Awful bloating and Afib

[DaveT81]

Hi all,

Has anybody ever suffered bloating and gas so awful they felt like their insides would blow up? I experienced it last night after taking a handful of charcoal tablets after a meal. I'd been using the same brand for 6 months but saw a good offer on Amazon so stupidly bought these, based on positive reviews.

The bloating I can handle though, but my heart just wasn't happy. I spent a few hours - it felt - tossing and turning with constant arrhythmias. I expected full-on afib at any moment but eventually I fell asleep.

The bloating is still here this morning but isn't as bad but I'm not quite ready to eat anything yet as my heart is still very pissed off and I'm getting regular ectopics. Has anybody ever suffered that before? Such awful sensations of bloating. I've learned my lesson re: trying new supps.

I'd already been suffering with lots of ectopics lately due to a new medications, which I stopped recently so I really could've done without another problem.

[Hilly22]

Hi Dave. It's happened to me a few times after eating too much carbohydrate and it's a horrible feeling. It's also a huge trigger for my arrhythmia. I was once writhing in so much pain that my husband was about to call an ambulance. Some people can burp when they want to, but I can't. I discovered (through desperation) that sticking my finger down my throat to make myself retch brought up the wind ... what a relief, and better than exploding any day

[DaveT81 in reply to Hilly22]

It's an absolutely horrible feeling, and I'm still suffering a bit today too. My arrhythmias were so bad last night I was in a cold sweat at one point, thought something really bad was about to happen because my heart was playing up so much.

I still feel so bloated today, and have only just had something to eat. Typical that this would happen on New Year's eve, when I was planning to allow myself a few beers and a few treats. Might try the finger trick later.

[Hilly22 in reply to DaveT81]

Another tip. I always wait until the last meal (including excess wind) has completely gone from my stomach before I’ll eat again. A bit of prevention and a bit of cure! Good luck with the finger manoeuvre, although brushing the back of your tongue with a toothbrush should work well if not better

[Hidden]

Hi Dave,

Yes, me !

I was diagnosed way back in Jan 2010 with paroxysmal AF. Many months later I identified the onset of an AF event with food I'd eaten.

My symptoms were akin to IBS and Coeliac Disease. I was tested for these and they were cleared of being the culprit. The symptoms specifically, were incredible and very, very, painful bloating, burping, intestinal gurgling, flatulence and diarrhea etc.

The culprit was a dysfunctional vagal nerve ( suggest you google it for a definition) but basically it is an information superhighway of the central nervous system between the brain and and digestive system and the heart. It very much controls/influences both cardiac and digestive systems.

If you click on my user name CARNEUNY it should take you to some posts I've written on this. Any problems get back to me and I'll write more.

Meanwhile .... happy new year to you all.

John

[DaveT81 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply, I had always worried whether there was some vagal involvement to be honest as a lot of my problems seem interconnected.

I went gluten free about 6-7 months ago I believe, mainly because I was starting to experience digestive issues that were irritating my heart and I was seriously concerned my a-fib may return at one point. I had an ablation last June, so thankfully it didn't but it's always been in the back of my mind that this won't be helping matters.

I'll take a look at your previous posts. I'm seeing one of my GPs tomorrow, so may mention this then.

[Ianc2]

You can get this sort of reaction from eating anything containing dairy products (lactose intolerance). Can be checked out by your local surgery as it affects about 15% of the population. It is a fairly straightforward check that will either confirm or knock out this possibility. John (carneuny's) posts are well worth a look if the check comes back clear.

[DaveT81 in reply to Ianc2]

Yeah, I've actually had those done myself. But I'd like to have them done via my NHS surgery. I'm not entirely gluten or dairy intolerant, but I do have slight issues with both.

I've been gluten free for almost 6 months now and I will allow myself some dairy now and again. I usually use coconut milk as a substitute so it's really only cheese that I occasionally indulge in. That wasn't the case that night though!