Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you?

Just wanted to update all you guys, I had the first dose of the covid vaccine (Pfizer) two days ago and am feeling better than ever.

I've been taking pantoprazole and famotidine for about 3 1/2 months now and felt a lot of relief with my throat tightness, and a bit with breathing and frequent yawning but it never completely kicked it.

I think I wrote a few months ago saying that all these symptoms (shortness of breath, excessive yawning) started after a case of viral pneumonia/chest infection after a friend/co-worker of mine traveled overseas to a wedding with people showing up from all across the world, came back and gave it to me and everyone he was around, I suspect it was covid. This was December of 2019. Never was able to get an antibody test because my doctor recommended against it saying at the time (early on in the pandemic) that they were not reliable and most likely last only a few weeks to maybe a couple of months. Interested to hear if anyone else has had the vaccine and felt better (?)

I do have dry cough every now and then, but just because it happens so rarely, I did not think much about it/did not take it seriously.

I did not have asthma when I was a kid or later in life until this (sob) showed up 2. 5 months ago. My doctors do not believe this is asthma because 1. my lung function test (spirometry) was normal 2. i produce normal and consistent results on my peak flow meter (average 650), and 3. i have my symptoms at rest and not on exertion.
I live in Canada, northwest, in a very different climate than southwest.
No bilirubin, iron, or allergy test yet.

I am a physician with knowledge of the condition many posters experience- knowledge based on seeing patients with it and experiencing it myself. I have previously posted but realize many haven't read all the posts. This post concerns those who have dyspnea/shortness of breath concerns that are unexplained after extensive evaluation and doesn't refer to those who are determined to have a cardiac or pulmonary cause. The general term given is dysfunctional breathing and there are different forms. The classic example is patients who hyperventilate (breath rapidly in excess of a normal rate of breathing); many posters experience air hunger or the feeling of not obtaining enough air which prompts them to take exaggerated inspirations/deep sighs; many mention yawning which is typical.
The exact underlying cause of this condition is not clear. It is generally agreed that there is a derangement in the ventilatory drive which is the natural control mechanism of breathing. There is an idea that you can become overly sensitive to CO2 leading to the increased ventilation rate or depth. There are various factors that impact the ventilatory drive but there are certainly psychological aspects to it which is why anxiety is often suggested as an underlying cause but it may not be as simple as someone being anxious and therefore short of breath. In my case, I have found underlying psychological stress about something to often be a factor. I feel many on here take issue with the introduction of a psychological basis for this symptom and perceive the doctor as blowing them off but it is a valid consideration, particularly when test after test for organic disease is reassuring. The fact that the condition may have origins psychologically should not be taken to mean the condition is not real because it definitely is and there are many somatic manifestations (physical symptoms) of psychiatric disease that are just as real as symptoms that have an organic basis.
Unfortunately, the general knowledge of this condition is lacking among most practitioners which leads to frustration in those experiencing it because it is difficult for most doctors to address patients who are so symptomatic but yet have no abnormalities on normal tests.
There is no agreed upon treatment and when you read through the posts, there are a wide variety of responses to a wide variety of treatments. Some have reflux and improve with treatment; some mention psychiatric medications; some do breathing exercises, some take various vitamins/supplements.
I suspect the most important aspect of improving is acceptance of the condition and a belief in whatever treatment that is pursued. The fact that typical tests are normal should provide reassurance- I understand that for many, normal tests leave them with unanswered questions/ wondering what's wrong but it is a good thing to not have heart or lung issues.
Some mention having had COVID as did I and breathlessness is one of the symptoms of long COVID so it will be interesting to see how this plays out as the understanding regarding COVID and its effects on people are better studied/understood. The primary question I would have is if you can see breathlessness in long COVID in patients who did not have lung involvement when they were actually sick with COVID.

I am a physician with knowledge of the condition many posters experience- knowledge based on seeing patients with it and experiencing it myself. I have previously posted but realize many haven't read all the posts. This post concerns those who have dyspnea/shortness of breath concerns that are unexplained after extensive evaluation and doesn't refer to those who are determined to have a cardiac or pulmonary cause. The general term given is dysfunctional breathing and there are different forms. The classic example is patients who hyperventilate (breath rapidly in excess of a normal rate of breathing); many posters experience air hunger or the feeling of not obtaining enough air which prompts them to take exaggerated inspirations/deep sighs; many mention yawning which is typical.
The exact underlying cause of this condition is not clear. It is generally agreed that there is a derangement in the ventilatory drive which is the natural control mechanism of breathing. There is an idea that you can become overly sensitive to CO2 leading to the increased ventilation rate or depth. There are various factors that impact the ventilatory drive but there are certainly psychological aspects to it which is why anxiety is often suggested as an underlying cause but it may not be as simple as someone being anxious and therefore short of breath. In my case, I have found underlying psychological stress about something to often be a factor. I feel many on here take issue with the introduction of a psychological basis for this symptom and perceive the doctor as blowing them off but it is a valid consideration, particularly when test after test for organic disease is reassuring. The fact that the condition may have origins psychologically should not be taken to mean the condition is not real because it definitely is and there are many somatic manifestations (physical symptoms) of psychiatric disease that are just as real as symptoms that have an organic basis.
Unfortunately, the general knowledge of this condition is lacking among most practitioners which leads to frustration in those experiencing it because it is difficult for most doctors to address patients who are so symptomatic but yet have no abnormalities on normal tests.
There is no agreed upon treatment and when you read through the posts, there are a wide variety of responses to a wide variety of treatments. Some have reflux and improve with treatment; some mention psychiatric medications; some do breathing exercises, some take various vitamins/supplements.
I suspect the most important aspect of improving is acceptance of the condition and a belief in whatever treatment that is pursued. The fact that typical tests are normal should provide reassurance- I understand that for many, normal tests leave them with unanswered questions/ wondering what's wrong but it is a good thing to not have heart or lung issues.
Some mention having had COVID as did I and breathlessness is one of the symptoms of long COVID so it will be interesting to see how this plays out as the understanding regarding COVID and its effects on people are better studied/understood. The primary question I would have is if you can see breathlessness in long COVID in patients who did not have lung involvement when they were actually sick with COVID.

I don’t produce phlegm either. Do you have a random dry cough that pops up every so often? I never had this and I randomly do every couple weeks or so...but I only cough like 1-2 times total in a day.

Hi, I work in the healthcare field and I was tested twice weekly for COVID and I have had the vaccine so I don’t think that I caught COVID. I haven’t had my bilirubin tested and I do live in the South West where the weather is dry. When you have a asthma exacerbation does your heart rate still stay slow? How many beats per minute do you have?

I am a physician with knowledge of the condition many posters experience- knowledge based on seeing patients with it and experiencing it myself. I have previously posted but realize many haven't read all the posts. This post concerns those who have dyspnea/shortness of breath concerns that are unexplained after extensive evaluation and doesn't refer to those who are determined to have a cardiac or pulmonary cause. The general term given is dysfunctional breathing and there are different forms. The classic example is patients who hyperventilate (breath rapidly in excess of a normal rate of breathing); many posters experience air hunger or the feeling of not obtaining enough air which prompts them to take exaggerated inspirations/deep sighs; many mention yawning which is typical.
The exact underlying cause of this condition is not clear. It is generally agreed that there is a derangement in the ventilatory drive which is the natural control mechanism of breathing. There is an idea that you can become overly sensitive to CO2 leading to the increased ventilation rate or depth. There are various factors that impact the ventilatory drive but there are certainly psychological aspects to it which is why anxiety is often suggested as an underlying cause but it may not be as simple as someone being anxious and therefore short of breath. In my case, I have found underlying psychological stress about something to often be a factor. I feel many on here take issue with the introduction of a psychological basis for this symptom and perceive the doctor as blowing them off but it is a valid consideration, particularly when test after test for organic disease is reassuring. The fact that the condition may have origins psychologically should not be taken to mean the condition is not real because it definitely is and there are many somatic manifestations (physical symptoms) of psychiatric disease that are just as real as symptoms that have an organic basis.
Unfortunately, the general knowledge of this condition is lacking among most practitioners which leads to frustration in those experiencing it because it is difficult for most doctors to address patients who are so symptomatic but yet have no abnormalities on normal tests.
There is no agreed upon treatment and when you read through the posts, there are a wide variety of responses to a wide variety of treatments. Some have reflux and improve with treatment; some mention psychiatric medications; some do breathing exercises, some take various vitamins/supplements.
I suspect the most important aspect of improving is acceptance of the condition and a belief in whatever treatment that is pursued. The fact that typical tests are normal should provide reassurance- I understand that for many, normal tests leave them with unanswered questions/ wondering what's wrong but it is a good thing to not have heart or lung issues.
Some mention having had COVID as did I and breathlessness is one of the symptoms of long COVID so it will be interesting to see how this plays out as the understanding regarding COVID and its effects on people are better studied/understood. The primary question I would have is if you can see breathlessness in long COVID in patients who did not have lung involvement when they were actually sick with COVID.

Sorry just one more comment. It seems like your symptoms are very similar to mine. And all my doctors, even my pulmo friend think this is (most likely) anxiety related. Now this is my question: is it really possible that anxiety will trigger this condition from one min to another so much so that I will experience it pretty much constantly and chronically with varying intensity?? I am no doctor but i would think anxiety could only cause me to have occasional, intermittent symptoms depending on the level of anxiety. Since my SOB started 2.5 months ago, there has not been a single day when I was symptom free. Even on the best days, I can always tell that this issue is still there living inside me even if the symptoms are tolerable. Has anyone heard of cases when it was confirmed that anxiety was responsible for long term/chronic SOB (perhaps to the patient's suprise)?
My family dr suggested antidepressants treatment and as much as I wish it would resolve the issue, I simply cannot rationally believe it would and I am afraid it will be a waste of time.

@sal51- Good morning doctor and thank you once again for saving the day with reassuring knowledge and personal experience. It stands to reason that if tests are confirming that there is no illness or disease that causes SOB that it is in the mind. It's definitely not reassuring and difficult to accept that our minds might be working behind our backs! How can people who have COVID-19 not have lung involvement or damage?