Last week I had a life threating emergency with my 15-month-old pug Oliver. I must admit that I am having a love affair with my pug. There were some trying moments in the first 9 months of his life. But since then he has developed into a dream dog.
All was going well until last Monday. I was taking him to day care, a time when he is usually dancing in circles. This day, he was acting a little subdued. Megan, his pet sitter noticed the same thing. We just thought he was having a punky moment. An hour later, I got a text from Megan, Oliver was unable to stand up on his own, he was in an altered state of consciousness and clearly not well.
I rushed him to a nearby animal hospital. I was in a panic. His body was getting heavier and more limp with every moment. I thought I was going to lose him. Physical exam, lab work and x-rays were all negative. We had no idea what was going on. The vet had only one suggestion left, to start an IV, and flush his system out.
This story has a happy ending. I figured out that Oliver had gotten a hold of my husband’s eye medication, he punctured the plastic vial and ingested some unknown quantity. The vet was sure that his symptoms matched the side effect of poisoning with this medication. The IV turned out to be the perfect treatment, and 24 hours later, he was back to his usual self.
My panic subsided, but for the next day I experienced severe bloating. I ate the same food the day of the ordeal that I had eaten the night before, but now I looked like I was 6 months pregnant, my belly was kind of hard and distended.
Why did I experience such significant bloating? The best explanation is the dysfunction that occurs in the digestive system due to stress. With stress, the body shifts into the sympathetic nervous system, also called the fight or flight system (I was ready to fight to keep my pup alive). When the body is functioning in flight or fight the nervous system shifts circulation away from the digestive system (and the reproductive system) and towards the heat and lungs. Digestion essentially stops during this time. This is why bloating results; food is stuck and is fermenting, creating intestinal gas = bloating. Once I recovered from the fright of nearly loosing my puppy, by body returned to normal, and the bloating went away.
Is stress the only thing that causes bloating? No there are other explanations, including constipation, diet, medications, other health conditions. But in this case, I believe stress was the only cause, and thankfully once the acute stress resolved, by body returned to normal.
If you suffer from bloating, whether it is intermittent, or constant, Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine) are a great solution. There are about 7-9 different potential diagnoses that could explain bloating. It is our job to figure out which if any of these apply to you and then to develop an individual treatment plan. If you follow the plan, you will feel better. If you have questions about your individual situation, make a consultation appointment. There is no cost for this appointment, and we will see if we can help.
Take care
Dr. Ann
