# Do you hold your breath during a Leaky Gas attack?



## LeakyGas Blitzkreig (1 mo ago)

Hi,

I've been reading and learning from a lot of you all. One question I have is related to an old symptom of my version of Leaky Gas, that I couldn't really find anyone else doing.

I don't really have this specific symptom anymore as I don't leave my home very often / for very long. But a while ago when I had to go to school everyday, my Leaky Gas somehow developed to a point where quite often I would hold my breath while the gas was being passed.

This was not a conscious action, my body automatically forced me to hold my breath. If I forced myself to start breathing again - whether forcefully or by taking a few, calm deep breaths - the gas would still pass. If I continued allowing my breath to be held - the gas still passed. This has happened even when I was sitting there calmly and not anxious, and even when I tried to calm my body down to prevent the leaky gas from being emitted it was still emitted.

This _only _happened whenever the Leaky Gas was being passed. It happened pretty frequently, and if I remember correctly, it only happened while I was sitting in class surrounded by class mates. So it happened for a good portion of the school day, but I don't think it happened 100% of the time. It's been a few years and I've forgotten some of the specifics. 

Do any of you experience this, or know/heard about this before? Any theories about what this was?


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## NinaS (2 mo ago)

LeakyGas Blitzkreig said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've been reading and learning from a lot of you all. One question I have is related to an old symptom of my version of Leaky Gas, that I couldn't really find anyone else doing.
> 
> ...


LG Blitzkreig,
It's been a while since I've been in a situation that I didn't want my gas to leak/leave me. I haven't had much gas in a few years.
So, it took me some time to remember what I would do in those emergency situations.

Normally, I would try to leave the meeting (holding it in a few seconds/minutes if I can) and go to the bathroom and relieve there.

If that was not possible, yes I do remember doing something with my breath to hold it longer or help it to leak slower.

I think i just breathed in slower (probably deeper), and I think what I would do is actually exhale repeatedly , faster than my usual exhales (as if I'm trying to get the gas to leave form my nose/mouth vs my bottom).

But honestly, none of these strategies were that great. There was always some sort of leak most of the time if I was already gassy.

My best case scenario during that time (while I had medium IBS symptoms-- year 3-6 of my IBS journey) if I had the strong amount of gas, was to find a place and time to let it go, and let it out as fast as possible (clean it). What I mean, was yes, the bathroom, or go outside, and walk fast etc. But usually it took a few hours to really let out all of that gas.

So, in reality, I'd usually excuse myself from the situation if I could and isolate, till I could leave work/meeting.

Then I'd usually try to take something that could kill the bacteria (when I found out it could be due to SIBO-- like year 4-6) and then I'd exercise.
The aerobics or exercises with a lot of movement (ie not weight training exactly) helped me get the existing gas out.
The more strenuous or the longer it was, the larger or quicker the bowel movement came, and by releasing the stool, gas would come out too.

In my early days of IBS, I was sad and didn't know what else I could do at that point, I'd still have some gas or be producing it. So, I'd just be depressed after that and face all the work and social ramifications that came with leaking gas and not being able to stop it, even with fasting.

But near year 4 and onwards, SIBO had made sense as part of my diagnosis.
So, with that in mind, I would ensure to take things to kill the bad bacteria/pathogens, and stop feeding them (sugars/starch).
So, in early days of knowing it could be SIBO, I'd take some water with ACV or water with lemon/lime .
Later I found "scram" by healthforce to kill some pathogens.
I'd also ("or") do half the dosage (1 pill) of "renew life cleanse more" if it was just gas (if it was diarrhea or loose stool I might have chosen to do both pills, but I'd have to make sure I'm ok with liquid diarrhea for some portion of the next day).
The cleansing would make sure I had strong bowel movements and get most of the stool and gas out.

In year 5 and onwards, I'd take my Rifaximin/Xifaxan... That usually cut/reduced/ sometimes even got rid of my gas within hours! 
( Amazing, I know, but apparently doesn't work for everyone... maybe my diet and probiotics helped make it more effective for me).

I would also start taking a strong dose of probiotic (bifido/lacto mixture) and saccharomyces Boullardi.

With all that above, I'd usually improve and have little to no gas the next day (depends on how severe the upset was) or as mentioned, with Xifaxan, usually within hours.

So, that's what I would do when I was in a tight/difficult situation that would motivate me to try control my breath so that somehow I would hold the gas in. I learned instead to do the above... it worked mostly..


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## LifeLongIssues (5 mo ago)

I only tighten up when I realize that I am farting out the room, then I start to clench my whole body mainly because I am so uncomfortable. My gas just comes out so most the time I am unaware that I am doing it. Fortunately it never makes any sounds.


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