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alisande_gw

Breathing vs. bloating

17 years ago

Some of you might remember that I posted last year about having shortness of breath. I still have it. My doctor ordered all sorts of tests--nuclear stress test, chest x-ray, lung function tests, EKG, and cardiac ultrasound (echocardiogram), and fortunately all were normal. But I still have major air hunger.

I figured out that the problem seems to be related to upper abdominal bloating, which I get almost every time I eat. This is something that began before the breathing problems, but has been getting worse. I saw a gastroenterologist about this (I think I spelled that wrong), and he politely and charmingly blew me off, saying I looked great and therefore obviously didn't have a problem.

But it seems to me that whatever causes the distension interferes with my lungs' ability to fill up with air. Have you ever heard of this, or experienced it yourself?

I looked up causes of distension, and "fatty food intolerance" was on the list. I've had that my entire life, since my teens. I don't eat high-fat foods, with one big exception: nuts. I love walnuts and almonds. Maybe I should lay off them for a week (that sound you hear is me, whimpering at the thought of doing this) and see if that improves the situation.

I hope I hear from some of you diagnosticians out there.

Susan

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