Connection Stomach bloat/breathing

[Vraag]

Short of breath with bad stomach bloat.

Hi community,

My stomach is often swollen - tight as a drum skin, swollen by 3/4 inches. It is then hard to breath normally, end up taking short, shallow breathes - no I am not hyper ventilating.

Also extremely tired all the time. Anyone have some comforting and wise words as do not think my GP believes me.

[Hidden]

Do you get any other symptoms?

[Iggls]

This sounds very familiar, I get it a lot. It happens because the bloating is pressing hard against your diaphragm...sometimes I also get palpitations with it. It’s slightly relieved by lying on your side with a hot pad and slowly sipping hot mint tea or water. I have a very sympathetic GP and consultant but they can’t solve it. Eat very little when it’s like this..

[xjrs]

Have you been diagnosed with IBS? Have you been getting any help with it? Severe bloating could be down to a food intolerance for which you'd need to be referred to a dietitian to go through the FODMAP elimination & reintroduction diet. Initially though, I'd try a probiotic such as Alflorex which has been scientifically studied for IBS, to see if it makes you more tolerant to foods.