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Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you?
Lung Health | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (3422)Comment receiving replies
Unfortunately the medical community here in America does not take this issue seriously at all. I look completely normal on the outside, and present myself normally , have normal blood tests and scans, so they assume I’m all good and get tired of me when I come back. But this really has affected my quality of life, like really. I just feel uncomfortable all the time because of it. I lose my breath when I speak. I’m jealous of everyone else who can breathe freely without thought. I’ve left multiple jobs becuase of this. If this is anxiety, it is the weirdest manifestation of anxiety ever. I know people with anxiety and they only feel short of breath sometimes. Not 247 like me.
Again, mine is a constant feeling of chest tightness and can only take a satisfying breath it seems every so often. Like a cycle my body is stuck in. It’s confusing , maybe my body wants to breath shallowly, or maybe for some reason it literally physically can’t breathe normally for some reason . Not painful just uncomfortable.
On the plus side it isn’t as bad as it was a few years ago. There were times I literally wouldn’t get out of bed because sleep was my only escape. Crazy how this has happened, I’m just a 27 year old normal guy from California. thank you for your kind words and concern, maybe I’ll give another inhaler a try but idk about that. I’ll let you know if I ever figure it out.
Replies to "Unfortunately the medical community here in America does not take this issue seriously at all. I..."
@jwiegers17 look into the Buteyko breathing method of breathing exercises if you haven’t already. It helps me manage my symptoms and it might do the same for you. Learnbuteykoonline.net is where I learned the method.
@jwiegers17 @pc72 If you think you may have a physical issue with chest movement contributing to your breathing issues, you may want to look at physical therapy and myofascial release as methods to loosen tissue and muscle restrictions. I have physical issues with my breathing from fascial tightness where one side of my chest restricts proper rib movement, and I don't move my lungs enough. My chest tightness extends from my neck to my pelvis, and that tightness between the rib cage and hip does affect my diaphragm movement a bit. I have also had painful muscle spasms in my chest that restrict breathing. I have thoracic outlet syndrome which is a nerve entrapment of the bundle that passes through the chest between the collar bone and rib cage, and it can frequently cause my first rib which is at the base of the neck to be elevated which makes it difficult for me to breathe. I have been able to improve my breathing and drop my heart rate by doing my stretches and MFR. It has taken me a long time (years) to get this far because of how much was tight. The nerves that service the lungs are passing through the neck and shoulder where it all gets tight, and I might be taking pressure off them and I am mobilizing my first rib. I showed my therapist how I was stretching and she confirmed that. She has been mobilizing my first rib when my breathing is too shallow and my chest is too tight. Here is the link to our discussion which has lots of information. There is a provider finder on the MFR website. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Hello jwiegers 17:
I understand how difficult it is when you cannot get your breath. Something that tremendously helped me was
being introduced to Dr Amit Sood in a Paced Breathing Study. Dr Amit Sood has written several books that help
understand not only how to find relief, but explain what and how to have a better quality of life. One of my favorite
books is "Stress Free Living" by Dr Amit Sood. I hope this helps.
Best,
Linda
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@jwiegers17- Good morning. I would like to suggest something. My SOB is caused by lung cancer but it is SOB, nevertheless. My pulmonologist suggested that I go to Pulmonary rehab to learn to control my breathing in all instances of life. It changed my life even though I couldn't get rid of the SOB. Check to see if any hospitals or clinics have programs like this.
I wish that I could help every single person on this thread breathe. I wish that I had a simple answer and that all would be well with everyone. I spoke with my Pulmonologist recently and he said that being overweight is the number one reason now for SOB. Is it possible that weight could be the problem?