Stomach tightness, cannot fulfill a breath

I'm a 26 year old male and I believe I am experiencing what you have all described here. The problem starts during and after eating. Whilst eating I constantly have the feeling to take deep breaths which cannot be fulfilled because I get this tightness or sometimes an empty bottomless feeling in my stomach. After eating I would feel a stiffness in my stomach, although I have eaten very little amounts, and also a desire for having a deep breath; but I can't. I do not get this feeling at any other time, only when eating. I, like others here, avoid social gatherings for fear of getting ill. I believe it's a form of anxiety or nervous disorder and I have tried many relaxing foods, but they don't seem to work. 

It's tearing me apart!

I GET IT! Just wanted to say that off the bat because NOBODY seems to know WTF I mean when I try to describe whats been ongoing with me for about 15 years now! Like many of you on here, I too, have been through a multitude of physicians, tests, etc...My EXTREME DISCOMFORT was soooo bad-(even on medications like Prlosec, Tegamet, Raglan, Propulsid & other antacids)  that I had a 'NISSEN' surgery done about 12 years ago. Let me Just say if you can avoid it...AVOID IT! A 'NISSEN' is when they wrap a portion of your stomach around the esophagus to help keep stomach acids from rising up. I understand now that it is irreversable!!! All the time I assumed they were going to SEW-UP my Hiatal Hernia-not do this hainus surgery!?!I am currently on 500/50 of Advair twice daily for Asthma, 40 mg of Prilosec twice daily for acid, take the occasional Charcoal capsule for extreme bloating or "gas bloat syndrome", and I am supposed to be on a CPAP machine for extreme sleep Apnea-although I cannot even stand it! I was diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia many years ago and it has given me FITS ever since. I too, avoid social gatherings and invitations, mostly because I am almost constantly agitated and very uncomfortable. An older guy on here used the analogy "lying in bed for hours gasping and yawning for air much like a fish on the bottom of a boat" that really hits the nail on the head for me! In addition, I belch almost constantly, and I live in fear of getting sick because since the 'NISSEN' surgery, I cannot vomit at all! If I feel the need too, mostly what happens is my body violently convulses and I dry heave till I fall on the bathroom floor and almost pass-out! This is all very painful and takes several days to feel like its healing back inside my chest. Well I wish I had some words of wisdom for us all but I haven't had a full night of sleep or been on my back for over 15 years! All I can say is nothing is forever....well, maybe Diamonds! Good wishes to all...I GET IT!

Hello,

To everyone in this post. For the last three days I have been having the same symptoms with the tightness of the stomach as everyone else. This is not the first time I have had this. I too battle Anxiety and Panic disorder but have not had an episode for more than six months. I had my first attack in six months a couple days ago and that is when I noticed my stomach start to tighten up. I also have GERD.  I think this has a lot to do with anxiety. Think about it. The difficulty breathing seems worst when you are thinking about it and when you do not you do not notice it as much. Same as me. So here we are thinking about it and we get our anxiety levels up which in turn raised the acid in our stomach to calls the bloating and burning, which mixed with the anxiety will tighten our stomach's.

My suggestion is to try and get your mind off of it. Eat when you usually do. When this happens to me I try to eat nothing but chicken noodle soup and jello.

I have the exact same symptoms and for right now i am talking buscapan a drug which relaxes the muscles. And next month i an getting my gallbladder out . The buscapan do help. Get your gallbladder checked.

 

Hi did anyone get to the bottom of this? I am having mostly the same symptoms. I'm prone to anxiety/stress issues but not 100% sure if thats whats causing my problems now although i think it probably is. I started with sinus problems after christmas and i got sinusoothe of an online site that says its the best stuff for sinusitis. It did work a bit and stopped my nose blocking up altogether so most of the time i can breathe out of my nose. Now it does'nt seem too bad during the day but at night i blow my nose and get thick yellow stuff with blood out. In the morning i blow and the first thing i get out is blood but then it clears. I'm quite sure i have an infection. This will be my 3rd infection in 2 years. Ihave in the past suffered from allergies but not got that since my first sinus infection. After the sinus problems started this time i started to get stress/anxiety symptoms so i took 5htp, after 2 days on this i got alot of gas to the point it was embarressing. Being stupid i did'nt take them for a couple of days but then started taking them again. Well after about a week i started to get pressure on my chest and i felt like someone was strangling me. I took antacids and they helped but boy was i stressed. Then i started getting loads of gas again. Just kept taking antacids. I then started getting a burning sensation just below my bra and it feels tight. I'm scared to eat because when i do i get the shortness of breath and belch all the time. I also get the tightness in the chest but not all the time. Last night in bed i could feel what i think was gas just under my bra moving about or feeling like it was moving. When this first started i had the acid coming up into my mouth a couple of times when i was in bed but not any since. I'm not sure if the stomach issues are anxiety related or not, i can't wait to get to the doctors but i'm worried he may not give me the right medication and i just want to feel normal again...i'm tired of this...can anybody help?.....Angeldelite x

Just out of curiosity, does anyone on here drink Splenda?  I have been having these issues for the past 2 months and have changed my diet, one thing I have changed was I stopped eating Splenda.  I have been feeling better for the past few days and today I had a cup of coffee with Splenda and I'm feeling the fullness again.  I am trying to narrow down the issue and hope we get this solved because it is a horrible feeling.

I feel the same way. I Have had candida for years. I dont know if yeast overgrowth or gallbladder.SCARES ME.

I Have the same symptoms for over 10 years. I have a hard time eating food. Feel full all the time, hard to swallow and breath. I have no appetite. And feel inflammed all in my intestines and stomach. Sometimes i have white sores on my tongue. One allergist said it was Yeast candida in my blood stream, now he says there is no such thing? A friend told me she thingks it is CELIAC disease? And i should try not eating any gluten and wheat......If you get tested the blood results for celiac could be negative when you still have it and other ppl get a endoscopy to have it checked but that can be false positive, so now i hear you need to have a DNA test for celiac disease (cheek swab). I am so confused and have been trying to find an answer for this for this long of a time (over 10 years). It is hard to live like this so i know what you all are going through. I also have just discovered something called Eosinophilia disease. Look it up also, it is when your allergic to most foods. Someone mentioned gallbladder, i might get tested for this also as well as checking the pancreas., because now i have pain in my lower back behind my stomach.  

But i would look into the celiac disease also . A lot of people have this now. I wish you all luck i know i need it..this is a mystery illness for so long.

My son was on prevacid for Acid reflux and he became short of breath.  For him it seemed that

the Prevacid caused a B12 deficiency and when he started taking b12 supplements his shortness

of breath disappeared.

 

I believe in vitamins and minerals. I can't take them right now because of the stomach. But i believe this is true with the b12. I really don't like the acid blocker meds. Unless absolutely neccessary. Try a health DR , most things can be healed with food.

GOOGLE "stomach distension TCM"

This is a very common symptom in Traditional Chinese Medicine/Accupuncture that western medicine doesn't have a good answer for.
Go in or call a TCM practitioner, either they will gladly give you advice over the phone or schedule a consultation for $50-$200 (many have sliding scale fees)
This is a very common symptom that can be addressed with dietary and lifestyle changes (easy things like avoiding cold foods, relaxation exercises) chinese herbs (inexpensive) and lastly a few sessions of accupuncture.
There are many things western medicine is great at, but this is a painful but fairly simple thing a Chinese practitioner can help you with.

I too have had these problems. I just turned 30. Tremendous pain in upper abdomen, and feels like around my heart too. I cant eat much at all, or drink much. If I do it feels like its pushing on my heart, and causes palipatations. After eating or drinking I cant hardly breathe, and it scares me. Ive had xrays, blood work ekg, idk what to do. I want my life back this pressure is intense and constant. I feel as tho im gonna suffocate at times my stomach is so tight I cant breathe. Ive been praying still nothing. Please God help me. I fear its heart failure. I cant take a hot or cold shower or my chest tightens and heart has pressure around it, I have no energy anymore. Heart failure causes fluid build up in upper abdomen. I fear its that. Please pray for me as ill be praying for yall. stay in touch..  ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use

Hi, I am a fifty two year old male. I have recently started having problems with getting a deep down from the stomach breath. It is after I eat. I do have some anxiety, and hard to get too sleep. And stay asleep. I have been taking some herbs that I got at the health food store. It does seem too help, but I also have to not eat as much. And watch what i eat. And if I keep up with a daily walking program, I do better. But I fully understand about how everyone fills. It is aggravating and upsetting. It does take a little control mentally and physically. It is not easy, but one does need too take control of themselves. I also control my self with tichi. A form of Asian body mind movement. (exercise ). Good luck M&M

I had the same problem, and still do sometimes, doctors told me i had astmah but I had a test and it was normal, than they had me get an echo of my heart and that was fine. Than they decided that I had anxiety and that was b.s., I diagnosed myself with miner hiatal hernia. What causes it is a cycle of stress, stomach acid. Here is how it works: 1# stress causes your body to become acidic so you will have an increase in stomac acid. To much stomach acid causes inflamation of stomach lining and causes your stomach to pull it self up and press under your lungs. 2# your lungs can't expand do to your stomach inflamation so you get shortness off breath. 3# shortness of breath causes anxiety , which stresses the body, which tighten's chest muscles. 4# stress again causes your body to become more acidic, and now you have created a cycle that can kill you. So stay calm, and go to your doctor and have him proscribe you Dexilant ( proton pump inhibitor) which lowers stomach acid. Next avoid foods that are acidic, and cut down on caffeine. Try stress free activitys or find an area to relax for at least 30 min a day. Next keep your mind busy, so you won't think about your breathing. I tell you when I tried dexalint, within 3 days I was 90% better and within 15 days I was perfect. It took me 15 different doctors which wasted my money, and two years of suffering until I figured it out thanks to google. So your not crazy, the problem is stomach acid, and it's something that most doctors can't diagnose. The truth is that most doctors go to school for the money, and for that when your in there office they don't really try to fix the problem. Half the time they just proscribe Medicean and get you out of the office within 15 to 20 min. Time is money to most of these jerks. Now we do have some good doctors as will, but I'm speaking of the mejority. No ne can diagnose you better than you. Conclusion is take dexilant( or any proton pump inhabitor) and cut the caffeine , stress , and you will go back to normal.