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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 everyone my name is Kaleb I’m 22 years old healthy male about 6’3 mid weight and just about 2 weeks ago I noticed I got sick I have asthma and high blood pressure which are all under control with medication and I didn’t think much of it I thought it was a bug COVID-19 was ruled out as two test results came back negative Well now they sent me home I felt fine all day long then at about 11 at night I noticed I couldn’t catch my breathe or I was constantly fighting to get a good deep one in and it scared me so I go into the er and they take blood work for heart disease blood clots pneumonia etc chest x ray and they are telling me it’s all coming back ok so i come back home do a neb treatment Nd my inhalers and I’m okay again but still struggling for that good deep breath I can get it in but it takes a lot well now fast forward next day it’s unbearable I feel like I can’t get a good one In so Here iam back at the er again and they are telling me it’s fine but I don’t feel fine so they release me again and I’m home once again in my bed crying just struggling to catch my breathe well my mother lives in a different town a few hours away so she tells me she’s coming to get me and that the doctors there are a little better so she comes for me and I go to the er there and once again nothing they are telling me it’s anxiety but as someone who’s had anxiety his whole life I kno something else is wrong I’m tired I’m frustrated I feel alone I’m scared I’m going to go to sleep and I won’t wake back up I’m losing my appetite I don’t even eat I’m just constantly drinking water and laying in my bed this isn’t normal juust 3 weeks ago I was so happy with my life no stress I was always out walking around doing things all the time I was never home for so long ever since this started I’ve completely gone into full depression mode I’m sacred I’m going to die so just yesterday my doctor put me on an anxiety pill but I with all my honest heart don’t believe that is where this problem is Ik I can tell I’ve had anxiety my whole life there is ways to work through that I wanna be normal again I don’t wanna feel this way how can I make this go away who do I need to go see I’m terrified and reading everyone else’s comments makes me feel not so alone.
Replies to "Hello everyone my name is Kaleb I’m 22 years old healthy male about 6’3 mid weight..."
@kalebmatthew445 sorry to hear you’re experiencing this. I know exactly how you feel. You’re definitely not alone in this. It’s a mysterious condition that can be scary at times, but the first thing to help calm the nerves is to realize that it’s not going to kill you. You will be fine and you will get better. Please go through all the comments- I know, there are A LOT!- but there are many solutions that many of us have tried that work for some people at least to some degree. It doesn’t hurt to try them since most are natural methods. It’s good to experiment until it gets under control. But keep close to us here and let us know how things go and post any questions you have. We’re all in this together.
Don't give up my friend, I'm in the exactly same place as you and all we can do is stay hopeful... Little too that really works... When things get overwhelming, wiggle your toes.. really, taught at NASA
Have you found any relief? I am in the same boat.
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@kalebmatthew445- Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You are in great company here. It must have been extremely scary when you all of a sudden found that you couldn't take a deep breath, a satisfying breath. There are lots of people on here that suffer from SOB who also have asthma. I'm wondering if you have seen a pulmonologist or have had a lung function test.
What a lot of people here have found is something called Hyperventilation Syndrome. This is where the balance of Co2 and O2 are off and the panting changes the pH balance in your blood. (Hyperventilation, sustained abnormal increase in breathing. During hyperventilation, the rate of removal of carbon dioxide from the blood is increased. As the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood decreases, respiratory alkalosis, characterized by decreased acidity or increased alkalinity of the blood, happens.)
Emotions can certainly cause this, and out of the blue too.
You can tests this yourself by carrying a paper bag around.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperventilation_syndrome
There are also a lot of other types of lung exercises to try also but I thought that the paper bag was easier, to begin with. Before your first incident had you had an upheaval in your life, more so than at any other recent time?