Nausea and shortness of breath: Is there a connection?

I’ve been dealing with gastritis for over two years now. But since last year—and especially lately—I keep getting this feeling like I can't catch my breath. My heart feels fine, everything else seems okay, but it happens constantly alongside nausea. Can these actually be linked? Thanks

So, who else??

Correlation does not equal causation.
A shortness of breath might stem from anything—bronchial issues, lung function, cardiac concerns, even thyroid irregularities—and so on.
See a doctor. 😍

And what if I didn't say everything was fine? I honestly thought I had, haha. I’ve had my thyroid checked, my lungs—I did every single test imaginable, okay? My heart too... everything came back clear. But still, it hits me out of nowhere from time to time. It actually just happened to me a couple of hours ago...

placidtinker80 said:I’ve been dealing with gastritis for over two years now... but since last year, and especially lately, I keep getting this feeling like I can't catch my breath. My heart feels fine, everything else seems okay, but it keeps happening right along with nausea. Could those two things actually be linked? Thanks

It totally could... I'm guessing you're dealing with some serious bloating, which is probably why breathing feels like such a chore. Basically, all that gas in your gut pushes up against your diaphragm—kind of like it's "squeezing your lungs"—and messes with your breathing rhythm...
I deal with the whole breathing struggle and bloating mess myself... whenever I lie down, it gets a bit easier because the air moves lower down in my abdomen... but man, it's at its worst when I'm just standing or sitting around...

rowdypuma79 said:Yeah... I'm guessing you're dealing with bloating, which would explain why breathing feels so heavy. Gas in your gut pushes up against your diaphragm—essentially "crushing" your lungs—and messes with your breath...
I deal with terrible shortness of breath and bloating all the time. It’s actually easier when I lie down because the gas settles lower in my abdomen, but man, sitting or standing up is the absolute worst...

For me, it’s actually the opposite sometimes. When it hits, I find that walking around helps; staying seated or lying down just makes it feel worse. Have you noticed if there's a link to what you eat? Because for me, it definitely happens when I overeat, though occasionally it just hits out of nowhere. Also, have you been officially diagnosed with gastritis or anything?

Is anyone else over this?😢

placidtinker80 said:Anyone else still around?😢

I'm just totally wiped out from that workout.
Sometimes I just feel like I can't catch my breath. It's like everything is closing in on me. 🤷
I’m at my best when I can just kick back and lounge.
That nausea you're feeling? It's probably just your gastritis acting up.
Gastritis can cause that heavy bloating feeling that pushes right up against your diaphragm—just like rowdypuma79 mentioned—and that’s usually what triggers those issues.

redeagle96 said:GERD is killing me.
Sometimes I feel like I can't even breathe, 🤷
it's the worst. The only way I get any relief is by lying down in a certain position.
That nausea you're feeling is probably just from the gastritis.
Gastritis causes all that bloating, which pushes against your diaphragm—just like azamaz mentioned—and that's what triggers those breathing issues.

So what are you doing about it? I've heard of GERD before, but I'm not entirely sure what it actually entails... does this happen to you all the time? :S

placidtinker80 said:So what are you doing about it? I've heard of GERD, but I'm not entirely sure what it actually involves... does this happen to you pretty often? :S

You can find more info on GERD here:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gerd/symptoms-causes/syc-20366540
http://www.webmd.com/digestive-health/acid-reflux-gerd
For now, nothing. Just pushing through and waiting for it to settle down.
I'm staying on top of my meds and hoping things turn a corner soon.
Yeah, it happens every day and lasts for hours. It's been like this for the last three weeks. It used to be less frequent, maybe just a few times a month...

You're only 17 and already dealing with stuff like this? Honestly, I can't say I'm much older and have it any easier. 🙂
I was on medication for about two and a half years, but I haven't touched it since... I mean, you can actually manage a lot of this just by adjusting what you eat, if you ask me.

sending you a PM now😉

Waiting 😉

placidtinker80 said:I’ve been dealing with diagnosed gastritis for over two years now. However, since last year—and especially lately—I’ve started getting this sensation like I can’t catch my breath. My heart feels fine, everything seems okay, but it often hits me right alongside nausea. Does anyone know if these could be connected? Thanks.

That’s actually how panic attacks often present themselves alongside gastroesophageal reflux. It’s possible that GERD is being triggered by anxiety, which then creates a feedback loop where one sets off the other.

Eric Wright29 said:That's how panic attacks present themselves alongside acid reflux. It could be that GERD is triggered by anxiety, which then sets off a feedback loop.

To know for sure, I actually just wrote about this on another thread...

placidtinker80 said:I know, I actually just posted about this in another thread too...

If everything mentioned there makes your palms sweat, I’d put my money on panic attacks.

It pops up once in a while... but not all that often. Does it have anything to do with nausea?

So, I’m guessing you’re speaking from personal experience here?

placidtinker80 said:I assume you're speaking from personal experience?

From a medical standpoint, 🙂.

Picture being in the middle of a huge exam at a state university, and suddenly your heart starts racing, you can't catch your breath, you feel nauseous, and you're sweating like crazy. All of that is just heightened sympathetic nervous system stimulation—basically, pure stress and panic.

placidtinker80 said:I’ve been officially diagnosed with gastritis... so there's no doubt about that, but it feels like all that stress and tension might have played an even bigger role than people think.

It’s certainly possible for stress to trigger gastritis. While more recent medical studies tend to link the condition more closely to infections from bacteria like Helicobacter pylori or those in the Enterobacteriaceae family rather than just psychological stress, it's still a very real factor.