1 month of Upper Abdominal Tightness/Fullness with shortness of breath coming from the upper abdomen

Posted , 11 users are following.

Since February the 19 i have been experiencing upper abdominal tightness or fullness and shortness of breath coming from my abdomen from the middle few inches above belly buttom, things like talking can be exhausting. It feels like my breathing is pulling from my stomach. If i push down on the area it feels like my stomach is sore or tender. This tightness sensation makes it harder to eat as i feel full before i started. if i lean back i have a stretched sensation like my abdominal muscles are tensed, or when i sit i feel like im squishing whatever it is that is bothering my stomach.Night time then tightness and pain is worse. When i wake up in the morning, i have the tightness that feels deep in my stomach and around the edges like tensed muscles as if i ate lot of bread and then i start to have cramps and grumbling loud noises and a stomach ache which indicates that i need to go to the restroom. I have had changes in bowel movements including color sometimes it will be yellow some lighter and some brown or normal color. I used to have normal urges to go to the restroom at whatever time i needed to go. Now the urges only seem to come as soon as i wake up or my body wakes up.I had an endoscopy a week ago waiting on results. Im not sure what this could be but its a constant thing from the time i get up to the time i go to bed. The pain can sometimes be relieved from laying on my back but as soon as i get up i feel it again. Really desperate to know causes this. It seems like a mystery to me.

1 like, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • Posted

    Does your pain move about and focus on your lower abdominal area?  Do you get constipation or diarrhoea as well as stool colour change?   Have you noticed if certain foods trigger it?  It might be IBS if you experience these symptoms and all your tests come back normal.  Some people with IBS get the morning rush which is an urgent need for a bowel movement as soon as they wake up.
  • Posted

    Try go for scan to see if there is any injury inside your body. If there is any then take Honey.
  • Posted

    This is almost exactly the symptoms I have and am also currently seeking diagnosis. I’ve had ct scans, heart checks and scopes and so far all is normal. This is incredibly frustrating. I will certainly post if I find anything and please do the same. 
    • Posted

      Hi Jeremy, I am in the same situation and it’s been one month that I’ve been sick with these symptoms. All my heart scans and brain scans, exams come back, stomach and lung x rays and cat scans come back normal. Please let me know if you found out what it is because I have been to the ER multiple times and my primary doctor and they don’t know what it is. 
    • Posted

      Well I am certainly not fixed yet. The sensation of stomach pain combined with inability to catch my breath or talk for a long time still persists but I'm taking anxiety medication to cope which is helping some. I have gone through every test you can think of including:

      Endoscopy

      Colonoscopy

      Xrays

      Ultrasound of heart and abdomen

      CT chest, abdomen

      EKG

      Stress test

      Every bloodwork you can think of

      And everything came back perfectly normal except one thing and that was a thickening of the upper bowel wall which they said didn't appear to be the cause of my issues and wasn't particularly troubling to them after further investigation with the scope. I found that when I went on a liquid diet for the colonoscopy though, my stomach pains diminished significantly and they couldn't explain it. I went on a semi liquid/soft diet for almost 2 months and while I lost weight I didn't need to, the lessened pain combined with the anti-anxiety meds got me to a point where at least I could return to work. I still have good days and bad days but at this point my doctor doesn't feel there's any more testing to do and we'll just monitor my situation to see if it gradually improves or goes backward in any way.

      I did find that some of the crisis situations I had which sent me to the ER turned out to be panic attacks. I'd never had one before so I thought for sure I was about to die. Once they got me on some meds that bit has been better and I know that whatever is going on, at least it's not my heart or lungs, it's just me breathing erratically and hyperventilating due to having some pretty severe anxiety.

  • Posted

    Somewhat similar to my symptoms but mine is very severe pain in upper stomach which was caused by antibiotics use and hasnt left me in 6 months. I went through the phase when even talking and breathing was difficult and painful.
  • Posted

    Hello Christopher, I started experiencing the same exact symptoms on July 13 and it’s been one month since the symptoms have not gone away. Everything you describe is exactly how I feel! This has taken over my body and I have not gone back to my normal routine. All my exams come back normal. Did you find out what it was? I’m desperate for answers that the doctors don’t seem to find as of now.
  • Posted

    my stomach is doing exactly the same thing. I have low white blood cell count and just recovered from a low thyroid crisis. PLEASE tell me if it went away or you got diagnosed with something.

  • Posted

    this sounds like gastritis, the stomach is inflamed, I've been battling this for two months, not much improvement from medicine 😦

    • Posted

      I have reflux/gastritis/hh - PPI meds from doc did no good at all. I take mastic gum to line the stomach and pepzin along wit ranitidine. That helped more than PPIs.

      Started to look into good bacteria in the stomach and have started on Kefir and Saurkraut and am finding this helping a lot.

  • Edited

    hi , have same issues went to the ER twice for shortness of breath pressure in upper stomach especially when i am driving or eat certain things . I got to point where i am scared to eat as it triggers anxiety or stomach pressure causing shortness of breath . I on and off cant take a deep breath . they gave me anxiety meds . They did all blood work all organ scans nothing shows i am lost . Tried taking a supplement called gall bladder complete as it has apple cider vinegar and it does help . When i feel the pressure in my upper stomach I chew a gas x tablet and two seem to help the pressure . I at one point thought this was after effects of covid but i always test negative now. If i get stressed or argue i can barely breath or talk long enough without getting winded . Almost feel these days doctors are useless if they don't see anything in blood work or on scans . I did have low thyroid numbers but they say its not as bad as i think even if it says its low. i also have a thyroid nodule but they say its no cause for concern . so i am stumped if anyone figures this out . I had this many years ago lost a ton of weight because i could barely eat without getting some kind of anxiety attack or breathing issues . so literally salads and water for awhile then it went away at one point for 3 years . now its back probably cause these past 2 years started eating bad again . But please comment if you are going through this . I gained alot of weight during covid i am about 5,7 during covid got up to 190 because of this im down to 169 now and dropping because of my light eating . i am usually an active guy before covid but not sure if this is a hernia in my stomach or what .

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