Brief Answer:
Most certainly a symptom of IBS

Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. As soon as I began reading your query I could immediately relate to you as I myself am an IBS-sufferer for years now.

Being a doctor who has diagnosed many patients with IBS and also a sufferer myself, I can most accurately tell you that what you are experiencing is abdominal bloating due to excessive gas production. This is a symptom of IBS and I wonder how you have never experienced this previously. The excessive gas production causes the stomach to bloat up and feel heavy, which in turn prevents the lungs (which are present right around the stomach) to move and function properly. The lungs take in air and expand, and then push it out which causes them to contract. The extended stomach prevents this intake of air (i.e. expanding of the lungs) that results in difficulty in breathing.

My suggestions would be the following:

+Recognise the food or drinks that trigger your IBS symptoms and avoid them completely
+Drink plenty of water
+Initiate a medication to treat your IBS
+Use OTC medication to help control the gas and acid production in your stomach (e.g. ranitidine, lansoprazole, omeprazole, etc.)

I hope you find my response both helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help you.

Best wishes.

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Brief Answer:
Avoid all triggering factors to prevent IBS episod

Detailed Answer:
Hello once again ma'am.

Until another condition is diagnosed, IBS will be considered the cause as the symptoms and presentation described by you can be accurately related with IBS.

There are numerous triggering factors for IBS, not just coffee and alcohol. Let me list some of the most common ones out for you:

-Chocolate
-Popcorn
-Milk and other dairy products
-Fried/oily/fatty food
-Gluten containing food
-Spicy food
-Carbonated drinks
-Sugar containing drinks or foods
-Tea
-Coffee
-Alcohol
And a few others.

But each individual can have certain other specific triggering factors that are not present on the list. Once you notice aggravation of your symptoms after eating a particular food or drink, establish it as a triggering factor and avoid it completely.

I would recommend the same with coffee and alcohol, you mentioned drinking coffee occassionally, please avoid it completely.

As your symptoms arw almost always present it is clear that you need to change your diet and possibly even initiate a medication for your IBS. Once everything has been changed in your diet and you have initiated medication for IBS, I am sure all will be fine.

But just for your satisfaction, to rule out other causes I would recommend the following:

+Colonoscopy
+Endoscopy
+24-pH monitoring
+Ultrasound of the abdomen and pelvis

These investigations should more than suffice to find the cause for your symptoms ma'am, and rule out/confirm any other cause. I hope you find my response helpful and informative. Please do not hesitate to write to me about any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help you.

Best wishes.

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