Post Op Immediate Shortness of Breath when walking

Posted by johnvndnbrk @johnvndnbrk, Sep 24, 2018

Hello: I had myectal surgery on 9/16, about six weeks ago. Since being released about a week later I found I had immediate shortness of breath just from standing up and walking a short distance. I have been back to the hospital near home in an attempt to identify the issue and other than a pulmonary embolism (minor) there wasn’t anything specific to explain what I was experiencing. My vitals are back to normal, or as close to normal as reasonable. It’s like I am hyperventilating from a panic attack, however there is no anxiety or even an expectation of anxiety prior to this occurring, so I’m pretty sure this is not the issue. I have no heart pain although still have irregular heartbeats, although they seem less in frequency and intensity.

Has anyone experienced this? If so, what was the cause? I was short of breath prior to surgery after minor exertion but what I am experiencing now is completely different. Kinda at my wits end so any feedback is sincerely appreciated.

John

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ajohnsonnd | @ajohnsonnd | Sep 25, 2018

Have you had an echo to check for pericardititis?

johnvndnbrk | @johnvndnbrk | Sep 29, 2018

I am not aware of a test for this. Strangely, I walked outside on a sunny quiet day earlier this week and tried to sense what was "off". I'm not too good at self observation like this but I did become aware that my chest was very tight and a bit sore. I took advil and tried a bit later. It was about the same but I noticed I stopped breathing. So I am a bit embarressed to say that I missed this and believe this was the primary issue. Since my original post to now, my chest is no longer tight and only faintly sore. I focused a little on taking deep breaths (which I thought I tried doing before) but the act of thinking about the need to breath is so foreign that this issue just cleared up. I hope this might help someone, or help someone who has SOB to rule this out. Thank you for the response!