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Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you?
Lung Health | Last Active: Oct 23 10:20am | Replies (3405)Comment receiving replies
Hello all, I have been reading through this thread for some time now, and wanted to get on board. Just like most of you I have been experiencing some strange symptoms for the past 8 months now. In the first few months it was just shortness of breath. In addition, I have been having stints of chest pain, only on my left side, and in the past ~5 months have been having back pain. With heart issues ruled out by a normal EKG test, I took a slew of blood tests, all coming back normal. Tested for lyme disease, celiacs, h-pylori, all negative. Took a Pulmonary Lung Function Test, which came back normal. 2 Chest X rays about two months apart, which were both normal. An abdominal ultra-sound which also came back normal. I have been seeing a pulmonologist, who has given me 3 different inhalers that have all been useless. I have gone to chiropractors, massage therapists, and even bought a new bed but still the symptoms persist.
Although my symptoms have been persistent, they have become manageable to an extent. Once I ruled out the obvious life threatening answers, I was able to calm my mind and relax a bit more when symptoms flared up. Needless to say, the first couple of months were stressful, and anxiety ridden.
All of these symptoms don't make a whole lot of sense to me as I have always been a healthy guy. Running many miles per week (although now my times have dropped a bit, I can still go for a 5 mile run and feel "good"), rock climbing (which I have stopped as I think it may be a source of back pain), playing soccer, hiking, backpacking, etc and eating a well balanced diet.
The only other issue I have, which I think is more likely related to the cause, is some uncomfortable GI issues.
Also, what I haven't seen mentioned on this thread is occupation, I sit at a desk all day, and my posture for all 8 hours isn't something to write home about, maybe that has something to do with this all.
Anyway, looking forward to any thoughts.
Replies to "Hello all, I have been reading through this thread for some time now, and wanted to..."
@codyprimmer Something you might want to look into would be thoracic outlet syndrome which is caused in part by bad slouching forward posture, and particularly with your head bent down looking at a desk would aggravate it. TOS is not well known by a lot of doctors. I have it, and it was missed for years. Teaching hospitals that treat TOS would have specialists and neurologists who would be familiar with it (like Mayo). It causes chest tightness, and mine is tighter on my left side and it can cause a painful spasm generated from my neck into my chest that starts in my neck because of a forward neck position. I have had ribs twist from tightness that produces some pain on the front of the chest (sternum) and it affects my breathing when one side of my chest will not expand enough. I got to physical therapy and do Myofascial release work which helps TOS. I also did have a cervical spine issue and had surgery for that, and I continue to rehab for TOS. My TOS has caused a functional scoliosis before by pulling my thoracic spine out of correct alignment. It also pulls to the muscles in the shoulder blades and that can be a source of back pain. MFR therapy has restored the alignment, and I continue to stretch to keep it from re-occuring. For me, the tightness from my chest pulls and connects with my pelvis which sometimes gets pulled out of alignment, such as causing an inflare of the illiac bones, and that will irritate my GI tract. If you do look for an MFR therapist, look for someone with expert level training in the John Barnes methods. If you do have TOS, rock climbing might be something that would get it kicked up as I imagine you would have a lot of overhead arm positions and exertion. Stress also affects it a lot by making everything get tighter. Here are some links with information.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
https://trainingandrehabilitation.com/how-truly-treat-thoracic-outlet-syndrome/
https://neurokinetictherapy.com/the-scalenes-the-dynamic-duo-1
Here is a discussion about MFR therapy
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Hi @codyprimmer,
I'm just wondering if you've found a solution to your SOB. I also suspect that my SOB is caused by my posture, but very well can be because of my stomach or some remaining infection from my previous lung infection from 2.5 months ago.
Let me know if anything worked 🙂
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@codyprimmer- Hello and I'm so glad that you decided to tell your story. It's so frustrating to not know what is wrong with us when something unexpectedly shows up. I think that getting a GI workup done is a great idea. I couldn't believe the pain I felt on the way to flying to the opposite coast a few years back. I already had SOB because of my lung cancer but not stomach pains. I called my husband as soon as I landed. He had GERD and knew that's just what I had by my symptoms.
Pain in the stomach is hard to diagnose, as you have seen here. There are a multitude of symptoms and I believe that there is always a cause. It very well could be your posture (I sit too much too for the same reason as you). Or it could be a combination of things.
I would consider getting an appointment with a GI doctor soon because your running could be making it worse, or not. Best to get it checked out.
Here is some more information for you: https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/abdominal-pain-causes-treatments#1
Do you know of a good GI doctor?