Gas Pains and Vomiting

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LornaDoone

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Joined
Apr 16, 2010
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215
Reason
Loved one DX
Diagnosis
09/2007
Country
CA
State
BC
City
Lower Mainland
My pals has been having crazy gas pains on occasion. Always in the evening, when she's laying down. And will go on for at least an hour and the only way she can get relief is by throwing up. This is not a daily thing, but I'd say at least weekly.

She has not mentioned it to her Dr's. Although one asked her unprompted, if she got these symptoms and she said she did. But the Dr didn't tell her what to do to give her some relief. And she didn't ask. Just got mad they didn't tell her what to do.

She does not want to call the Dr and ask about it either. Any advice you guys can give me to help her out?
 
Is she on Bipap that is forcing air into her stomach? I have gas in the morning after swallowing a lot of air overnight with mine. Does she have a peg tube? If so it can be opened to relieve gas pressure rather than vomiting which is not a good thing.

Other than that I can't make any suggestions except maybe it is something in her diet thats causing the problem?
 
She is not currently using a bipap, although one is on order for her. She just had a peg put in. Do I need a Dr to tell me about using the peg to relieve gas? How do I do this?

Unfortunately, her most recent episode occured her first night home from her peg surgery.

I'm wondering if the bipap will help with this. Is it a weak diaphragm not expelling the gas efficiently or something like that?

Thanks
 
The bipap probably won't help, it pushes air into the lungs and your problem is the stomach.

I do get indigestion sometimes and feel like I need to burp, but what comes up is fluid. I try to keep it down and the discomfort goes away eventually.

When Fran feeds me through the PEG she always pulls the air out first. Some people just open the tube and let it escape but Fran prefers to use the syringe, to prevent spills. Sometimes I have 8 ounces of air.

You could also try smaller, more frequent meals so the stomach doesn't get so full, and elevating the upper body to reduce reflux.
 
We use a syringe with the plunger taken out so it is like a funnel. Then there is a paper towel held over the top and the PEG is opened up so the gas can escape. It works fantastically well to get rid of the gas.

The Bipap may make it worse because there is a tendency to swallow air.
 
Lorna Doone, has she ever said she is swallowing air while talking? Or while swallowing? I have to concentrate in order not to swallow air...within the past 6 months, more or less.
 
I don't want to alarm you, but I wanted to be sure and tell you that my husband had very similar symptoms when he had an infected gall bladder. He went through about a month of gas pains on and off with several bouts of vomiting. He always felt worse during the night when he was laying down. The type of infection he had was called cholecystitis (sp?). It is sometimes seen in very ill patients, especially those whose eating habits have changed. It can be quite dangerous and my husband was much better after he had it removed. You may want to look it up and speak with your doctor about the possibility.
 
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