Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Breathlessness & Celiac's


Guest Norah022

Recommended Posts

Guest Norah022

I have been having breathing issues (feeling like i wasn't getting enough air, etc.) since about march and was diagnosed with celiac's in may. Have been gluten free since the first week of june and the doctor said the breathlessness was due to anxiety.

Well along with the breathlessness i have had severe vertigo and nausea all of which has been associated with stress along with the breathlessness but it isn't gettig better.

Could this be because of the Celiac's? And does anyone have suggestions how to fix it?

I am a senior in college getting ready to write a thesis and the vetrigo and breathlessness is really affecting getting my work done.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



2kids4me Contributor

When I am under stress - as happens frequently wth my chidlren and their various problems - I get premature atrial beats...managed to catch it on a strip in emerg when it kept going for 8 hours (had been up all night with sick kid, so was stressed and fatigued).

I get out of breath, I sit down on stairs cause I can't make it up and then they go away as sudden as they start...and I do feel dizzy when they happen

I become a couch potatoe if they go on for an hour or more..

and yup it is stress related, "benign" - meaning that there is no underlying physcial cause.

When it happens to you - do you feel like pounding heart beat or feel like skipped beat and then your heart pounds in your chest?

gfp Enthusiast

Breathlessness is often just caused by severe acid reflux... excuse the just... because it is extremely frightening but you can get acid inhibitors that really help this. (omneparazole etc.)

Stress makes it worse and not being able to breath is about as stressful as it gets. Hence the danger of a catch-22.

Vertigo my mum had for a while....but I don't know much more.

chewymom Rookie

The breathlessness could also be asthma. I was just diagnosed with asthma last year, although I've had some of the symptoms for a long time, and now I'm questioning whether I have gluten problems. I have read that celiac can trigger asthma.

queenofhearts Explorer

I've seen many posts here regarding breathlessness so I do think there's a connection. Check out the asthma too especially if you wheeze when trying to get your breath.

Here's one thread: Open Original Shared Link

I would highly recommend looking into yoga breath control-- if you practice when your breathing is comfortable you might be able to marshall those resources when you are gasping.

Leah

gfp Enthusiast
The breathlessness could also be asthma. I was just diagnosed with asthma last year, although I've had some of the symptoms for a long time, and now I'm questioning whether I have gluten problems. I have read that celiac can trigger asthma.

Strangely enough this is where my celiac journey began...

The first thing the Dr did on my shortness of breath was give me a tube you blow into which measures lung efficiency and capacity.

First blow it went off the end of the scale... so he asked me to repeat..which I did....

Hardly a surprise .... really

Guest Norah022

well one of the weird things is that my breathlessness happens most when I am sitting down....it rarely happens when I am active.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



queenofhearts Explorer

Did you read the other thread? I think hers was the same way. Asthma can have many triggers, as can other breathing issues. If you are under a lot of pressure from your schoolwork, it could be triggered by anxiety when you sit down to work. This is quite common, & yoga exercises are excellent for this type of breathlessness.

And by the way, anxiety is also linked to Celiac.

jennyj Collaborator

One of the first symptoms of my anemia, I found this out later, was I would get out of breath walking from one place to another that weren't to far apart.

Guest Norah022
Did you read the other thread? I think hers was the same way. Asthma can have many triggers, as can other breathing issues. If you are under a lot of pressure from your schoolwork, it could be triggered by anxiety when you sit down to work. This is quite common, & yoga exercises are excellent for this type of breathlessness.

And by the way, anxiety is also linked to Celiac.

I did read the thread and what she is describing is not what i am dealing with. My breathlessness is all the time, worse at some points, but pretty much all the time and it doesn't matter whether i have eaten or not.

I have always had anxiety problems but they never showed themselves with breathing problems. It started happening at the same time as the vertigo since i have been at school it has been worse so i know stress is related but my problem is how to get it to stop because it is affecting my work and that makes me more stressed.

gfp Enthusiast
well one of the weird things is that my breathlessness happens most when I am sitting down....it rarely happens when I am active.

How about when you bend over... under a bed or tying laces standing up etc...

Guest Norah022
How about when you bend over... under a bed or tying laces standing up etc...

well i am bending over to write this now and i feel fine but when i was sitting here writing before i was feeling it.

Kat-Kat Newbie
well i am bending over to write this now and i feel fine but when i was sitting here writing before i was feeling it.

Do you feel like air want come from your lungs, like it is getting closed off alittle and does your ears or ear hurt do you have a ringing not bad but there all the time.

gfp Enthusiast
well i am bending over to write this now and i feel fine but when i was sitting here writing before i was feeling it.

If you have a lot of stomach acid it acts on your lungs and causes breathlessness.

Most people notice it worse if lying down, especailly if the head is not propped up or when really bending over like hands and kness under a bed but any sitting type activity makes it happen....

Its really bad if you dive.... you naturally have your feet above your head and being 100m down and needing decompression to surface while sucking on a tube but not being able to breath is not nice!

You could have a haitus hernia and/or excessive acid production. The latter is very common in celiac disease if undiagnosed.

Either way its something to get checked out.... it could be asthma or acid but very effective meds are available for both. Asthma is usually associated with wheezing but ....

I know its easy to say but don't panic! .... Yeah I know.... but really .. don't panic, it will subside and the worst thing for either is stressing yourself!

Guest Norah022
Do you feel like air want come from your lungs, like it is getting closed off alittle and does your ears or ear hurt do you have a ringing not bad but there all the time.

Yeah it does feel sometimes like there is air but it isgetting stuck in my chest. I have ear problems and have been diagnosed with an inner ear infection before.

Guest Norah022

I have never been told i am anemic and i get a lot of blood tests done.

But the symptoms sound a lot like mine.

I am meeting with my dietician on campus on monday so I am going to ask her about it.

Guest Norah022

So it isn't anemia....Any other ideas :( I am desperate it is getting so much worse

Michi8 Contributor
So it isn't anemia....Any other ideas :( I am desperate it is getting so much worse

Has your doctor ruled out lupus?

Michelle

Guest Norah022

My doctor told me my breathlessness and the feeling of having a lump in my throat or something stuck in my throat (which will not go away and is driving me nuts) is because of allergies.....

anerissara Enthusiast

How long have you been gluten-free? I had breathlessness and dizziness at the peak of my sickness before going off gluten, and it eventually went away. It took a couple of months at least, though. I don't think I was anemic enough to cause those symptoms, they just seemed to be a part of the celiac package as it were. I hope you feel better soon!

Guest Norah022

i have been gluten free for 3 months but this began in march following an inner ear infection...Now the stuck in the throat aspect is the worst

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - knitty kitty replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      322

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

    2. - Known1 replied to Known1's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      20

      Diagnosed Marsh stage 3C in January 2026

    3. - knitty kitty replied to Known1's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      20

      Diagnosed Marsh stage 3C in January 2026

    4. - HectorConvector replied to HectorConvector's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      322

      Terrible Neurological Symptoms

    5. - Known1 replied to Known1's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      20

      Diagnosed Marsh stage 3C in January 2026

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,594
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Deedeewhiteside
    Newest Member
    Deedeewhiteside
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Thiamine Mononitrate is "shelf stable" and won't break down easily when exposed to heat, light and over time.  This makes it very hard for the body to absorb and utilize it.  Only thirty percent is absorbed, less is utilized because it takes additional thiamine to break it down.   Thiamine Hydrochloride is great.  Benfotiamine is wonderful, too.   Retaining water, edema, is a symptom of low thiamine.  I'd bloat up like a puffer fish.   The ingrown toenail problems I had that I attribute to Niacin deficiency and Vitamin C deficiency.  My toenails curled in and grew thick and yellow, thickened heels.  It was awful.   So glad you're going to give thiamine hydrochloride a try!   Let me know how it goes.  You may feel worse before you feel better, the thiamine paradox, but it does clear up.  It's like a car back firing if it hasn't been run for a while.   Thiamine and benfotiamine: Focus on their therapeutic potential https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10682628/
    • Known1
      Thanks again, I'll keep pressing on.  🤞
    • knitty kitty
      @Known1, Search for "niacin flush fades the longer you use it" and "Niacin flush worse if deficient".   It takes a couple to three weeks for the body to adjust and you're at that point now, so things should improve. Riboflavin makes the neon color, which glows under black light.  If not absorbed, excreted.  Absorption of riboflavin will improve as the body starts healing the intestinal lining and villi grow back.   You could skip the multivitamin instead.  
    • HectorConvector
      The conversion factor for mg/dl and mmol/L is 18. So 5 = 90, 7 = 126, and so on. In the US, blood sugar regulations now are the same as what we use in the UK except for this difference in units. In terms of how they compare in the past, the numbers today that I quoted are stricter than they used to be. Blood sugar numbers for +1 and +2 hour postprandial are measured from the beginning of a meal in these official numbers. In regards to the thiamin supplement I have: it says it is thiamine mononitrate. I had not until now been aware there were different types (it seems I find that is the case with everything, including the magnesium I take!) and this one I have is the only one available in my local stores. I know it makes my pee smell strong when I take it which would seem to indicate my body is absorbing enough that the remainder gets ejected, but I could be wrong. Of course, I'm willing to try anything reasonable to correct this long standing condition, whatever it might be so I will try and get thiamin hydrochloride. Back on the note of diabetes (potentially) I haven't had the blood test for a while and I did notice ingrown toenail type infections a few times in the last 3 years that kept coming back. I heard that diabetes caused high urination. But eating sugar and elevated blood sugar causes the opposite in me. If I eat a lot of sugar I retain water, like big time. If I ate a bunch o sugar in the afternoon say, I can produce little enough urine that I can go over 12 hours and have nowhere near enough urine to need to void in that time or longer which seems abnormal.       
    • Known1
      @knitty kitty For me, the flushing lasts about 10 hours and not just 60-90 minutes after consuming the vitamins.  I am 10-days into taking this already.  My urine is neon colored around the clock and I drink between 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon of water per day.  I'll stick with 2 a day for now, but am honestly quite hesitant to do so. I am curious, where are you reading "the worse the flush, the more your body needs the niacin"?  I have been searching for that, but haven't found that anywhere.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.