Hello~I, too, have a hiatal hernia. I noticed you said that you said your chiropractor found that you had one. Mine can find mine as well. Mine will have me take a deep breath and at the same time, he pulls down on it, it helps a great deal.
Other symptoms of a hiatal hernia:
•Heartburn
•Regurgitation of food or liquids into the mouth
•Backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus (acid reflux)
•Difficulty swallowing
•Chest or abdominal pain (sometimes the pain mimics that of a heart attack.
•Shortness of breath
•Vomiting of blood or passing of black stools, which may indicate gastrointestinal bleeding
Mine also causes irregular heart beats as the top of the hiatal hernia sometimes hits the cardiac reflex, thus causing the skips.
One suggestion that my chiropractor gave me was to drink very warm water, and as you are swallowing it, jump up and down briskly, sometimes this will help to bring it back down through the opening it has made in the diaphragm.
My mother has this symptom from low stomach acid. And while she does have a hiatus hernia, the gas symptom is clearly due to her forgetting or not taking enough digestive enzymes and betaine HCL with pepsin.
Excerpt from Gallbladder Attack's article Chronic Heartburn...
Signs of Deficient Stomach Acid
Gas, bloating and burping shortly after a meal could be lack of HCl
Constipation
Diarrhea
Feeling of fullness or food not digesting
Heartburn and/or gastric reflux (sometimes too much HCl but most often not enough)
Bad breath
Foul smelling stools
Loose stools in the early morning
Food allergies
Dialated blood vessels on the cheeks and nose - Rosacea
Pernicious anemia or iron deficiency
Anal Itching
Nausea especially after taking vitamins and minerals
Weak or cracked nails
Parasites - or at least increased susceptibility to parasitic infections
Chronic yeast infections
Acne in adults - especially if you have other symptoms from the list
Asthma
Since low levels of stomach acid results in poor absorption of nutrients, many symptoms that accompany a deficiency of that vitamin or mineral makes this list much longer. The nutrients most affected are calcium, iron, folic acid, vitamin K and many B vitamins. See pernicious anemia.
If you're nervous about trying supplemental hydrochloric acid, you can do a trial with 1-2 TBSP of organic apple cider vinegar mixed with 1/8 to 1/4 cup of water after a meal. If it makes you feel better and does not hurt, you most likely would benefit from taking 500 - 1000 mg. of Betaine HCl with your meals. Or you can also take a dropperful of Herbal Digestive Bitters (aka Gallbladder Bitters) with your meals which stimulates digestive juices including both HCl and bile. To curb sugar cravings, take bitters after your meal as well."