Severe shortness of breath with GERD?

Sarabi-
Welcome to the GERD family. I haven't had any breathing issues with my GERD, but many here have. I am sure they will be along before too long and be able to help more than me. From what I have heard from them you most definitely can have some pretty severe breathing issues from GERD. For some that was their only real symptom I believe.

Take care,
Bill

Hi-I had SEVERE shortness of breath. Bunch of problems: undiagnosed asthma exacerbated by stomach acid led to asthma attacks, blue lips, etc. Also, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) reacted to antibiotics and spicey food and anything worth eating. Also had thrush from not gargling after using steroid inhaler. Tight pants (gained weight plus IBS plus wasn't having bowel movements) added pressure on diaphragm which added to acid reflux which added to asthma . . . ).

Buying bigger clothes, wearing jumper dresses with absolutely NOTHING touching my waist, wearing bras that did NOT dig into rib cage or come down low, not bending over for anything (and I mean anything--use a grabber), taking Nexium 2x day, all helped abate the symptoms. I have to keep on top of it. If you get backed up, use bulk forming powder like Konsyl (best) or Metamucil 2x day helps considerably. Lose weight. It gets better. I also have anxiety--I take xanax. It is hard to figure out if you are having acid reflux, asthma or anxiety; be patient with yourself and you'll figure it out. If your doctor won't help, get a different doctor. Good Luck!!!!!

Glad that I am not alone. I feel like my stomach and esophagus is trying to come out. I have a lot of sour saliva and feels chocking. I have cough with too much mucus secretions immediately after eating . I am currently having difficulty of swallowing which really affected my life in many ways. I feel like some thing is stuck in my throat and can't breath some times. I had a visit to ENT, Chest and GI specialist with no significant help. I did endoscopy but no abnormal findings. I have received omeprazole for three months but no significant improvement. I received triple drugs for gastritis with no improvement. It seems that the doctors are not taking my issue seriously and look-forward to hearing from people with similar problem.

Zelalem

I've had this for over a year also. It feels like I'm breathing through a straw. Been to 4 different doctors about it and they all shrugged it off because I was around 99 % oxygen concentration. I always assumed I had some kind of vocal cord dysfunction, but no GI doc would be knowledgeable about that. Doctors mean good, but they aren't the experts we think they are. Personally, I think doctors should only be allow to practice if they have themselves suffered from this illness.

Currently Im on 40mg of omperazole x2 with Nortriptyline 10mg at night.

hey all:
I'm so glad i found this forum again. and i don't mean i'm glad you all have this condition (i wouldn't wish it for anyone), just feel some hope or less alone i guess.

it's 5 in the morning and i haven't slept. i'm surprised i don't see many other reflux related symptoms like sleep apnea, which i have, or just poor sleep and insomnia.

I also have the shorness of breath from gerd, which is the most absolutely horrific thing you could ever have. it gave me panick attacks and trips to the ER everyday for a year round in 2008, when it started. Doctors also found no oxigen desaturations, even when i was having the episodes (just like that other poster told), so they all just told me it was anxiety and to go to a shrink.

i can't believe other poeple have this exact same thing. i've felt so alone and crazy with this. i don't know why i decided to google it again and came back here. i guess i'm desperate. i think i didn't find anything before or just didn't search the right way.

i don't understand how, when it seems to be so many of us suffering with this, it seems to be such an unexplored territory for medicine and doctors. i mean the link between gerd and breathing symptoms.

My guerd symptoms are

I also googled shortness of breath and gerd again because after the shortness of breath episodes passed from everyday severe, slowly to often, to occasionally and i just learned how to live with it, i'm sure like many of us here, now i'm in New York seeking holistic treatment for my whole digestive issue. But i just want a third opinion or support and research again, because i started to get the shortness of breath episodes again precisely here, after a long time of not having them.

i'm seeing a holistic doctor, a chiropractor who does applied kinesiology with nutritional response testing. I am from and live in south america, and after suffering with this for years and knowing i had sleep apnea, gerd, shortness of breath, gastritis, esophagitis, h pylori, and a hiatal hernia supposedly corrected by nissen fundoplication but still with symptoms, i decided to travel here several years ago and took some metabolic tests which showed a had the whole package: still the h pylori, systemic candidiasis (which causes gerd too), parasites, food intolerances/leeky gut, heavy metals, and chronic/adrenal fatigue. And did i mention i suffer also from severe sleep apnea too?

i'm always surprised why gerd patients in this forums don't mention all these metabolic tests and diagnosis from holistic medicine. i know conventional doctors don't believe in all this, but if we all haven't had success with them, and we are in the us, i would assume i would find that here. to me those can be the roots of our gerd. i'm not on omeprazol, it didn't work for me and i've read that medication's side effects long term can be bad. not to argue with all those that medication has worked for. i'm happy for you and i respect you. it's just my experience and opinion.

and talking about sleep apnea, where are all the people who have gerd and sleep apnea as well? my sleep apnea doctor says and studies have shown that a high percentage of people with sleep apnea and or asthma have gerd as well. why is gerd the only thing talked about here? what about sleep apnea and/or sleep? isn't anyone sleeping extremelly poorly like i am from gerd?

gerd alone can make you sleep poorly. sleep apnea alone can make you sleep poorly. it's been a chicken or egg question for years now for me. i watch my diet a lot, specially in this anti candida/pylori/parasites/food intolerances/leaky gut/chronic, adrenal fatigue/heavy metals treatment/diet im on now here in New York.

But it kills me to not know what is the main issue i have to address. the big root cause of everything. i'm desperate, man. i'm here in New York trying to keep this strict diet and supplements with this different holistic treatment that i have to put a lot of faith into, sleeping poorly, alone, and with the shortness or breath that came back after a long time of not having it.

it seems like the heat wave triggered, or something in the hot summer air. And believe me, i never had asthma before. i don't have asthma. it's all very reflux related. when i go out on the street and start to breath the hot summer street air, i have the difficulty breathing, when i'm lucky enough not to get it so bad that i get the shortness of breath. then i bloat and can feel the reflux in my throat, which closes down or something, like some of the members here said.

my main symptom with reflux and my whold digestive issue is the chronic bloating. it is so bad, that (like another member said), i feel like my gut, or stomach or whatever it is goes so up from the bloating that it presses up against my entire left lung and i feel difficulty breathing, all the time. for some reason, which i don't know why, sometimes it flares up and ii bloat so much that i even have bubbles (gurgling) and liquids pushing up against my left lung every time i breateh. with every breath i take. so it's hard to breathe cause i have to push all that pressure down.

i'm going crazy for a long time not knowing: is it my stomach (pylori)? is it my colon (candida and/or parasites)? is this holistic treatment enough or do i take the chance i'm here in NY look for medical doctors again? i've just been down that road unsuccessfully, but in my country. i just know that all conventional doctors are kind of the same everywhere.

Has anyone here had any symptoms like mine? Since this is a support group, what can you guys advise me? if there's anyone reading this old forum anyway. Does anyone know a good naturopathic doctor who treats this, or a good doctor or test that really examines what's going on inside the structure of the digestive system? sometimes i feel like i have my stomach up in my chest.

i supposedly erradicated pylori but my holistic doctor says i still have it. and it seems logical given my symptoms. i'm just out of my mind trying to answer all these questions that a good doctor should answer, but i'm so negative about finding one that will just not be good and won't get it.

thank you all. sorry for ranting. i'd appreciate any help or insights. i am with all of you who are suffering with this, my heart goes out to you.

john.

thank you bill:

yes i had a hiatal hernia. they corrected it with a nissen fundoplication. the guy was the best, but i never thought perhaps something went wrong. perhaps it came undone or perhaps it's jus not enough and i keep having reflux (and gas). the weird thing is after the surgery a stopped having the burning sensation in my throat. the symptoms kind of shifted. but the shortness of breath remained. what really calls my attention is this feeling of feeling my stomach in my chest, literally. i mean i'm not talking just about the reflux, it's this incredible pressure up against my left lung, like there's something wrong, some misplaced organ, or something. or perhaps its' just so much gas. they did warn me before the surgery there's a percentage of people for whom the surgery doens't work. are there people here for whom the nissen fundoplication hasn't worked? is that a common thing? i'm so glad it worked for you. so, what about h pylori. being so associated with gastritis and reflux i'm surprised no one talks about that here. i'm so glad your sleep apnea went away after your nissen fundoplication. i got the whole package. everything you can think of. my gerd wont let me use my cpap cause it's just not efective. i sleep with several sleep appliances in my mouth and neck. but it just doesn't cut it cause of the reflux. i don't even know where to start looking here in ny. mds or holistic? i just don't know. it's such a big city. i holding on to this treatmet and see what happens. i have a follow up appt on monday. so, what about candida related to reflux? no one here? the literature says candida can cause acid reflux too. i was so hoping more people would post. is there an antiacid to take at night like gaviscon to help sleep better with reflux? we don't get it in my country. i'm sorry for this long desperate message again, which i didn't space in paragraphs. i was hoping more people would post, specially from new york. thanks!

thanks Mindbodynsoul.
i do watch my diet. specially now that i'm on this candida diet. what i haven't been able to get is the eating habits right, in terms of the timing. my nights are long cause of so much insomnia so i go to bed real late and get up late. so i get hungry and eat. why no carbs after lunchtime? you mean Sodium bicarbonate? i'm glad you're feeling better. you didn't mention if you sleep or slept poorly from your gerd. i do manage my shortness of breath now, thank God. I also feel bubbles in my upper left side when i breath, pushing up against my left lung. I quit everything that's not reflux friendly (coffee, sodas, alcohol, condiments, spicy, fat, etc). the only thing i do wrong, i think, like i said, is the eating timing. i wonder if eating too many proteins and raw vegetables is bad for reflux as well. i'm supposed to eat healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, fish, etc). so you mention constipation as a possible cause for the pressure against my diaphragm (and this is an old belief in my country i've heard for a long time): can the colon full of gas actually push up against your stomach and diaphragm? i think i have some sort of constipation, but i go once a day (with a lot of dificulty though). this is something to think about. thank you for your insights and for understanding my desperation!

John.

I am new to this forum and thread, and found it by Googling "GERD and shortness of breath" Quick background - I have had acid reflux for most of my adult life - I'm now 68 years old and have been taking PPIs for at least 10 years. I have a hiatal hernia (diagnosed about a year ago from a routine endoscopy) In recent months I have had increasing difficulty in breathing, which I chose to blame on the hiatal hernia, but in the last month the breathing issue has become overwhelming. Forget trying to do anything slightly strenuous (even walking) and especially bending down for any reason. It takes me several minutes to catch my breath after bending over. I visited my enterologist yesterday and she does not think that a hernia was the problem, but was shocked that neither of my previous primary care doctors had done any cardio testing. (That's next on my to-do list.) She also gave me a 30 day supply of a PPI called "Dexilant". (I've been using Nexium and then opmeprazole for the last many years.) I took the first cap last night and cannot believe how much my breathing problem improved. I could actually take a deep breath and sleep without feeling that I was crushing my lungs (or heart) or something. I still have shortness of breath this morning, but not nearly as bad or scary as it was just a day ago. It never occurred to me that the GERD could have anything to do with shortness of breath, but it obviously does. I hope this helps a few people who are struggling with the breathing issues - it is frightening to not know what is going on.

does anything help anyone? The only thing I know that helps is cool weather and getting sick... The extra mucus helps coat my insides

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-TheSickness-

Fight I have the same problems plus bloating and bowel problems and anxiety can you tell me how you resolved them. Thanks Terlin

Post Edited (Terlin) : 9/9/2013 9:13:57 PM (GMT-6)

Terlin said...
Isn't the hiatal hernia what causes the shortness of breath? My gi and primary doc don't take me seriously , does anyone get lite headed or dizzy and bloating like me and a constant up flow or presure in there thoat?

Yes I do, those are my exact symptoms. I also get VERY SOB when I bend over. Like gasping for air type of SOB. The bloating makes it feel like my stomach is sticking out and sort of hard. It is horrible. Thankfully I found a wonderful ENT doc who said my problem was not lung, it was GI. I have been on meds now for a bit and getting better.

I have been experiencing similar symptoms, shortness of breath while my ecg, bp and chest xray are all normal... Doctor here in my country gave me some antacids and for adverse situations some anti psycotic...He has also asked me to practice certain yoga techniques early in the morning when the oxygen levels are high.... He thinks if i follow the routine for 3 months with all the medications my problem will get cured... But he warned me that you shouldn't take alcohol and cut down on your smoking while taking the medications... I do hope i get some good inputs from the members here, that will help us overcome this problem... thanks guys