Things that help False Shortness of Breath (SOB) or pseudo-dyspnea

Thanks for this. I watched it several times, taking good notes. I couldn’t catch the website at the very end, though. Can someone tell me the website at the end?

@mpeters, the website mentioned at the end of the video is
Children's Healthcare of Atlantia
https://www.choa.org/asthma

Thanks so much. I listened to it several times and what I finally wrote down was nowhere close.

Hi I'm in my mid 30s and have had what I believe is FSOB on and off for a little over a decade. I have what I would describe as health anxiety, clinical anxiety and OCD. I thought that the inability to catch a full satisfying breath was related to my OCD because I also pull hair out (trichotillomania) and have some other odd ticks. Just recently for the last 2 months, I'd been obsessively popping my ears. It gets really frustrating that I can't stop some of these behaviors. Id do weird things with my mouth and nose as a kid.

I haven't had FSOB for about 3 years and it just popped right up after I got back from a trip to see my dad in the hospital. He's not doing well and I'm sure that has my anxiety spiked. I've noticed that since I started yawning and not getting a full breath again, I haven't been popping my ears. I think it's definitely a hyper obsession on one thing. I'm an infosec professional and work from home. I'm overweight and don't exercise as much as I should. I do get acid reflux a good bit. I'm going to try some Omeprazole again. Id tried it once for abdominal pain that couldn't be explained otherwise. They did an endoscopy and CT scan. Scan showed start of a fatty liver but nothing too extreme. the pursed lip breathing helps a little. Yogi Breathe Easy tea helps some. Mullein extract as well. I also tend to get back pain with this issue as well. Tried a chiro but it didn't really do much. Getting massages seems to help sometimes.

I've read through many suggestions here and tried a lot so I don't think I'm looking for more at this point, but just want to share what I've experienced and how it sometimes help me. I really just want to write for someone else that is maybe just experiencing this and is super worried.

@sysdefendr - Good morning and welcome to Mayo Connect. It has to be very tough watching your father in the hospital. I'm sorry that you are both going through this at this time.

And it looks as if your anxiety regarding your dad's health has triggered an old nemesis. Or, perhaps it's a combination of all the factors you mentioned, including not exercising and being overweight at a very young age. If I were you, and especially to gain control over your fear (which is completely natural) I would get back to eating healthier and exercising. If you don't in a few years your health will deteriorate even more. I know from personal experience that letting things go is easy and getting back to a healthier lifestyle is difficult but it will be well worth it for you.

The tests that you mentioned- were they three years ago or more recently?

Does pseudo dyspnea also cause increased heart rate when going through an episode?

I too am interested to know if pseudo dyspnea can cause increased heart rate when going through an episode. I just discovered this thread and a lot of what I have been experiencing is described here.

I have had this problem (false dyspnea) since I was a child.... I am 57 now. The problem would come and go. I have asked numerous doctors about it, and they looked at me like they had never heard of such a thing. Long story short: two years ago, I was having a particularly bad spell of it and wound up going to a cardiologist... within 5 min, he said that he thought I had ulcers and told me to start taking sucralfate (an ulcer medicine)... I had been taking Prilosec daily for months and it did nothing for me. No other dr in my life had ever suggested that I had ulcers, but within 5 days of taking the sucralfate, my false dyspnea was gone and it hasnt returned. I continue to take the sucralfate. I am writing this because I have read that some doctors believe that this problem is gastrointestinal and prescribe Prilosec type drugs... but sucralfate is different in that it coats your stomach and allows ulcers to heal... so, if you are at your wits end (and believe me, I know how you feel) you may consider asking your doctor about it. Good Luck

I have intermittent shortness of breathe primarily at night ( while lying down ) I was always properly oxygenated per a pulse ox device but couldn't get a satisfying breathe, it's extremely frustrating! I didn't experience shortness during physical activity, after much frustration and searching I found some obscure page on the internet from a Dr about pseudo-dyspnea, as related to gird , I don't experience actual heartburn. The page said take Gas-X for the simethicone and Zantac. It cured me in 10 minutes. Now several years on it has started to trouble me again and now you can't get Zantac, I looked up the active ingredient of Zantac and found it to be a histamine blocker that also happens to be the cancer causing agent so I took Claritin and Gas-X and I just had the first good nights sleep I've had in a couple of weeks.