Can't get enough air sometimes after eating!

[xBettyBoopx]

I'm very concerned and have been for some time now about the fact that sometimes when I eat, even if it's not a lot, I get a feeling of not being able to breathe properly or not getting enough air which in turn makes me tense and anxious of course and then makes it worse but it doesn't start off with anxiety.

I know this at first is not anxiety related but is making me anxious.

Does anyone else get this? Is it my age or something? If it's to do with stomach bloatedness and pushing up on the diaphram which in turn pushes up on the lungs so that they don't work as well, then how on earth do these people who are very big get on?

I don't know what to think but it's very scary especially as to survive I have to eat!!:weep::weep:

I am feeling like this at the moment having had something to eat about half an hour ago. My stomach is bloated and making those odd noises :wacko:

Can you please reply if you feel like this sometimes. Thanks.

[PanickyGuy]

Yeah I get that all the time, even get dizzy too. Acid reflux is usually the culprit, which goes hand in hand with anxiety; anxiety makes it worse. I get it so bad sometimes I think I'm having a frigin' heart attack, but I know better, especially after I burp or pass gas. It gets better after that and I can breathe a little better afterwards.

When I first didn't know what it was or what was going on I went to see my doc about it and he put me on Pantoprazole for acid reflux, which honestly only helped somewhat at times because my stupid anxiety made it worse. But I got off of that and now my usual remedy is to take a tums or some kind of anti-acid relief, which helps most of the time. Best thing to do though, is to see your doctor about it to give yourself peace of mind.
But most of the time it's acid reflux magnified by anxiety that causes that.

[xBettyBoopx]

Hey PanickyGuy

Thanks so much for replying:):)

I have googled :ohmy: in the past and found that some people with acid reflux have a problem with their breathing afterwards especially if they have eaten large meals or meals heavy in fat. I just think it's weird that acid can have an effect like that! :wacko::wacko:

:hugs::hugs:

[PanickyGuy]

Your welcome! :winks:


Yeah it's bizarre, but it's true, especially if you feel some of your food trying to come up at the back of your throat sometimes (yuck and that's another indicator too BTW).

What happens, sometimes because of anxiety, even when we don't feel anxious before or while eating, we tend to produce more acid in the gut, that in turn produces more gas as the food we swallow ferments in the stomach. That builds up gas in the stomach like a balloon effect, which pushes up on your lower diaphragm, which pushes up on your lower lungs, giving you indigestion or heartburn, hence not being able to fully breathe right until you release the gas someway.

But then again, there are other things that can cause it too, mechanical wise, like a hiatal hernia, which can produce similar symptoms of acid reflux. This is why it's important to go to your doctor and report your symptoms. You may want him\her to rule that out with a X-ray or something just in case, so you can find out exactly what it is, just GERD or a hiatal hernia producing GERD effects.

But most of the time, it's just GERD brought on by stress, anxiety, etc. Sometimes IBS factors into it too, BTW, especially with constipation problems.

[Fishmanpa]

I had this happen just the other day and I knew exactly why ;) Had fried chicken and potato salad for dinner and that one extra piece did it ~lol~ I knew I shouldn't have but it was just SO good! I had chest pressure and felt like I couldn't get enough air. Maalox helped a little. I was fine the next day :)

Positive thoughts

[PanickyGuy]

I had this happen just the other day and I knew exactly why ;) Had fried chicken and potato salad for dinner and that one extra piece did it ~lol~ I knew I shouldn't have but it was just SO good! I had chest pressure and felt like I couldn't get enough air. Maalox helped a little. I was fine the next day :)

Positive thoughts


Oh man, you're right about that. Been there many times with the "not getting enough air" just by overeating; not to mention some foods that make it worse like eating spicy foods, bread or chocolate. :D
Yeah that can be torture sometimes and then I go crazy with the Tums. I definitely get that feeling of not getting enough air on those occasions and it feels like I'm about to explode or something as well. Until finally the Tums kicks in and releases the pressure and then it's like; aaaaaaaaaahh thank you Tums. :blush: Lol.

[xBettyBoopx]

Thing is I don't over eat at all tbh and I still get it.

Is there anything I can take that will stop me feeling sob, something to take maybe before I eat?

Thanks for replies PanickyGuy and Fishmanpa:hugs:

[PanickyGuy]

Well there are many things on the market you can take before meals like Beano for gas and bloating, but I never gotten any good results from any of those things because of my acid reflux is just terrible sometimes and they just didn't help a majority of the time for me. Yet everybody is different.

That's one of the reasons why I went to my doctor about my problem and he put me on proton inhibitors (pantoprazole) for a while. For me it helped somewhat keeping the acid down most of the time, but not always with the bloating. So what I did was chew on a tums afterwards as a supplement after every 2-3 major meals in a day and that seemed help a lot.

So you can look into Beano and Tums on the store shelf and try those things first, to see if those help you right off the bat, but if they don't and especially if you've got really strong acid reflux with the gas and bloating, I really recommend you see a doctor about that and let him prescribe you something stronger or whatever he/she thinks is best to take care of it. Because it will drive you with a lot of anxiety up the wall.

[Devyn]

I have this too! and i also have acid reflux! pretty sure its the cause of my ectopic heart beats as well. >:( tired of all these symptoms making my quality of life so bad.