# very full after only a few bites



## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Does anyone else have this problem? I have posted on here about how I have this bloating/pressure feeling all the time in my stomach, right below my rib cage, and it seems to worsen after every meal. It seems that I"ll only be able to eat a little bit at a time (like a cup of soup) and I'll get really, really full. This causes the very bloated and pressure feeling in my stomach, which sometimes moves into my chest. It seems to last for about half and hour, then will sorta subside. I still have the pressure/fullness feeling all day, but it's dramatically worsened after eating.Does this sound familiar to anyone? I've only had this problem for about four months now- it's a new thing that just appeared one day.-LeeannPS Maybe gastroparesis?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Most of the time this is one of two issues.Functional dyspepsia, which is when the sensations are bad, but they are just sensations caused by screwy nerves rather than stomach not able to behave properly.I find digestive enzymes with pancreatin in them tend to helps with that full too fast, stay full too long, bloated as heck feeling.There can be something called gastroparesis. Often seen in diabetics. It can also be from issues in the nervous system, but the part that actually tells the stomach to empty rather than the part that just feels what is going on. They can tell them apart by feeding you a meal with a tracer and seeing how fast that leaves the stomach.That is seems pretty short term makes me think FD rather than GP. With GP you might be actually full for many hours after a meal, so that seems to point to a problem of feeling to full when the stomach normally tends to be full rather than it can't ever get unfull. You can have some discomfort during not full times as well as full times with FD but it sounds like you get the worst issues for the amount of time you'd expect the stomach to be full after a meal.


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Thanks Kathleen-The dyspepsia thing has come up alot, by people on here and by a couple of my doctors. Next time I see my doctor I'm going to ask them more about this and what else I can do to help fix this problem. I've been trying to eat healthier and eat very small meals more often during the day, and although it seems to be taking FOREVER to get better, I think week by week the pressure is there less and less (although I'm still uncomfortable most of the time.)Anyway, I am taking digestive enzymes but they don't have pancreatin- what brand do you recommend for these? Can I just go to any place that carries these and find some that say they have pancreatin? I know you've told me about these before so I really should go and get some!Does anyone else suffer from functional dyspepsia?? If so, how do you deal with it!!!!???!!-Leeann


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I haven't found much problem finding them, I think my most recent ones are from Walmart.I'm lucky I don't need them often. There is a small study with the prescription version http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1048991...Pubmed_RVDocSum is that abstract you might see if your doctor will be willing to give that a try.It seems to be more that the use the enzymes we have (they are signals as well as enzymes) so the ones that are only plant based may not have the same effect.


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

HiIT IS A HIATUS HERNIA, possibly with some GERD or reflux. those are teh symptoms that fit and as you have already been told that you have a hernia by your doctor you dont really need to look any further. cheersIan


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Ok, and how do you suppose I treat this hiatus hernia? My doctors have all told me it's TOO SMALL to cause any real problems, and if it were causing problems it would be causing acid reflux problems. YET, antacids do NOT help, and since I've stopped taking them for the past month or so, my symptoms if anything have been improving.My gastroenterologist has said the hernia is not the cause of my problems, so THAT is why I am looking further into this. -Leeann


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Well try the enzymes K suggested and see if that helps. With Functional Dyspepsia coupled with maybe some visceral hypersensitivty...sometimes the best "fix" is learning to ignore the sensations.







You have been investigated six ways to Sunday.. and nothing is terribly wrong in there.. so you can relax about that anyway.But try the pancreatin and see how you do.All the bestBQPS My Mom had a hiatus hernia for years and ... she never treated it or needed to. Just avoided known trigger foods. She never took ANY medication for it. And I rarely heard her ever complain about it. It was a fair size too. But...for whatever reason she just coped well with it.


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Thanks BQ.I have found that this stomach problem may be something I just have to learn to ignore and just continue to self medicate and hope it will eventually "go away" (the symptoms, not my stomach, tho I wish!).I will definitely try the pancreatin and buy some when I get off work today! It's just so frustrating when there's so many things that could have caused this to happen in my stomach, and when not even doctors know the real cause, it's even harder to work towards healing it. I guess I've just had a hard time trying to figure out how and what to eat, which pills to keep taking despite their ineffectiveness etc.But I appreciate all the help and will continue to try things in the hopes they will work (starting with the pancreatic enzymes tonight). Thank you!-Leeann


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

i was teh same with my hernia, it was a 2 inch one and was constantly sliding about all over teh place above and below. when it was below i was fine, when it was above i had all the pressure, and everything else. i could literally eat half a sandwich and feel like i had eaten a 3 course meal. reflux, burps etc. the best treatment i found was from a bone doctor who did something called "Pulling down teh stomach". in 3 minutes it was fixed. cheersIanP.S. have you been tested for H Pylori?


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

I don't have the H. Pylori (came back negative) but I have sorta heard about massage therapists or whoever that can massage the stomach and help with hernias. I don't think mine is a sliding hernia, I think it's the unmovable kind but I really need to see that doctor again who diagnosed it and get some more details from her. I've seen so many doctors who seem to contradict one another, it's very frustrating. I guess i just have to keep positive and keep trying new things to help. I think my doctors are still unwilling to make a full diagnosis and for some reason they didn't seem to think my hernia is really the cause even though from what you say, it sounds like it could very well be. Does it bother you all the time, or have you cured yourself for the time being?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> I guess i just have to keep positive and keep trying new things to help.


Absolutely keep positive. But... I would try ONE new thing at a time... give it a fair trial (more than a few days.... like maybe it could take up to and beyond two weeks for some things to have an impact on symptoms.) So sure... try new things... I would just make sure you are trying ONE at a time and so you can find out if one is helping or not before starting anything else.BQ


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

Hiit used to bother when when ever i ate, and it would also bother me when my stomach was empty. basically when it had food in it it would start to slide back down beneath the diaphram, which would cause the food caught in the pocket back up in to my osophagus, and when it was empty it would start to slide back up above the diaphram. as i also had chronic GERD and chronic Gastritis i was pretty much buggered all the time, i couldent win, eat or not eat, i would only ever get a small brief period of respite. i drastically changed my diet, and started to eat small meals (really very small) every two hours to keep my stomach from ever being empty. and as long as i eat within 15 minutes of getting up in the morning it stays settled. but i go to have it "Pulled down" every 4 months at my bone doctor. but unless it is surgically fixed they generally stay in one way or another for life.to get a proper diagnosis that my hernia was teh root cause of my actual stomach issues and not my IBS, i had to have a barium x ray every 1 hour for 12 hours while i was eating my usual diet, and then have a stomach emptying test. having just one x ray or camera cannot diagnose the severity or extent of the problems that a hernia causes because it inly shows it in one state, not every state after eating, drinking, and fasting, exercising etc. Most doctors just dismiss the hernia as a mild irritation and are convinced that acid blockers will fix it. they just made my issues worse, way worse. no stomach acid means less digestion in the stomach. cheersIanP.S. trying one thing at a time is GOOD ADVICE. trying too many makes for a confusing time working out what works and what dosent.


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Thank you so much- I think I do need to have a barium x-ray done. I plan to talk to my GI next time I see him (which isn't for a freaking month!) and see what he thinks about that. I actually just had a hydrogen breath test done today (which I know wouldn't have anything to do with the hernia) but it may give me some insight into my IBS problems. Just another question for Ian- when you say you changed your diet dramatically, what types of foods to you eat/not eat now? I know there's a long list but just to name a few things that tend to bother you more or seem to be more helpful?Anyway, thank you again for all the advice!


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## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

Hi guys,Ian, what tests do you need to have to find a hernia in the first place?Kathleen, how many mg of Pancreatin should be in the digestive enzymes?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Well the ones I have now have 100 mgs per dose (3 tablets)I can't tell what the dose was from the abstract with the prescription version, and the dosing on that is in a different unit so hard to compare them.


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

Hi LeeMy diet, that was complicated. basically i cut out teh following completelyAll DairyAll Red MeatAll Spicy foodAll Rich foodAll stringy fiberous foodsAll Artificial preservatives, colours, additives, flavourings, sweetners.that left me with very little to eat for 4 months. it was hard, but it was nessecary as a test. to be honest, it diddnt help teh hernia in teh slightest. what you eat generally wont make the hernia better, its just portion controll that was teh way foreward for me. on teh brighter side, cutting out all that from my diet had some unexpected results on teh bacterial balance in my gut which enabled me to carry out some more tests on probiotic bacteria that i would not have been able to do otherwise.*I REALLY REALLY DO NOT RECCOMEND THAT ANYONE USES THEM SELVES AS GUINEA PIGS AS I HAVE, I AM QUALIFIED AND TOOK THE RISKS IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT!*any diet changes *must* be put past the doctor first. dont just go off on a bender as you may do your self more harm than good. as i am now in IBS remission, teh gerd and gastritis have all but gone away, i can now eat what ever i want. but the hernia still remains. as i refuse to have surgery for it it will be there for ever. as long as i eat every 2 hours, it generally dosent bother me. (i firmly believe that the hernia caused the gerd, and is teh root cause for all gerd, but it didnt casue the gastritis.)the one thing that i have found to be a huge problem for my stomach, was caffeine. anything that contained it made teh acid go postal. wheather that was to do with the gerd or teh hernia or the gastritis or a combo of all 3, i will never know.cheersIan


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

Hi Looking 4 a lifea barium xray every hour for 12 hours then a stomach emptying test. or at least that is what i told my doctor i wanted to happen so i could be sure that the hernia was the issue and causing teh gerd. he thaught i was out of my mind but agreed anyway. his smug smile was soon wiped from his face when i was proved to be right!cheersIan


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Hey all!!So I have an update on a new theory as to what could be causing this fullness/pressure problem in my stomach. My doctor told me it's not all that common but she believes I have one of two things going on.This all started when one night, I ate a HUGE plate of spagetti, and it seemed to all get stuck right below my ribcage and cause me to feel extremely full. Then the pressure moved into my chest, and I felt very short of breath. Since this happened, I've gotten this tight/bloating/pressure feeling almost 24/7 in my stomach, that seems to sometimes move into my chest causing the short of breath feeling.WELL, the reason I give you the background as to how this all started, is because, after ruling out GERD, gallbladder, my hernia, gastroparesis and other things, she believes that when I overexerted my stomach by eating that huge heaping amount of food, I probably damaged some stomach nerves, or one of my muscles in the esophagus. These nerves stretch to your diaphragm, which would contribute to the pressure/short of breath feeling. And if one of my muscles in the esophagus is spasming, this would explain the short of breath and tightness feeling as well.This also explains why the Ativan muscle relaxer pills are the only thing that seem to relieve me of this pressure when I get the tightness feelings. And if I eat too much in a sitting, I get way too full etc. All my symptoms fit with the theory that I damaged some nerves or have a spasming muscle (or sphincter). My constipation is probably being caused by all the changes I've made in medicines and diet, and this can also cause my nausea and irritated bladder.They can do a test where they put a camera in my esophagus and watch how it moves. You can eat or drink with it and they can measure if the esophagus tightens or not. this would confirm if I do have a spasming muscle, but they'll do the test only if I start feeling worse (but I've been feeling better, week by week).Anyway, I hadn't really thought this could be the cause but it seems to make the most sense to me, in my situation. I still have IBS, both C and D, and problems in my intestines but at least i seem to have an answer as to why this upper stomach problem suddenly appeared. It will just take lots of time and eating small meals and taking the ativan as needed but it should be able to heal itself. It's still the theory but I think it makes sense! what do you all think?-Leeann


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

You know it does make sense in a way. I have had esophageal spasms on occasion... and they are not much fun I gotta say. So I can sympathize with you a bit.So does your Dr want you have the test you mentioned?BQ


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

thats great!!! at least they now have something that they can target, test, and treat (the 3 T`s). i hope you can get some relief. cheersian


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Well the test (not sure what it's called) would verify that I really do have a spasming muscle. She told me my hernia is way small (centimeters if that) and couldn't be causing the fullness feeling...This was just what one doctor said but she's not a GI...She said I can do the test if I start feeling worse because then I could get a confirmation that this is what's happening. But she also said if this IS what's going on, the way they treat it is with muscle relaxers, and since I already take those, I'm already doing the healing. So I'm going to hold off for a little while in taking the test because of financial reasons!I'm going to see what my gastroenterologist thinks about this too, cause he never mentioned it to me before. But I can't get in to see him for a month (lame) so I guess until then I will just keep trying to eat small meals and hope my stomach muscles are doing their own healing... since PPI's and other things didn't help and there isn't really any other prescription meds out there for a tight/pressure full stomach, I've been self-medicating anyway!Now my IBS is another story.. it seems it's gotten worse (C not D) with all the problems in my upper GI. Why is it all such a vicious cycle?


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

Hi I posted this in another thread, but it may be of some help to you. it is my theory anyway.Well bacteria colonise the GI tract. in absolutely daft numbers. Every child gets stomach bugs. fortuneatly most children just bounce back and their gut flora just evens its self out. but the body reaches a point where this balancing out fails to happen in teh same efficient way that it used to. so you may have a stomach bug, you may even be asymptomatic, but teh bacteria will remain in small numbers after the infection clears up. over the course of some time the bacteria develope a foot hold, and slowly start to disrupt the function of teh GI tract. some people simply never really get over it from teh word go. some people can have a period of several months to several years without any symptoms or just mild GI upsets.as there are so many different types of bacteria in teh body pretty much all teh time, pinpointing which bacteria is either lacking, not present at all or in too much of an abundance is a very difficult task. so, the only thing we can do to try and re address teh balance in a reasonably simple way is to start taking pro biotics untill we hit on one that does the trick. this can be a very long process. some companies can identify what bacteria is in too much of an abundance, but very few labs can identify what bacteria is missing, or in teh wrong place etc.when teh bacteria in the GI is all out of whack, all hell braks loose and every function that is associated with teh GI tract can fail, malfunction or simply stop and work sporadically. one example of this is constipation. the bowel starts to work slowly. this in turn says to teh small intestine, hey, slow down a little and give me some time to get things moving along before you dump some more waste in to me. to do this teh small intestine gives a message to teh stomach saying, slow down, dont give me all of your contents yet. this means that food can stay in teh stomach longer than usual which can lead to nausea, indigestion, dyspepsia of all sorts, GRED, reflux in general, gastritis, and a general feeling of illness. this is just one example of teh chain reaction that can occour. of course the brain also has alot to do with things because it is getting mixed signals from teh GI because teh bacteria is throwing things off. the brain may then decide to take action on its own and that action isnt always teh best action and can make things worse.then you have to deal with the anxiety that goes with such a malfunctioning gut, D,C,Gas, Bloating, Illness in general etc, it all goes round in circles. and Fibro, dont get me started on that. i also believe that the bacteria in teh gut causes that as well, only its not as straight foreward as that! its a bit of a long winded explanation. and then there is teh vitamin and anti oxidant issue. both of which are affected by IBS in various ways through teh chain reaction system.As IBS is just a label given to a disorder of unknown origin, by process of elimination, what ever is left, no matter how illogical is the solution. sadly when all the usual tests have been done, the doc just says, its IBS eat more fiber. through my own experiance with constipation i found that eating more fiber when i was already constipated just made things worse, untill i experimented with different amounts of soluable and insoluable fiber combined to get things in to a regular cycle, but i had to be all but empty before that would work in an on going manner. the bacteria works on teh fiber, so if the bacteria are in teh wrong quantities or teh wrong place, the fiber may not nessesarily do teh job that it is meant to. the same goes for D.I could go on and on and on and on. sadly, at present i just cant prove any of that with any definate finality. (but ill find a way! sooner or later, ill find a way.)as far as candida goes, just liek bacteria, fungus can also grow out of controll, or be not present at all. the chap to speak to about candida is PATMAN75. look him up here on teh boards. he is a well of information on that subject.cheersIan


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

Thanks for the info- that theory certainly makes sense to me. Something in my body is out of whack, and it's frustrating not knowing what!I have started on probiotics again today but as you said it's impossible to know which strand i need... but i'll see how this works for a few weeks. It's so frustrating that all of us with IBS just have to learn to live with it because there's not much known about the GI tract and what causes our problems. I understand that funding for fatal conditions such as cancer and AIDS is very important, but people with IBS have to live with the pain their whole entire lives, and it can be VERY life debilitating!I feel for all the sufferers out there







And thanks to everyone on this forum for being so helpful all the time!-Leeann


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