Can trapped wind cause shortness of breath?

I've had an ongoing problem relating to stomach gas for a while. When I get a lot of trapped wind in my intestinal area, I have a feeling of tightness in my lower abdomen and it's difficult to get a full satisfying breath.

I have been to doctors about this, and they have ruled out heart problems and lung problems.

Of course, it is stress and anxiety that usually causes these bouts of stomach gas in the first place...

I have two questions regarding anxiety and excessive gas..

1. Can gas cause shortness of breath?
and
2. Can anxiety cause a bout of gas and digestive irritation that lasts for several days after the initial anxiety trigger of the event? That is to say, is it normal for somebody to go through a very stressful Wednesday and still be feeling digestive symptoms of it on Friday?

1. It has caused shortness of breath for me!
If I went back to posts I did when I first joined this site, they would look a lot like your post.
After a long while of suffering from this I realized I was swallowing lots more when I was anxious. Nervous reaction thing I guess.
I started paying more attention and not swallowing as much.

2. I have experienced this for several days in a row before it subsided.

I also found that Gas-X (over the counter gas relief tabs) helped me tremendously.

I know how scary it is to feel like you just can't get a good deep breath!
Please know that if you have seen your doc and your tests have all came out ok then you need to start counteracting the negative thoughts with positive ones and the anxiety symptoms will get better overtime.

Relaxation exercises are good to use also.
There are sites online where you can download them for free but I don't remember the url. Maybe someone else has some for you to try.

xxx
Sandy

Thanks for the quick reply and validation. The fact that this has been going on for a few days now was the biggest thing I was worried about, it takes a lot of stress off knowing that others have experienced this for days on end.

I have caught myself swallowing air on occasion, when I'm nervous... and several days ago I had to put my dog down, that's when all of this began.

I've heard from others that trapped wind can put pressure on the diaphragm and cause these feelings, which would intuitively make sense for me, because when I feel short of breath I almost always also feel gassy...

Oh Eric,
I'm so sorry for your loss!
Of course your anxiety is high right now!
(((HUGS)))

Hope this symptom clears soon!
xxx
Sandy

Hi, this is a delay but in my experience i have found that after meals i become anxious and struggle to get sufficient breath, my breathing feels shallower. I think that causes more rapid breathing, therefore increases my heart rate and in a sense makes me more anxious! I'm also more aware of my heartbeat or palpitations when i'm gassy... which is odd. After a while i'll do a burp and automatically feel less anxious.

Rationally, bloating and gas in the chest area will make your chest muscles tense and make you feel more "panicky" or more likely to become tense. When you burp your breathing will be less rapid than before so your heart rate will decrease?

Hope it helps to know you're not the only one suffering from this. I think it's another physical symptom of anxiety... one of the many.

i also been to doctor with pain lower belly and stomach feeling bloated always late afternoon when on the bed seems little better i hope this is down to stress as last week give me panic attacks this few days have depression as getting lot of anxiety as anyone had this please help