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Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you?
Lung Health | Last Active: May 2 12:40am | Replies (3538)Comment receiving replies
Gabe - I appreciate your sharing. I've tried all the suggested breathing techniques. At rest I do breath nasally but sleeping, I'm a mouth breather. I can tell that because my mouth is very dry. As you say, exercise can lessen the problem which is weird. After a long time with this issue I have come to the realization that I just have to manage and live with it. There have been a few scary times in the dead of night when I just can't get my breath. I guess the good news is that all the tests I have had don't show anything dire but, as you also say, sometimes you wish a reason is identified (just not a reason that can't be fixed).
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I too was (and sometimes still am) a mouth breather at night. One thing that helped me a great deal early on was to tape my mouth shut at night to get myself into the habit of keeping my mouth closed when sleeping. This reduced snoring and I believe helped my breathing overall. Something you might consider. I just use a piece of athletic tape and place it across my lips.
What also helps is sometimes I'll fall asleep as normal lying down in bed, but then will switch to a more upright position using pillows or just moving to the recliner in the living room. These also help with my breathing as for whatever reason, I seem to have more an air hunger sensation when lying down. I've gotten used to be able to sleep sitting upright, then will switch back to lying down.