Anyone bloat like this?

Hi all,

   Several years ago, I had about 7 months of horrible upper GI bloating.  It was so bad that I had to sleep upright in a chair all that time.  It happened to me again the other night, and was quite scary.   Here's how it goes:  I feel some rumbling in my upper epigastric area.  Many times, it's when I lay down to go to sleep.   Then I feel like I have to start burping.  Then the bloating gets worse and worse, until I can actually feel like my diaphragm is contracting.  (For you women who have been pregnant, it feels like Braxton-Hicks contractions).   Then I feel like all the blood vessels in the neck and head can't drain, and I feel sooooo full and like I can hardly breath.  Does anyone else have this funky symptom?   It can be quite scary.   It almost feels like something is terribly wrong in my neck and upper chest, because they feel so full.  I guess if we bloat an extreme amount, it can press on lymph channels and blood vessels, and probably can slow things down a bit.   I'm just trying to make sense out of the some of the crazy feelings I can get with bloating.  Thanks.

Hi angel,
Right after I posted this note, I read that fennel tea can sometimes help....but you have to drink it every day, to avoid the bloating. You could try that. Just buy a jar of fennel seed at the grocery store, and put about a tablespoon in hot water, let it steep, then strain it. It's worth a try.
about 4 years ago, when my bloating was at it's absolute worst, I think it lasted about 7 months. I had to sleep in a chair, and could never lie down. It was awful. I tried peppermint tablets, which sometimes worked, Gas X, and some others, but nothing seemed to work consistently.
I started thinking it had something to do with female hormones. I'm finally almost through with going through menopause, but it's sure been a rough ride. I would notice, during perimenopause, that around my periods, I would tend to have LOTS more GI problems. Can you relate your bloating to your cycle?
Perhaps some digestive enzymes might help??
And as Dr. Norm has mentioned on the GERD forum, he believes that too many carbs can cause a ton of gas. According to some of his research, if we eat too many carbs, our systems can't absorb them, and they sit there and ferment....which causes alot of gas.