Respiratory Disorders :: Shortness Of Breath For 7 Weeks
Mar 14, 2014
I am a 55 year old woman who was healthy as a horse until earlier this year when I had to have my gallbladder removed. I have never had asthma, allergies, breathing issues or heart issues. Two and a half weeks after surgery I woke up one morning feeling I wasn't getting 100% oxygen into my lungs. I had an anxiety attack the next afternoon as a result (never ever had an anxiety attack in my life before) and ended up at ER. Tests performed including cat scan and nothing was found. Have seen a pulmonologist - have gone through the breathing tests when sitting as well as on the treadmill at various speeds - all is normal. Arterial blood work - normal, echocardiogram - normal, no holes in heart, no clogged arteries. When I lie down at night I still have a bit of shortness of breath but at same time the breathing is more relaxed and I can sleep. As soon as I get up in the morning again, the shortness of breath picks up again. The breathing level remains consistent, does not get worse on exertion. For a period of time I was getting the tightness in the rib area at times but that hasn't occurred in 5 days now. I found it odd that when I saw the specialist a couple of weeks ago he asked me if I had any idea as to what I thought was going on. Later he told me I didn't give him much to go on (because of my test results). I am going back to his office next week for follow up. I think he wants to explore the possibility of asthma to rule that out but I get the impression he doesn't feel I have asthma. It's a mystery. Has anyone had this issue and it then got resolved?
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I am debating if I should go to the Emergency Room, as it's a Sunday. My story - 26 year old male, healthy. Since age 10, I have had an intermittent feeling of my breath being stuck in my upper abdomen (solar plexus area) and a little in my chest but not much. Sometimes when going for a deep breath, I feel pain in the chest, but very rare. It almost feels like there is a wall in between my stomach and my lungs that prevents air coming out. I know it's weird because you breath out of your lungs not your stomach. The only way it comes out is when I finally catch my breath, which means I need to wait for it to be able to escape and then I finally get the deep breath I need. Also yawning often allows the breath to occur. When this is happening, I can still breath but it's like only 10% of my lungs fill up with air, like someone is standing on the other 90% of my lungs, preventing them from filling up.
My BASELINE/ usual status is having the breath being stuck symptom maybe 10 times a day, usually while eating. This has become normal for me and I don't even think about it until people who I am eating with say, "what is wrong with you?"
When it is GOOD, it happens even less, maybe once a day and I will barely realize it happened.
When it is BAD, it happens often, maybe 20 times an hour.
The last week it has been EXTREME to the point where I will be struggling for a full breath once a minute. It is so bad that I have been feeling light headed (main reason for the alarm here). I have class on weekends and I was walking to the train for class, and my body was telling me to stay home (i am the type of person who doesn't make a big deal out of anything and never skips stuff).
Background- I sleep very well, usually 7-8 hours a night, am very healthy, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, run 6 miles 3 times a week (it happens the same when I run but it doesn't prevent me from running), played sports my whole life, doctors always tell me my blood work and everything is off the charts good. The reasons I just listed, combined with my Mom (nurse) always telling me I am fine have made me stop seeking cures for this. I had every test under the sun done when I was 15 (EKG, Barium Swallow, Blood work, etc) and everything came back clear. I have a concave chest (my chest caves in) and the doctor told me that my chest bone is interfering with my breathing (eyes rolling). But now that I am feeling light headed, I think it's time to go to the emergency room. I am going to go to a heart center in my town (Brooklyn, NY). Also, I LOVE doing research about stuff and have been reading about this a lot and tons of people have similar symptoms which has comforted me. But now it's time for me to get tested again I think. Maybe this just talked me into going to the ER.
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I am 43 for several days I have been having serious pain the right side of my chest when I breathe on a scale of 1 to 10 it is definitely a good 9....when I lay on my back there is a crackling sound and lots of pain when I breathe..if I laugh or hiccup awful...coughing is excruciating...and I been having migraines only on the opposite side of my head(left side) don't know if they are connected but I never get migraines I've had about four in last two weeks
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I recently just changed my thyroid medication, I have beensynthroid for since i was at age 5 when my body ravished my thyroid, I have been at 137 mg on synthroid, but still had a level of 7 on TSH, t3 and t4 were normal, but i harvest felt good on synthroyid very foggy minded. Doctor said i could go on nature, but i have taken it for two days and the first day I felt great. Quality of life becoming amazing in one day, but day 2 and woke up very tired and lerthagic and shortness of breath, is this normal for switching over to a new medication?
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Went to ER last night because of shortness of breath that started the day before, with neck and back pain. I could/can seem to breath normally but then I feel like I need a deep breath and I can only get what feels like 60%-70% of a breath. Every 2 minutes or so I can get a "full" breath. EKG, blood test, X-ray, d dimer all came back normal last night and I was discharged. Nebulizer treatment had no affect. Vitals were okay over 4 hours with the exception of my oximeter level dropping below 90 a few times (as low as 86). It recovered within 30 seconds each time.
I am 28/male and have a history of mild asthma, non-smoker. I also have 2 herniated discs (l4/l5 & l5/s1, and l3/l4 bulging, with chronic back spasms). Albuterol inhaler, allergy medication shows no improvement.
I have purchased a pulse oximeter and tonight my oximeter level (not pulse) has fallen below 90 (4 times), but each time recovering to 92+ withing 30 seconds.
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I am a 29 yo female. I Am bIpolar and suffer with anxiety and panic attacks. I am currently taking lamictal 25mgs 3x daily. BUspar PRN.
I have had anxiety for a while now and suffered a severe anxiety attack a few years ago and have had similar attacks semi frequently. I am usually able to control them and calm myself to a degree but a week ago I started experiencing shortness of breath after a bike ride. I panicked and called the paramedics. My oxygen levels were normal. Heart rate and blood pressure all normal. Over the next two days I still had severe shortness of breath and on the fourth day I went to the hospital where they did an x Ray. Checked for blood clots and did some blood work.. all of which was normal. I do have a history of low thyroid levels and extremely low hormone levels. I have not had them 're checked in about two months. My doctor advised that he would like me to gain some weight before starting any hormone treatment.I have learned over the past few days how to control some of it through distraction and breathing through my nose instead of my mouth and it does help to a degree but I am as we speak experiencing breathing problems. I know this is all probably related to anxiety but how can I get over thinking about breathing..I am a single mother of two kids and I can't let this control me anymore.
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Every time I go above 400 mg a day my face gets puffy and I get some difficulty breathing. I am almost sure it is water retention. Anyone else have any experience with it? At 900mg my feet swell.
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I'm 30+6 & I'm Experiencing Shortness Of Breath .. Has This Happened To Anyone Else & Is There Anything I Can Do To Fix It .. Getting Rest Isn't A Problem For Me My Doctor Wants Me On Bedrest So I'm Off My Feet As Much As Possible
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I have historically had iron stores of .5 my gp said my hemoglobin levels are fine and has gave me iron supplements. He is also checking levels every three months. I am very dizzy all of the time, have shortness of breath, I have constant feeling of brain fog and often get my words mixed up. My gp says this is not a result of my low iron stores. I am really struggling is anyone else experiencing similar
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For two years I have been battling daily shortness of breath at rest. Every month or so I have a bad bout with struggling to breath that lasts a few days to about a week. I finally got a diagnoses of Bronchial Ashma. I was never able to tolerate steroid inhalers. I have now been put on Spiriva. I have read that it doesn't usually work with ashma. Is it normal to have shortness of breath daily with asthma. I quit smoking when this all started two years ago and have not touched a cigarette since. I was hoping to feel better. I have never had such breathing problems as I have these last two years. I am trying to feel confident that I was given the right diagnosis. It is very depressing to feel I have to live this way for the rest of my life when I am only 46 years old.
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I am a 27 year old male. I have a resting heart rate around 70 and healthy blood pressure. I am about 5'8" 150 pounds, I eat healthy and exercise 3-4 times per week.
Despite this, I often find myself short of breath despite not doing any strenuous activity (climbing a single flight of stairs). In addition, when I exercise my heart rate becomes elevated very quickly, even when I go at a moderate/slow pace (if I'm running 3 miles, it gets up to 130~ after 1 mile and is near 180 after 3 miles). My heart rate won't return to normal for several hours. 5-6 hours after I'm done exercising my heart rate will still be 15~ beats per minute above normal.
Does anyone know if these symptoms are all normal to have as you get older or should I go see a doctor? I mentioned these symptoms to a friend of mine who has a thyroid condition and she said it sounds like what used to happen to her before she was diagnosed and prescribed medicine.
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30 year old male here. So this all started one saturday night when I was binge drinking. Drank around 15 beers and woke up the next morning throwing up. But thing is I didn't have anything in my stomach so it felt like I was throwing up acid. So I drink a lot of fluids and try eating later. Around 10pm I began having some serious spasms to my stomach, shortness of breath, arms start to become numb. I visit the ER and they said it's because of acid reflux that I use to have. They prescribe Lorazepam 1mg along with some other acid reducers. I feel fine for the next 5 days eating low fat meals and avoiding coffee and acidic things. I run out of the lorazepam and the next day I begin eating and within 15 mins I start having an attack. Shortness of breath and arms numb and feel nauseous. It's been 10 days since the incident and I've had chest x rays done, blood drawn, endoscopy performed, heart beat is fine, eating healthy and taking more vitamins and minerals. Yesterday I saw my doctor and he said ruled everything out and that it could be anxiety attacks brought out by the alcohol. I thought it was funny because I've never had anything like that in my life. And I exercise, I'm not overweight, and I eat right. At the moment the only thing that keeps me without these symptoms is anxiety pills like lorazepam. What's wrong with me? The doctor said it can't be alcohol withdrawals but what could it be? I must admit I was 4 days heavily that week leading up to Saturday. Is this some time of withdrawal happening? How long before it goes away? It's been 10 days and I've gotten slightly better. But I still have the spasms and anxiety attacks. Could it have been the alcohol? I was also recovering from a cold and I'm thinking it could also be some bacteria in my stomach. Any thoughts?
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I've been Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease for 14 years.. im currently on apomorphine subcutaneous .. over the past year i've been noticing im getting terrible episodes of shortness of breath, breathing is really difficult .
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First of all, i'm 22, and have never had any heart problems in my life. But recently, i have been having shortness of breath when going to bed at night. It does my head in, it takes me slightly longer to sleep because i can't stop tossing and turning. And just yesterday, i experienced a numbness in my left hand.
I had similar symptoms a few months back, and the doctor said there was nothing wrong with my heart, and that it was anxiety. I mean i work out 3 times a week, and never have any problems, so why can't i sleep?
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Iam a teenager .17. Few days back Iam mastutbating excessively. ....thus now i am experiencing burning sensation at back and shortness of breath ......is it related to it?
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Few day ago till now I feel very tired and difficult breathing. I feel short breath and chest congestion. I also feel numbness all over my body and dizzy. I also feel very dry mouth and dry throat. I cannot sleep every night for full night. I had lung x-Ray last months but result was fine. I had severe stress due to some mental health last month but now I feel relieve but I don't know why I had all symptoms I mentioned above.
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I smoked my last cigarette on September 12th. I hate not smoking. I hate the 40 lb. weight gain, the digestive upset, the hives, the shortness of breath, waking up at night in tears and panic, crying over the smallest thing, the boredom, not having anything to do when I take a break. Nothing smells good, nothing tastes good. My skin and hair now have a rancid smell that won't wash off and makes me nauseous. My complexion is a pasty gray like unbaked pie dough. Friends say I smell bad and am embarrassing to be around.
If this is what non-smokers experience every day, I don't know how they stand it. Life used to be good; now it's a never-ending nightmare with new aches and symptoms of sickness showing up every day.
I'd like to find the person who convinced me to do this and hurt them.
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Hello I am 22 and I've been suffering from anxiety for about a year! I've been through it all, 5 hospital visits, various doctors, and I still don't believe it's anxiety but I have been proven it is! I've also been on various medications and I had been doing very well until the past month! My husband's brother age 23 passed tragically from a gun accident and my grandpa passed of cancer the next week! Since then I have had chest pain, shortness of breath, pounding heart and just an uneasy feeling! In general I thought that I handled all this very well but my symptoms say otherwise! I guess what I'm asking is can death cause my anxiety to increase even if I didn't notice! The chest pains are what scare me the most but I keep telling myself it's just anxiety because I've had a sonogram some of my heart and he said it's perfectly fine and I have no family history of heart problems and I'm only 22, went to doc yesterday and blood pressure was 124/75! I guess I don't understand how all my medical tests can be perfect but I don't feel perfect! Advice anyone?
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I am 56 postmenopausal woman, having these symptoms: extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, left side headaches, tingling on left side of face, nausea, hair loss, intense all over pain, bad memory and concentration. The gp did blood work and my iron was 56, the transferring was 307, saturation was at 13%, ferritin was 16. She wasn't concerned until I pushed the issue of feeling so bad and she added 325 of iron tablets everyday. Been taking this 3 weeks now and feel worse. Gp says probably my fibromyalgia and wants me to see a neurologist. I'm at my wits end, I cannot function anymore from the exhaustion, pain and headaches. Any info would greatly be appreciated. Thanks, Pam
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I have been taking a total of 2000 mg of Metformin for the past 4 years. I will spare everyone the details of how a major mistake was made but long story short, for the past 14 days I have been taking a total of 4000 mg of Metformin per day instead of the 2000 mg. This mistake was only realized this morning. I take several medications for several health issues. I am looking for advice on how long will it for this dosage to work itself out of my system. I noticed I was dealing with an extremely upset stomach, loss of appetite, diarrhea, shortness of breath, increased anxiety, lack of concentration, low blood sugar, and fatigue. All of these have increased greatly over the past 14 days. Should I be watching carefully for anything specific? Have I put myself at a greater risk for more complications? Should I do an ER visit immediately?
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I have had a terrible affliction for more than 3 months now and it is greatly affecting my life. I am 25 years old and in general have never had a
problem with my health or anything. I have lived in São Paulo, Brazil for 6 years which has very polluted air due to its large population and high altitude.
I am having difficulty breathing in general. It feels like I am not processing the air that I breathe. Here I am going to list all of the symptoms I am feeling:
-Exercise is walking at best. If I try to do anything more than this I become at risk for feeling irregular heart palpitations and become even more out of breath.
-There are moments when I feel a little better and worse throughout the day. It is completely random but I think it might also have to do with eating. The only time I feel ok is when I am sleeping and I just wake up. Usually I lie around for a bit because it's nice to forget about it. As soon as I get up the difficulty breathing starts. If I get up just to use the bathroom at night it takes a while to stabilize after I lie back down.
-I have a chest pain on my left side. is right in the left pectoralis major. This pain never goes away however it is constant so I have coped with it. The
pain is like the pain you have when you have gas. It is a sharp pain I cannot move the muscles on my left chest otherwise it will feel like I'm being stabbed.
-It is common for me to be sitting doing nothing and feel strange heart palpitations which cause me to have even more difficulty breathing
-When I feel the palpitations (which have been occurring less but the chest pain hasn't subsided) It seems that my heart is in my throat or that I am going to burp up my heart. When This happens I have to lie completely still and focus on not passing out. My limbs, stomach face all go numb and start tingling like when your leg falls asleep and it's waking up.I usually sleep on my right side because sleeping on my left side causes difficulty breathing.
-I can't stand in one place for very long otherwise I will have considerable difficulty breathing and start to slouch, however I can get by walking.
-Sitting up straight makes it harder to breath. Slouching has helped me to get by and breath more easily.
-Riding in any vehicle causes me to have considerable difficulty breathing. It feels like the bumps on the road cause me to not be able to breathe well.
-Anxiety does cause my symptoms to worsen and my breathing to become considerably harder but it is not the underlying cause. I cannot run away from the chest pain or difficulty breathing no matter how calm or relaxed I am.
I have done a few heart and lung exams:
*3 ECG/EKG- nothing
*3 chest X-rays- nothing
*1 chest tomography- nothing
*1 Echocardiogram- nothing
*1 24 hour holter- nothing( I wasn't even able to
sleep within the 24 hours at any moment because I had to hold my cat who had surgery and took the whole night to recover from the anesthesia. Worst night of my life both of us suffering and nothing I could do. I left my cat with my wife when she woke up and went straight to the lab to remove the holter device.)
*Spirometry- nothing
*Laryngoscopy- Septal deviation(I've always had)
Rhinitis, pharyngitis and laryngitis
-the only day in the past 4 months that I have felt normal is the night of and day after I did the spirometry and laryngoscopy exams. I took anesthesia
in both nostrils for the laryngoscopy and 2 sprays of an inhaler for the spirometry exam. I started doing some exercises on the following morning and all
the symptoms returned.
-I am beginning to have dizzy spells. I suddenly get overtaken by strong dizziness.
When I was between the ages of 10 and 16 I had taken all sorts of antipsychotic medicine such as Geodon, Abilify, Seroquel and others because I was considered overactive. I am do worry that this might have affected my anatomy at a growing phase in my life. I have suspected heart arrhythmia or asthma but the tests I listed above say otherwise.
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