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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
Am I relieved to see this forum! I've been Googling for the past fortnight with no relief - felt like I was being a drama queen. I'm a healthy 25 year old, generally exercising quite intensively 4-5 days a week with no underlying health conditions, never had heartburn or anything like that before. Although I've recently had a faecal calprotectin stool test come back, which was 280 when the upper limit is only 50. But I'm not sure this relates to my current condition?
It started over a fortnight ago, it'd usually only start up after dinner in the evenings, especially when lying on my back. But it has since progressed to constant throughout the day, however, it's generally a bit better in the morning and worse in the evenings. The sensation feels like I constantly need to gulp air, but quite often it doesn't 'connect' and this then leads me to slightly panic. I went to A&E 2 days ago as I was worried it was a heart or lung issue, they conducted an ECG, chest X-ray, blood work, oxygen and an assessment of my breathing. Everything was completely fine, no abnormalities or anything wrong - hence I felt like a bit of a full, the doctor said 'sometimes we psychologically think we aren't getting the breath, and we panic more' but it isn't that. I really do feel like I NEED that deep breath, it's so constant that my jaw has become really painful from all the yawning.
I've registered for a temporary GP (I'm back home and nowhere near my own GP) and have an appointment tomorrow. Any tips as to what to ask them to test me for or to assess? I'm really pulling my hair out, I want to go back to exercising and just feeling active and energised again. Right now I just feel constantly fatigued, like I constantly need to yawn, feel slightly nauseous in my stomach, lightheaded if I get up too quickly from sitting / lying down. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
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Hey there - Sorry to hear about your SOB trouble. This is something that I've been dealing with for the last 6 months and I've tried everything under the sun to relieve my symptoms. Some theories you'll find in this thread include: GERD (very commonly referenced), anxiety/depression, hiatal hernia, hyperventilation disorders, asthma, allergies, vitamin deficiencies, or maybe even just forgetting how to breath. From what I've seen nobody has come up with a 'cure all' to completely remedy the issue. I'm right there with you when it comes your jaw hurting from yawning all the time. It's exhausting. Everyone in this thread could be suffering from a different issue since SOB is a symptom of dozens if not hundreds of conditions. My doctor put me on Lexapro... thinking it was anxiety related and it didn't help at all. Then I started taking Omeperazole under the idea that this might be reflux/GERD related. I will say that while I still have SOB it is significantly better now than in the first month when I was having panic attacks. I think the realization that you're not dying definitely helps to relax. A few other things that I've found helpful when your symptoms are at their worst are breathing methods (Buteyko Breathing, Wim Hof Breathing Method). When I'm on the verge of panic these techniques can really help... they're available on Youtube. Additionally, your lungs are primarily in your back so laying down and sitting down can make thing worse. During a bad spell you can lay on your stomach with a pillow under your stomach. I tend to find this helps relieve my immediate symptoms. I've also been doing a lot of stretches that help to stretch out the upper back. Try out the Child's Pose in Yoga. I tend to find my breathing is easier when I'm in that position and it can carry over to when I'm standing again. I would also recommend asking your doctor for an anti-anxiety medication such as Clonazepam. But ask for it with the intention of never taking it. It's meant for panic attacks but honestly it's just comforting to know that you have something available if things get out of hand. I've never taken them but having them in the house comforts me and potentially prevents panic attacks because I know I have an emergency medication. Hope this isn't too much information for you but hopefully it's a start to getting things under control. Just don't give up and keep experimenting with different foods, routines, exercises, stretches, and whatever you can do to keep improving if the doctors can't give you a definitive answer.