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Ongoing shortness of breath, chest tightness and inflammatory chest
Hi all, I am reaching out to see if anybody has had a similar experience to my own and if anyone has found any resolution to my issue. I am a 25 year old male
I have suffered from shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and an inflammatory feeling in my chest that began in the beginning of 2022.
I am an ex smoker and vaper who did both for a period of 6 years full time at some points and on and off
One night after having some drinks and vaping, I was relaxing on the lounge when out of the blue I started to experience dyspnea. Panic set in immediately as this had never happened before and I ended up calling an ambulance. They did an ecg and measured 02 saturation and they came back normal.
From this point on I have had shortness of breath most of the time with minimal relief. Throughout the following years I have had 2 chest X-rays, multiple spirometries and pulmonary function tests, holter monitor, stress echo, ecg etc which have all come back perfect no COPD etc.
I have suffered a large hiatal hernia and reflux for 10 years which I had repaired 3 months ago with a hernia repair + partial fundoplication.
Oddly enough I have periods of time between 2-3 weeks where my symptoms improve greatly but this is short lived as they will return again every time. Quite obviously smoking and vaping seem to be a trigger of this shortness of breath which prompted me to give up cold turkey end of 2024.
Since my surgery my shortness of breath does appear to be a little more sporadic in nature. Certain seating positions appear to alleviate the symptoms slightly. Since this all began I have been able to take a satisfying breath roughly every 5-6 breaths. Some times I can get 2 or 3 good ones in a row.
It does not appear to get worse under physical exertion and I train in the gym light cardio and strength training on a regular basis.
Leading up to the period this began and also throughout the past few years I have suffered from sickness ie the flu, Covid, colds etc with some lengthened periods of time where I have had no sickness for months in between.
In 2018 I suffered pseudomonas which was a crippling superbug which cause me to lose a lot of weight and cough 24/7 until finally after getting repeatedly told it was asthma a really good doctor ordered a sputum test where I went on a harsh course of antibiotics to get rid of it. I have since been on antibiotics a lot of times for infections.
Going back to 2008 I was diagnosed with sport induced asthma which has been managed with ventolin although I’ve never really relied on it much. I also got pneumonia in 2012 but caught it early before it could develop into something serious.
I am now off PPI medication which I was on for 6+ years and my reflux has been relieved with only minor heartburn every now and again post surgery.
I have an appointment booked January next year with a pulmonologist so we will see how that goes.
At this point the only symptoms I have are dyspnea, tightness of the chest and an inflamed feeling of the chest which has been pretty consistent and not really gotten any worse or better in the last 3.5 years. I have suffered from a lot of anxiety and mental health problems over the years but given that I actually feel relaxed most of the time I don’t think this is the cause. I am starting to suspect chronic airway inflammation as I have rectified the hernia in my chest which I initially thought may have been the cause.
I am praying I have not done any irreparable damage but I understand due to vaping and smoking that this is a possibility. I am tempted to see if I can get a high resolution ct scan of the chest prior to my appointment but am not sure if this is the route I will take. I must say I am very nervous and afraid of the outcome.
I am wondering if due to my mum having auto immune issues my body could be signalling an immune system response which is causing the inflammation in my airways even in absense of triggers or infection. Left untreated I’m afraid of what would happen or what has already happened to my lungs. I have 2 young kids and I cant bear the thought of leaving them prematurely. I guess I should have taken better care of my health when I had the chance. I also can’t stand feeling this way 24/7 and I want my old life back.
Anyways thanks for listening, if anybody could help shed some light on my situation and what direction I should be heading with this that would be much appreciated. I am very much open to holistic/homeopathic methods also as I know with chronic lung conditions research and treatment options are very limited in western medicine. Thanks again.
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Here is what happened. I was short of breath with chest pressure (not heart related) and fatigue.
So my primary doctor ordered tests.
I then go to a pulmonologist who had my Lung Function Tests from 2 and 3 years ago. He comes in yelling at me telling me my lungs are fine & he has been doing this for 20 years and he knows.
I literally left in tears then a week later had a HRTC lung scan (you have to ask for it) it came back i have Air Trapping so I then have a Lung Function test which it's been 8 days with no results but my Cardiologist told me not to worry as I have since gone to OU Physicians Pulmonogy which is a teaching hospital
The Pulmonists there has me on 3 inhalers and in his report wrote I have Air Trapping with possibility of COPD with Asthma. They are still doing tests & still have to look at the current Lung function test
I might add I was worried he would rewd my PFT test wrong but feel better knowing the other doctor will be viewing it.
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2 Reactionshi ,I suffer from airway inflammation which was caused by smoking casualy when i was young and exposures to chemicals later in my life.
The airways were damaged and I was diagonised with Bronchieatasis which irriversable, in both my lower lung lobes.
There is a new drug which has been FDA approved drug called Brensocatib which targets (DPP1 (Dipeptidy peptidase 1 ) which is involved in actviating immune cells called Neutrophils.When overactive these cells release enzymes that damage the airways.
So it blocks enzyme activation in white blood cells.
Which reduces lung inflammation and tissue damage.
Helps in conditions like non-cystic fibrosis and BRONCHIECTASIS.
So by switching down overactice inflammation pathways reduces sputum and muccuss build ups which reduce coughing and breathing problems.
The dose is one tablet of 10mg or 25mg per day,early days but some good ealy outccomes i have read.
I think with your history the vaping and smoking has done damage to your airways, but being on ly 25 years old your lungs may heal over the long term.
I am not a doctor thats just my opinion.
Hope you get better soon.
cheers
I have Bronchiestases and mild COPD with some atelectasis (alveoli collapse), asthma (?).
Last year I had quite severe shortness of breath which continued. I discovered that an antihistamine relieves it and my immunologist is happy for me to continue taking it (the newer variety) daily. We don't know what is causing it although it appeared to start with sugarcane factory smoke exposure.
Perhaps you could try that?
@babesmom hello, and I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. I have had similar issues with my lungs. My symptoms go on and off but when they flare up x it’s bad. I can’t move with out gasping for air, I can’t walk for 5 feet without gasping for air, tight chest, shortness of breath-
My first Respiratory Doctor (I’m in Europe) said, I’m fine, gave me a load of inhalers and told me take a holiday to a warmer places. Omg !! I moved to a different specialist and found a great doctor that has been digging into my symptoms.
I would definitely recommend moving doctors until you find one that listens and cares not just tickets a box and takes your payment.
Anyone, - all my test have come back clear except for my LFT - my DLCO’s are lower then average and when I’m in a flare up, they go down significantly low. So permanent scaring which is what we want to avoid. My body responds to are steroids-
So far I have tested clear form Auto immune but regardless I’m being out on CellCept as a steroid sparing drug, and it should settle down the inflammation and clear it all up. It’s a slow moving medication . I will most likely be on this medication for 3-4 years, not ideal but im looking forward to having healthy lungs again.
We are not sure why I have this has happened or what caused it, but it did come on just after I had Covid.
Prior to that I had exercised induced asthma and seasonal asthma but Covid took my lungs into this direction.
Although I am stable now, I am on 7.5 mg of steroids I am starting this medication in a week to avoid further flare up and prevent what could be permanent lung damage if I get another flare up.
Maybe you can look into this medication as well. It will keep you here for your family and that’s most important.
Is anyone on this medication that can give me advice?
It’s CellCept and generic name Mycophenolate
Would love to hear from you.
I would love to hear from anyone with similar issues to taking this medication. All insight is good insight 🙏
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1 ReactionI am 85 and my results of faintness and dizziness seem counter-intuitive. I live in Sydney, Australia and came from the south coast of England, UK, 57 years ago.
I have lived in the same metropolitan area since March, 1969. Of course I have traveled: to Europe, the UK, India, and the USA.
In the USA where I was a legal immigrant (due to my eldest sister marrying a naval air pilot) I lived for 3¼ years mostly in LA. However I also lived near DC for 3 months, working as a car salesman for Sheehy Ford, South East DC; with the Beltway in plain sight. The South East was known to be the black area and the only quadrant that did not have the internal railway; for whatever reason.
I sold used Ford cars, which I thought was the most sensible reason for DC.
Currently, living in Sydney, I have found two somewhat counter-intuitive results of the faintness and dizziness mentioned above.
The first, about 3 years ago, seemed to be that IF I failed to eat lunch until late pm, I would feel the above-mentioned! Result? I avoided long periods of non-nourishment between meals.
The second, a bit more serious, is that recently, after a coffee in a cafe with my daughter, I might get up and walk outside, and, turning into the direction we intended to walk, I would suddenly need to stand very still holding onto something while I swayed with faintness. It passes fairly quickly but it really bothers me.
However, I have found that as soon as I start walking, quite briskly being fairly fit, the faintness disappeared!
It seems to me that, currently, activity causes my heart to revive quickly. My heart specialist has suggested recently that I might need a pacemaker, which I was somewhat startled to hear. But, now think it might be necessary.
Periods of relative inaction seem to allow the heart to relax a bit too much, as also occasionally happens in bed!
@ers12345 I was on Cellcept and steroids for several years upon my diagnosis with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, a restrictive interstitial lung disease, with decreased DLCO on PFT. Am now off both and stable. I found Cellcept to be easy to take and far less side effects than prednisone.
@ers12345 You sound lilke you could have Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis. High-resolution CT scan was done, correct? What did report say?
@sueinmn I have asthma, COPD and undiagnosed suspicious bronchiectasis. I am fairly well except for shortness of breath. I do not have wheezing asthma I have cough asthma. I'm on trelegy levabuterol mend saline nebs and a rescue inhaler. I am also on a monthly tezpire injection to see if that helps. I get winded very easily.
Wondering if vaporizer at night would be any help?