Hey, y'all.

Like alot of other replies I've read, I came across this thread by way of a panicked Google search. I've been dealing with the air-hunger monster for about a week now. I can't get that satisfying deep breath without yawning. I also have a slight dry cough and tickle right at the back of my throat/top of my chest.
The only other time I remember dealing with this was back in 2012 when I was living in S.Korea and my husband was away for a week for work. I dealt with this feeling for the entire week. I decided at the time that it was just anxiety, because the feeling went away shortly after his return home.

I've read over the replies and let me tell you - I have had anxiety since I was about 12 (I'll be 30 next weekend), but never really been on medication except what I'd call rescue meds (0.25mg Xanax) on the rare occasion. I was diagnosed with GERD (hernia was ruled out) in 2013, but it was short lived as the second doctor I saw did not agree with the diagnosis, so I was never given a prescription for anything. I just take ranitidine otc, and occasionally drink an aloe juice to help with heartburn. I avoid spicy and super acidic foods. I deal with seasonal allergies (ragweed, cedar, etc,) and this year has been particularly bad. I take allegra-d for it and it seems to help the breathing issue just a tad, but it certainly hasn't gone away. I've even been staying indoors almost 24/7 (thanks, Covid-19 & pollen!) and the issue persists.

I do have an extensive medical history.. stroke induced by a migraine medication last year, I see an atlas orthogonal chiropractor weekly for C-1 instability that causes neurological issues for me, and I am pretty overweight (Working on it). I struggle with severe health anxiety after losing my first child to cervical incompetence, so anytime I get the slightest uncomfortable (health related) feeling, fear strikes up in me and I spiral.

I swear, I have gone through every bit of testing under the sun and am about to just give this struggle over to anxiety again. I don't know what else to do, or what else to try. I have noticed that if I dwell on the feeling instead of trying to distract myself, it gets much worse - to the point that I feel light headed and my extremities start to tingle. I know that this is a definite sign of panic, based on past experiences.

I found a PDF that I shared with my husband that actually made me feel a little bit better, believe it or not. It was a relief to think that maybe this issue is not being caused by some physical issue, but a psychological one instead. As a new member here, I'm not allowed to post links yet as they want to protect against possible unwanted spam, but a Google search of "yawning dyspnea" will bring up the PDF written by CK Maytum.

I don't really know where I was going with all that. I realize I have been rambling some. I am just stressed out over this feeling and want to go back to "normal", or at least close to it. Thanks for listening.