Kind of sounds like a hiatal hernia.. from the way you describe your restricted breathing and swollen upper abdomen. Hiatal hernia is not serious, I don't want to give you something new to worry about, but talk to your doctor about that. Look up symptoms of hiatal hernias and see if it makes since to you.

Hiatal hernia is when a portion of your stomach slips up into your chest above your diaphram (hence your trouble breathing). Can be caused by emotional stress/ food allergies like gluten or dairy. Many people have HH's and are asymptomatic or only have symptoms when it's aggravated. ..

Good luck! Hope you get to feeling better*

Maisie87

[Dizzysillyak]

Sue,

Sounds like trapped gas to me. Have you tried taking gas x or drinking some homemade ginger water (boil ginger in water and let cool) ? Both work for me.

Probiotics when in pain can help this too sometimes.

I'm glad you're being tested for celiac disease. JMHO .. so many people feel better without gluten in their diets, that it would be worth it to try going GF anyways ...

Hope you feel better ...

[Tachy Phlegming]

I've had extremely severe problems with abdominal pain and breathing which I would have described similarly. It was intolerable.

[Katti]

I get this big time and it's definitely gastroparesis with me. Check it out if you haven't already. Plus you have the bonus of getting one of the weirdest experiences in medical testing. Eating a radioactive egg sandwich. Yum! ;-)

One of the things that helped me get through the worst of the gastroparesis pain was actually acupunture. Works wonders.

[toddm1960]

Add me to this list also, it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. I have had all of the transit time studies, and more scopes than I want to talk about. I've tried gas-x and probiotics, nothing seems to help. I will even bloat with activity, if I'm on my feet for 10 or 15 minutes the pain in the my back starts and my stomach starts to grow. It can grow as much as 3 inches!! I hope you can find something to help you feel better.

[Guest tearose]

Add me to this list too.

I manage these periodic bouts that seem to come in clusters. To manage, I will then gravitate to foods that will digest faster and eat smaller more frequent meals during rough times. Also temperature of the food matters. I do better with warm not cold food.

[sue1234]

Wow, lots of good stories and advice!

I DO have a hiatal hernia, by the way, and maybe it has gotten worse. I often wondered if my stomach was pushing into my chest! I'm dead serious, it could have reached that point. I have a gi appt. next week, I'm going to ask to double check on my hernia.

Yogurt and probiotics have always made it MUCH worse, so don't get past day one on them.

I take the generic for Reglan, but it seems like it's not working anymore. It used to help. Any suggestions on what might work, medicine-wise?

And Todd, I am exactly the same. The longer I am up, the more my stomach grows. Then I sit, and then I have to burp air out--I could almost swear I am breathing air into my stomach!

I do use the gas-x, but doesn't seem to be working. I really do agree with the trapped gas, but why in the heck does it have to migrate so high in my abdominal cavity? I feel like a pressure valve would work wonders!

[Katti]

Instead of Reglan which I hated my gastro-doc prescribed Domperidone. It is a promotility drug like Reglan and it worked better for me although it wasn't perfect. The problem is that it isn't approved in the US any longer. I guess that women were using it to stimulate milk for breast feeding so they took it off the market. However, it can be legally prescribed and prepared by a compounding pharmacist. In other countries I don't think it's an issue, I didn't check to see where you live. Of course compounded medications can be more expensive and not really well covered by some insurance. Just a thought.

Good luck. I remember the pain so well and it still comes back in force when my gastroparesis & or POTS symptoms are in full swing.

[toddm1960]

My scopes didn't show a HH, and since gas-x doesn't work I'm wondering if it's all blood pooling in my stomach. Do you also get back pain along with it? My guess is the bloating is hitting a nerve and causing that pain. It's nice to hear someone else has the swelling tummy with activity, well I'm sorry you have it also but I don't feel so alone with it now. That's part of what keeps me sitting all day long.

[iheartcats]

I do! I have a feeling it's from Wheat Intolerance (possible Celiac Disease). It's annoying and looks odd. I hate the tummy bloating.

Maybe get a blood test for Celiac Disease just in case? Mine came back positive. Now I'm going off Gluten.

[Stormie74]

YES, I have that! Over the past few years, I have been belching like a fat old man. When I have a hard time breathing, I find if I can get up and move around, it shifts things enough to start the burping going, which makes me feel better. I've been checked for celiac, but the tests came back negative. But if I have any pasta or very much bread, I am in agony. I'm better off staying away from wheat entirely.

Caron

[sue1234]

Cat Lady--so you came back positive? I'm still waiting on my results. Let me know how your bloating goes off gluten.

You can't imagine the contorted positions I stretch into just to see if I can get a burp up! I am the same, I have to get up and pace just to get things moving so the gas bubble will move up and out in a burp.

[valliali]

I could have written your post myself! Same EXACT thing. Lots of pressure in the upper abdomen, feel like cannot get a full breath of air, major bloating, which is made immediately worse when standing upright... mine, too, is very episodic. I can go months without having an episode, in which case I eat all the gluten in the world and don't feel badly from it at all. I also tested negative. And then it'll be out of nowhere I'll be hit with a period of these pressure issues in the upper abdomen. I often tell my boyfriend that it feels like my diaphragm isn't working right, and I find that if I push really hard on the area of pressure, I get so much relief. It's the only way I'll get in full breaths of air. Sometimes when I'm out I have to find a counter or something to lean on so I can squeeze my stomach and be able to breathe. It's horrible!!!!!!!!!!! These episodes usually last me a couple of weeks, but sometimes have lasted longer. I totally feel you.

It's really funny that you mentioned that probiotics make you worse, because I kid you not, it was all but one month ago that I started taking probiotics and had another one of these upper abdominal flares. I find NOTHING on the internet that even alludes to probiotics having any side effects, but before the pressure and bloating, I started having a lot of nausea and diarrhea, which is super uncommon for me. This was four or five days after taking a probiotic pearl. Then came the massive upper abdominal issues; I swear it was the probiotics, it was the only thing that changed. Sure enough, as soon as I stopped, so did the diarrhea and nausea, but unfortunately the abdominal issues persisted.

How do you know that probiotics make you worse?

Interesting thread! I thought I was alone!

[valliali]

Oh, I'm also wondering if anyone with these symptoms also has gastritis? those symptoms describe how I feel a lot, except for the tightness in my chest/inability to get in a full breath. I have no belching/burping, it doesn't seem to be gas, so I really think something is going. I had an abdominal ultrasound awhile ago - does anyone know if a hiatal hernia would have appeared? Also, can the symptoms of a hiatal hernia be so episodic? Aren't hiatal hernias really controversial?

[Maxine]

Bloat is my middle name--------waiting for insurance to clear me for virtual colonoscopy. Not stable enough for reg. colonoscopy lately. I have so many problems with bowels----for years and years. Excessive diverticuli---way to many covering 3/4 of bowel. I have a really big one in upper small bowel measuring 5cm.

I often tell my husband I feel pregnant by evening. If I lay down often during the day the bloat isn't as bad.

Maxine :0)

[iheartcats]

Cat Lady--so you came back positive? I'm still waiting on my results. Let me know how your bloating goes off gluten.

You can't imagine the contorted positions I stretch into just to see if I can get a burp up! I am the same, I have to get up and pace just to get things moving so the gas bubble will move up and out in a burp.

Yes! Positive! And I was rather upset. LOL

I'm going off Monday...or at least starting. I hear it takes a while to really get the hang of it. It was supposed to be THIS week but I got the flu and couldn't shop, only wanted to eat toast, etc. Har.

But yeah. Positive. If I do improve, I'll have to have future tests. I will let you know how the bloat goes after a couple weeks. Let me know about your tests.

I feel so much better about the positions...that has happened to me before AT WORK. I prayed no one would come into the toilet and see me. I'd never be able to explain. Never. But thought I'd die unless I could, well, you get the picture.

[Tachy Phlegming]

I didn't (not even once) for about two years.

[sandymbme]

I have been diagnosed with chronic gastritis, and have almost daily bloating issues. As I am only 34, and single, looking like I am 4 months pregnant is a huge blow to my self-esteem! I haven't had a ton of success with anything as far as the nausea of GI motily issues, although I have seen some improvement since I am getting IV fluids 3 times a week. I see the GI doc next week,and Dr, Grubb on the 19th, so I am hoping for some better ideas then!

Sandy

[sue1234]

As far as gastritis, I have been diagnosed with acute and chronic gastritis. Not sure how or why it is, as I am not a drinker. And don't know how much that influences the bloating.

As far as probiotics/yogurt, I don't know how it makes me bloat, but big time bloating it causes! I'm wondering if the bacteria just set up shop higher up in the gi tract where they are not supposed to be.

I was reading alot of HH posts yesterday, and alot of the people talked about how they got short of breath, and alot while walking, because the hernia would "shift" up against the lungs with walking, exercise, bending, etc. That soooo explains me. I can't wear anything that even remotely binds the waist, and walking makes me feel like I have breathed air into my stomach, because when I sit, I start doing that moving around to get the burps up!

And, lying flat in bed has become a bad position for me, as I immediately feel like I cannot get any air in. I have told my gi doctor it feels like my stomach is pushing up on my lungs--what a coincidence that that might actually be happening. I have, for many years, had the head of my bed propped up, but not for acid reflux, just because I could breath better. Odd.

[potsgirl]

Probiotics/yogurt also makes me bloat more than usual. My bloating is more down in my belly, and I'm not sure if it's blood pooling (which can happen in your abdominal area) or my diet. Does anyone else get bloating further down?

Cheers,

Jana

[Tachy Phlegming]

I also had gastritis and have been asked various questions about my due date by complete strangers (who received in return for their wrong assumptions, accurate information about my medical history). Exercise that I am able to do did nothing but eliminating dairy (because a friend said it increased her urinary frequency [it did mine too]) and the new breathing remedies I am using took away some of the worst of it.

But the "look" for me may be from the pooling they talk about. When I can't eat or can barely eat (at some times because of the bloating or food reactions, at others because of frequent urination), the look of the bloating goes away in one or two days (even though I can still be bloated with air). One or two days of normal calorie-eating brings it back even hours after I have eaten. If I eat all of my calories at one sitting, it tends to be more evident then.

I've had times when I could not lie down at all because I could not breathe lying down (or eat).

[sue1234]

Well, it's 1/2 official that I have celiac disease. My antibodies came back high. Friday morning I have to have my intestinal biopsy by endoscopy. Then start a new way of eating.

I will be running the same course as Cat Lady, as we change our diet and see IF our celiac disease has had ANY impact on our POTS. We may find it has contributed to some symptoms, and we may find that it only shared some symptoms with our POTS. I'm sure it will take months, so I will try and update on any improvement I hope/may experience(POTSwise).

I know some of you are already diagnosed celiac and haven't gotten rid of the dysautonomia. I'm really just expecting to improve some of my symptoms, not necessarily get rid of the POTS.

[runningshoe]

I get this way too when I am really potsy. It is a terrible feeling.

[HopeSprings]

When you say "upper abdominal" -- is this around the sternum area? This is where I feel the pressure and sometimes mistake it for heart or chest pressure, as well as a sensation of not being able to take a full breath and then will start belching like a man and it relieves the feeling somewhat. Is sternum pressure actually upper abdominal bloating??