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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, I´d like to share my story.
I´m a 28M non-smoker, healthy weight & diet. Since March 2022 I have periodes of extreme pressure right below my ribs, epigastric region both sides. Feels like my stomach pushing up my diaphram. That in turn causes a 'false' shortness of breath. It's really deliberating and puts my life on hold. It came on randomly during a walk and passed. Two days later it came again and sent me to ER. Some postures like driving seem to make it worse or bring it on. When it´s really bad I also get chest rushes/sinking feeling, really scary. Especially in the moring when I try to sleep again after waking up. Since then I have seen;
three gastroenterologists (gastroscopy was fine, barium swallow fine, manometry weird, probably failed.) - gave it diagnosis Functional Dyspepsia and prescribed antipsychotic/anitdepressant
cardiologist all fine
pulmonologist lungs fine, said chronic hyperventilation (had physiotherapy for it, no help)
6+ osteopath sessions
6+ physiotherapy breathing exercise sessions
Full scan of my bone structure - Fine
Doctors don't know what it is. Some weeks are better, some are hell. This month is really bad, was in ER again one week ago. Only between october and december 2022 have I been 95% better. But it came back with a vengeance this january. I have tried months of ezomeprozole and pantoprazole, tried to adapt my diet, no help. I took the antipsychotic amisulpride 3-4 weeks, didn´t help and I stopped because it was destroying my libido. Amitriptyline a week, no change. Riding a bycicle/bike is impossible, it's even worse then. I've tried loads of supplements without help. It's so bad that is has brought me to tears at it's worst.
Been thinking it might be Anxiety because I have some health anxiety, but this seems different from those problems. Also comes in moments without too much stress. Used to think LPR or hiatus hernia but the tests are fine?
Does anyone have the same issue? Or can help me?
Kind regards to you all! This makes my life hell... I´ll update if I find the miracle cure.
Replies to "Hello, I´d like to share my story. I´m a 28M non-smoker, healthy weight & diet. Since..."
I have similar sensations in my diaphragm and find it difficult to breathe (had covid in 2021) with this tightness in my diaphragm - as if my stomach is pushing up against my diaphragm (even though I know it’s not).
I am going to a physical therapist and she has done Myofascial Release of the diaphragm (Doming) twice and had taught me how to do it on myself. I have found relief with more freedom of breath. I do this while lying down and also feel a release of tightness in my neck and shoulder blades as my chest expands.
Coincidentally, I do have an injury in my cervical discs, from an auto accident which correlates to another reply to your issue.
Perhaps this information will be helpful.
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I'm so sorry to hear that you are having this problem. I believe it would be worth going to a practitioner who does the technique called Atlas Orthogonal (AO). The website is globalao.com. Hopefully, there is a doctor near where you live. These doctors focus on the upper cervical region, C1 and C2. If those two vertebra (the atlas and axis) are not in alignment according to the AO standards, then the entire spine, including the rib cage, can be affected, as the body attempts to compensate for the misalignment. I receive this technique myself and highly recommend.