Eating and breathless

[Tilantoe]

Why do I feel so breathless and tired after eating? Is this normal? I have severe copd emphysema

[stone-UK]

Hi

Eating use a lot of muscles and energy.

[Tilantoe in reply to stone-UK]

Thankyou for your wisdom. You learn something everyday. Any idea how to cope with this. As it is not going to go away

[stone-UK in reply to Tilantoe]

Hi

You can’t eat purée for the rest of your days.

Smaller meals, mashed potatoes, mashed carrot and swede, fine chop other veg. Slowly eat meats.

Stop to inhale, chew and swallow on the exhale.

Tonight I had nice stew went down well.

The half bar of Caramel chocolate was slow. not going let a bit of breathlessness stop me enjoying what I like.

[Kristicats]

Just an idea. I find I start coughing and find it harder to breath after my evening meal or after around 6pm.I was taking extra inhaler and loads of strepsils etc at night to try to stop the coughing and sob so I could lie down/ sleep and in the end Rennies help more! So I feel that in my case acid (or Gerd) has been my main problem in the evenings. I take an acid reflux capsule each morning but don’t know if this helps or hinders the situation .

[Tilantoe in reply to Kristicats]

Thankyou. I have not been troubled with acid up to now. So don't know what will help. Except not eating!

[O2Trees in reply to Tilantoe]

Many of us with severe copd have 'silent reflux' Tilantoe - this is when the acid gets right up into your windpipe and sometimes further down it into the top of the lungs, and very often there are none of the usual symptoms of standard acid reflux, including heartburn. The irritation of acid in the windpipe can cause breathlessness and asthma-like symptoms.

Of course Im not saying this what it is, just not to dismiss the possibility just because you aren't aware of acid. It is true that eating takes a lot of oxygen to digest your food, so for that reason your saturations could go down and you could get breathless.

[Tilantoe in reply to O2Trees]

Thankyou i have not heard of that. How would i find out of i have that problem?

[O2Trees in reply to Tilantoe]

You need to talk to your GP, and I emphasise Im not trying to diagnose you which we're not allowed to do here for obvious reasons.

The medical name for silent reflux (so named by a doctor in the U.S. who worked with opera singers who were coming to her because their voice boxes were affected by acid) is - wait for it - laryngeal pharyngeal reflux, or LPR, what a mouthful. You could ask your doctor if that might be a cause of your problems, or just ask if reflux might be involved. I never thought I had it as I had no symptoms for years, then when I had throat surgery or removal of a cyst, the surgeon saw damage to my oesophagus from the acid.

Ive read that a distinction between asthma and reflux-caused asthma type symptoms is that with asthma it's harder to breathe OUT, whereas with reflux asthma, it's harder to breathe IN though from personal experience Im not sure about that.

So worth checking. There used to be a problem with some doctors not accepting silent reflux as a concept but that seems to have changed over time.

Good luck

[Fennella02 in reply to O2Trees]

I seem to have LPR as a diagnosis on my GP file without having had any investigations whatsoever! I don’t know if I have it or not but I have had laryngospasm some years ago so they’ve jumped to a conclusion.

[O2Trees in reply to Fennella02]

Did they not explain that at the time Clare? Reflux can be diagnosed with a barium meal - I had one when I was 40 and they said I had reflux (and a hiatus hernia) but as I never had any symptoms I never thought any more about it. Don't think it was taken very seriously back then (32 years ago). There are probably more tests for reflux now, plus endoscopies which will show if any damage has occurred to your oesophagus from the acid exposure. I am monitored with an endoscopy every 3 years as I have Barretts Oesophagus (pre cancerous condition).

[skischool in reply to O2Trees]

jean,i am on the same regime for the Barretts with the surveillance endoscopys,did your Mr gastro ever take biopsies of the cells as a few weeks ago when i had my 2nd endoscopy,thankfully this time with sedation,i asked him to take samples and if possible to find out the grading of the cells which he has done,i haven't seen the results yet.

i am sorry to hijack your post Tilantoe,i might add that i also have never had symptoms of reflux or indeed of a hiatus hernia which i never new existed.....regards Ski's xx

[O2Trees in reply to skischool]

I have some metaplasia Ski's - early I think. That was on the endoscopy before last. Nothing showed on the last one and I naively ask my consultant if it had healed. But he said it depends where they take the biopsies. They usually take 4 but that never covers the whole area so I guess you just hope for the best. Progression to cancer is pretty rare. x

[skischool in reply to O2Trees]

Jean, i think it less than 2 in 1000 cases so i reckon something else will do for us long before the Barretts. xx

[Ribbon36 in reply to O2Trees]

Whenever I go into the hospital for breathing issues (copd), they give me an acid reflux type med and it really seems to help.

[Juliecarroll58 in reply to O2Trees]

Hi I have a hiatus hernia and always suffered with acid reflux and now I have emphysema it's worse I'm on 2 ranitidine I lansoporole and 3 domperidone a day but still get reflux if i eat badly.

i used to think it was the emphysema that caused my panic attacks but now find it's more down to the reflux.

Has anyone had any op on hernia to stop reflux please?

[O2Trees in reply to Juliecarroll58]

No though i have wondered about it and would be interested in any replies.

[Tilantoe in reply to O2Trees]

I would like to thankyou and everybody who replied to me. I went to the docs. Like you told me to. She said it was acid and gave me omeprazole. She said I also had thrush in the mouth. She said the meds. We take cause both problems. And it is very common. I have only just started treatment so don't know if it works yet. Just hoping it will and not cause some other problem to have to contend with. Seems to me we take more and more meds. To counteract the side effects of the drugs.

[Ribbon36 in reply to Tilantoe]

I think Omeprazole works well!!!

[Kristicats in reply to Tilantoe]

I did not associate it with acid reflux , didn’t have heartburn just coughing and breathless

[Megan321 in reply to Kristicats]

Maybe take acid reflux tablet before bed

[corriena]

I find the same i eat very slowly and get very short of breath and feel tired after a meal, i also have sever empacemia and bronk. So probably yes it is quite normal with this illness. Just another aspect of are daly lives with this illnesses.

[hypercat54]

Hi I am not severe but have heard others on here saying it's better to eat small meals and more of them rather than big ones. Bigger meals can make your stomach expand a bit which can push on your lungs thus making it harder to breathe. x

[Tilantoe in reply to hypercat54]

Thankyou i eat very little meals anyway. I have never been a foodie! Always ate to live rather than live to eat. But feeling so bad now after eating is putting me off eating at all

[hypercat54 in reply to Tilantoe]

Ok I get this. Maybe a chat with your doctor wouldn't come amiss? You need to ensure you keep your weight up as much as you can so you can afford to lose a bit if you become ill. There are lots of build up drinks you can get and some may even be available on prescription. x

[Tilantoe in reply to hypercat54]

Actually thats a brilliant idea. I dont have any problem drinking. And drink lots of milk on a dauly basis. So that could solve the problem. With protein shakes or something

Thenkyou so much.

[Kristicats in reply to Tilantoe]

Too much milk could also be worth considering as it can cause mucus build up on the lungs. Another thing worth checking out?

[Kristicats in reply to Kristicats]

Just looked it up and it’s the second thing to avoid the first being fried food

[noraskye in reply to Tilantoe]

I have bronchiectasis and asthma and was always so out of breath eating. I now use nebuliser about 15,mins before main meal and it does help.

[Agnes54]

You should try fresh pineapple cleans your mouth and good for energy also try dried apricots or fresh very good and yoghurts and add honey if you like them that is . If you don't eat you will have less energy and less oxygen . If I take large meal or eat certain food it makes me breathless and bloated the liver has the work to do for digestion. I wouldn't stop taking milk as it is good for your calcium.Scrambled eggs and adding cheese is good source. Hope you find helpful x

[Ribbon36 in reply to Agnes54]

Pineapple juice has strong anti inflammatory properties as well as helps with coughing.

[canalchris]

I have a theory which I am not sure I have read about or just imagining. I tend to get more breathless if I have one largish meal per day, this, I believe fills the stomach more , pushing up the diaphragm which in turn compresses the lungs and reduces capacity. Also the very act of processing food by the stomach uses oxygen which will lead those of us with COPD to suffer feelings of breathlessness.

When you see a healthy person over eat ( Say at Xmas) th only thing most wish to do is loosen the waist clothing and sit down to digest. To my mind eat more frequent , smaller meals. I don't believe they have to consist of mashed everything.

Regards . Chris.

[Linnie13 in reply to canalchris]

I agree small meals rather than large ones as it does push your stomach up and presses on lung so you get breathless and cough

[joyce74]

I can fall asleep within 5 minutes from finishing a meal even when on oxygen. Just go with the flow. I eat small portions often .

[Stumpy55]

Hello Tilantoe, I have severe copd emphaseama and I get breathless as well doing anything that requires energy, even talking too much, laughing or even sitting in my chair and turning around too fast. It sounds silly doesn't it but it is a fact. 🤔

[2greys]

I use a slow cooker a lot, the food, inc meat, is always very tender and soft and takes the minimal of chewing, in fact you can mash it with your your tongue against the roof of your mouth it is that tender. Bonus the kitchen does not get hot and unbearable. Add spices and/or herbs to make the meals really tasty. Shed loads of slow cooker recipes to be found on the web. Make a "crock" load and freeze down in meal size portions, later just heat up in the microwave

[Tilantoe in reply to 2greys]

Thankyou. Sounds like a good plan. Can you recommend a good brand of slow cooker. As I have never had one

[2greys]

Ours is a Kitchen Master 3.5 litres, I believe Sharon purchased it in the Range unsure of the exact price but much less than £50. They use as much electricity as a couple of the "old" incandesent light bulbs, 160/180 watts.

[Sjf129903]

Smaller bites also means you ingest less air into your stomach

[hypercat54]

Don't worry too much about dairy foods. They don't cause extra mucus but they can make it thicker and harder to cough up. Drinking more water would sort that out. x

[janice01]

If l eat a big meal lm in big trouble!

Tummy pushes up the lungs and my 32% function drops and lm gasping....

Think food very linked to breathing especially dairy.

That's my own opinion, others may differ...

Hope you soon find something that helps....

[Ergendl]

Digesting a meal, the body uses the parasympathetic nervous system which means relaxing, sleeping, vegetating, while your body does the work of breaking down and assimilating the food. Other times the body runs on the sympathetic system, which means being alert, ready for fight or flight, all systems go. Almost everyone gets more lethargic after a meal, but people with lung problems notice it more. If you try to be very active after a large meal you burn more calories because it's going against the grain. If you do it regularly you can get stomach problems as the stomach hasn't been given the time necessary to do its job properly.

[1Celticlioness]

I also have GERD, I get breathless whilst eating but my main big problem that has started is soon as I start to eat I get a runny nose, if I pause during eating I sneeze it's a horrid sneeze as it's like I got no breath at all, this sneezing can continue and last for about 5 to 10 minutes, it don't matter what I eat boiled, grilled, fried, processed food anyone else got this or got ideas of what might be triggering it off

[Fennella02 in reply to 1Celticlioness]

I get the runny nose when eating and always collect a tissue before the meal. Sneezing, no but perhaps there is a common ingredient in all the foods that you eat? Gluten or wheat springs to mind as it is a cheap filler, thickener etc and is in virtually everything we eat these days unless it boasts being gluten-free. I bought a book written by an NHS professor and he’s a total believer in sub clinical gluten intolerance. Just a thought xx

[1Celticlioness in reply to Fennella02]

Thank you for your reply much appreciated I'm going to try out cutting out wheat for a few weeks see how it goes then try the same with the gluten, the sneeze likes comes from chest it's never from the nose, I always have tissue at meal times as well but I now don't like eating out anymore as I don't feel my nose dripping and it then sort of pours out sorry to be so graphic, everyone in household say bless you only once, now they have started to count how many times they say it, so it's now like a big joke challenge have to tell them to stop as I get into fits of laughter my lot are a bunch of jokers the grandchildren just say it once as Nanny is always sneezing lol