Sudden Shortness of Breath - not sure what to do?

Posted by husy @husy, Feb 7, 2023

Around a month ago, out of nowhere, I started experiencing shortness of breath which can be pretty burdensome during the day (although not every day).

How it happened:

On a night out, but nothing out of the ordinary. drinks, cigarettes, felt pretty normal. when I got home (about an hour after the last drink), I suddenly felt extreme shortness of breath. really couldn't breathe, was very close to calling paramedics. it felt almost like a panic attack (have had one of those before), but my heart rate was normal-is (100BPM, normal considering the alcohol consumption): so it rally just the breathing.

no History of asthma or breathing problems before, but I have had a range of neurological symptoms / autonomic issues over last couple of years since psyche med withdrawal, which had mostly gone away and felt mostly normal recently.

Since then:

over the following month, some days were OK, but some days I feel short of breath even during nothing. haven't been able to do sport although walking around at a good pace does tend to help overall I think.

I had a week where things weren't too bad before a new flareup over the weekend so I went to the doctor to get some tests done last weekend. test results are back: BP normal, heart rate normal, quick O2 test normal, ECG normal, chest X Ray normal, bloodworks all normal too. Seems there is nothing physically wrong with me.

I did ask about testing for asthma, because the original onset felt like an asthma attack from what my asthmatic friends have described, although I have not been coughing at all. My doctor told be that right now, due to covid obsession where I live (Hong Kong), they are reluctant to test for asthma or other things unless the patient has serious breathing problems, as there are still a lot of issues around covid control. So basically he told me he didn't want to test me for it.

So my question is: assuming my doctor is right, for those that have had autonomic issues leading to SOB, did you find a way to treat symptoms? both natural remedies / medical options would be helpful so that I can discuss with my doctor, because for now I am stuck in my life (for eg, would an inhaler be of use, even if it's not asthma related? etc).

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otter2154 | @otter2154 | Feb 7, 2023

Similarly this happened to me about two years ago (I was diagnosed with asthma after a severe bout of Covid). Fast forward two years and I’m doing really well. Some thoughts, an “emergency” inhaler like Albuterol could certainly help on an as-needed basis. A maintenance inhaler like Trelegy (which is what helped me) may also be ideal. Seems as though anxiety could be a factor for you? (It was for me.) And of course if you did visit a pulmonologist (or respirologist as it is called other countries), the first thing they would tell you is to stop smoking. Often when someone stops smoking, things can get worse before they get better. Might be worth a try.

husy | @husy | Feb 7, 2023

In reply to @otter2154 "Similarly this happened to me about two years ago (I was diagnosed with asthma after a..." + (show)

Yes I haven't been smoking since it started (I don't smoke during the day anyway, just when I am drinking and I haven't been drinking in the past month.

Anxiety could certainly be a factor, but normally a panic attack implies rapid heart rate, whereas mine was normal, hence why I think it's possible it may be linked to something else.