just wanted to pass along a great way to use a new style mouth piece for your breathing machine.it is called a PHILIPS RESPIRONICS SIDE STREAM PLUS. it doubles the out put of med stream to inhale, pass this on if you like it. thanks

it was almost an instant decision. Years ago I came down with a bunch of mysterious symptoms and had rounds and rounds of tests and spent a boatload of money in coinsurance and copays and the doctors never found a cause for it. I discovered I had all the symptoms of a magnesium deficiency. Changed my diet and started taking a supplement and have been supplementing magnesium ever since. When the episode of SOB happened I went to the ER and they didn't find anything out of the ordinary except a slightly low potassium level. I followed up with two doctors...they couldn't find a cause either. One gave me a script for Lorazapam which I read is addictive and people stated they had trouble getting off it it. I was confident it wasn't anxiety since I had dealt with that in the past and the magnesium totally took care of that. This felt completely different. I decided not to take the Lorazapem and started researching, piecing together what could be the cause and decided to go the diet and supplement route again.

When the SOB happened I had just started cutting back on carbs trying to lose a few pounds. I read that that can really mess with your electrolytes. So much so they make things like Keto electrolytes etc. Perhaps that was the trigger. It also could have been dehydration. I tend to get busy sometimes and not drink enough water. I also came down with a cold and that can cause dehydration as well. I had also recently cut back on salt and stopped eating my daily banana (potassium) because I wanted to lower my sugar intake. Sodium and potassium are cornerstones for regulating fluids in the body which is why we drink Gatorade when we're dehydrated. Potassium alkalizes the body and mine was low. Perhaps all those things set me up...and...Ta Da...shortness of breath. The mother of all mothers! Heavy exercisers end up in the ER with dehydration a lot because they lose sodium and potassium via heavy sweating.

To answer your question...for me it's not easy. I was already a pretty conscious eater but getting enough potassium rich foods was challenging. I make sure I have at least one glass of low sugar orange juice and a banana in my smoothie every day and eat lots of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Occasionally I drink coconut water which is rich in electrolytes. I eat a salad everyday and count my ounces of water. I also use green powders and try to stay away from anything I know that will create acidity in the body, ie lots of junk and fried foods etc. Other than that, I eat pretty regularly. When I think about SOB coming back, it helps me stay the course. It was time for me to tighten up my diet a little more anyway. I want to live a long and healthy life.

I came across this board while I was up one night pacing and gasping for air. For weeks I slept maybe two hours a night because I couldn't breathe. I just kept researching trying to find a solution which is why I'm leaving so much detail on this board (sorry for the length). Someone might recognize their own symptoms and find relief by the steps many of us have outlined.

Thanks Rosemary...I'll stop by that board when I get a chance. Good luck to you all.