Mysterious shortness of breath, no satisfactory answers

Have you ever gotten a sleep apnea study done? I have sleep apnea. There are 2 tests a home study and a in office type sleep study-usually at a hospital. The at home ones are easy, however from what I have heard they are ok, just not giving the Dr. the best results or all the details as the one done in the hospital. I wear a mouthguard for my sleep apnea. If you haven't gotten one, I would advise getting one, as it might be something going one with your throat when you lie down and go to sleep. With sleep apnea, your throat closes and it you have breathing episodes during the night. There is CPAP machines and I one of those and I hated it. It was uncomfortable, lot of cleaning on the supplies and taking care of the machine, etc... It helps a lot of people and that's great, however it didn't work for me. There are other options and the Dr. can explain that. Dentists make mouthguards for it too. Where I go is a specialty clinic in Ky an oral facial pain clinic and they offer 5 different version of a mouthguard for me to choose from. I have 2 different kinds of them. We also use an elevated bed, where you can move the mattress up to sleep at an angle. I have acid reflux and that helps to use that. Dentists have the home sleep study equipment or at least some of them do. Do you wake up tired or sleepy during the day?

What I do:
1. Practice slow deep breathing. Slowly fill your diaphragm and then lungs via your nose, exhale slowly via your mouth. At the same time, visualize your lungs renewing themselves, the 3 lobes of the right lung, the 2 lobes of the left lung.
2. Cut down on carbs (bread, rice, pasta, pastries, etc.) Carbohydrates metabolize into carbon dioxide which can severely inhibit normal breathing. Limit sugar and salt intake.
3. Drink organic tart cherry or pomegranate juice, 4 oz. at breakfast, 4 oz. later in the day or after exercise. They are great antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Be sure they don’t interfere with your meds or put you over a healthy daily sugar intake.
4. Inhale aroma of thyme leaves before walking or exercising and as needed.
5. Sleep with your head elevated and keep your rooms, especially your bedroom, free of dust and dust mites. They love high humidity.
6. Wear N95 mask during high pollen season. Milwaukee brand N95 is great.
7. Drink plenty of filtered water.
8. I start the day with magnesium glycinate, 29% of the RDA, Pure is the brand I use.
9. Avoid inhaling cleaning agent aromas, especially those containing chlorine. Also avoid chemicals in general, especially carbon monoxide and gas/methane fumes when at the gas station. Wear the N95 mask if you must be near/use harmful inhalants. You may also be severely bothered by flooring adhesives; I like floating luxury vinal planks. Hopefully, you aren’t being exposed to radon, test for it.
10. Inhale saline solution after being in close proximity to others.
11. Have 1/4 teaspoon of honey if you feel throat congestion.
12. Well-wish for others in need, at bedtime.
I have had no problems since being on this program. We are all different, so I hope this helps you and others.
Regards,
Sagan

I would stick with the chiropractor, as over time it would hopefully get better! I would suggest for you to go to a Functional Medicine Dr. I see one, they aren't cheap. Insurance might cover some on it, however they don't cover the whole appointment or everything the Dr wants. There is "out of pocket" expenses this route. It is worth every penny! The Dr. spends way more time with you- my Doc spent 1 1/2 hours talking to me about my medication, conditions, tests/procedures that I have had done in the past 2 years on my first visit. She ordered a whole slew of lab work- a ton of it. Well, I learned that I have a thyroid problem, where regular Doctors couldn't find that out or didn't want to do all that testing to explore that option of other issues going on with me. I am now auto-immune. She changed my supplements/vitamins, as I was low on B vitamins. I had abnormal results for my Thyroid and went to Endocrinologist for a diagnosis of Hashimoto's. No other Dr, PCP or other specialist I went to would check for my thyroid issues. I have shortness of breath and asthma and they gave me a different solution so that I could put it in my nebulizer, and it does help. They have other in office treatments that might help you too. I am going to try red light therapy for some of my other issues. I have heard great things about red light therapy, you might want to check into that for your breathing issues. I had extensive allergy/food testing- I am gluten free, dairy free and egg free now. I had testing done by an Internal Medicine Dr-independent had his own office and not affiliated with a hospital and my symptoms were ongoing cough, clearing throat all the time, tummy aches, throwing up, diarrhea, etc... It was all wheat/gluten and the dairy causing me issues and I had SIBO too, so he gave me medicine for that. It is more difficult to avoid all these things, however I feel so much better! Have you been checked out for any type of food testing? The allergy Dr. does the "prick" testing, however you need to ask for food testing to be done in addition to the trees, grass, etc.. Then, there is the other kind, which is done in the lab, where they take your blood and send it to another lab for testing. Both are great, however I got 2 different results from each of the tests, as they are processed and done differently. Both are needed to get an "accurate" picture of your intolerances and allergies. I would highly suggest you do that to see if food or other allergies you aren't aware of is part of the problem. Have you tried using a nebulizer instead of the inhaler? You might do better with that. I use a netti pot or navage every day for my sinus issues-CVID, per Rhinologist specialist ENT. Have you had a Xray or CT/Mri of your chest? I think exploring your chest/lungs is worth doing to make sure there isn't nodules or other scarring going on, etc... You could go to your primary care Dr . and request for those tests to be done or Pulmonologist would be able to do that also. Maybe switch to a different Dr. see if that makes a difference, it might. Get a recommendation from co-workers or friends for another Dr. I use an air purifier in my home, I got the medical grade kind and it helps me a lot. I use a mask when I am outside, as I am allergic to grass, mold, pollen, trees and ragweed. The mask helps a lot, even though it is a hassle at times, but it helps me feel better. You might want to try something like that to see if that helps you. I take Singulair and it really helps my asthma and allergies, an allergy Dr. or your primary care could prescribe you that. I use flonase nose spray as well. I have the shortness of breath, ongoing cough, asthma-coughing kind, and chest pressure at times too. I have an immune deficiency where my antibodies aren't working right like other people's do. I have to do subcutaneous infusions each week to put other people's antibodies into my body. Before infusions, I would get anywhere from 6-8 sinus infections/ear infections/upper respiratory infections in a year! Sick for majority of the year...bummer... Do you have other symptoms besides the shortness of breath, chiropractic issues with your spine/alignment? A neurologist may be able to help out, it wouldn't hurt to get their opinion. If you have other symptoms, I would recommend an Immunologist or other specialist. Antibiotics don't always work for me, sometimes I need up to 4 of them to get to feeling better. It is frustrating, I am thankful I don't have cancer or bed ridden or in a wheelchair or paralyzed. I am blessed and thankful for all that God has given me! I hope you figure out what is going on, as it is a relief when you get the diagnosis and cause of what is going on with you.

@linsu - Did your doctor determine what might be causing this shortness of breath for you?

I can understand your frustration in trying to find out why you're short of breath.
I am experiencing the same thing. I noticed not being able to breath freely in February 2025, following a virus that had gone around our area, so it's been a year of not breathing freely. Sometimes when I'm quiet my breathing is normal, but when I start walking it gets short again.
I wonder if this is a result of "environmental manipulation" with all the chemtrails across the skies.
God bless you and I'll pray for both of us to improve.

I’ve had the bad pain down my arm that I thought was my shoulder. I went to an orthopedic who did an MRI and found I had a pinched nerve in my neck. Had a procedure to inject between the vertebrae where the nerve was pinched and that cured all. It’s been three years since the procedure and I haven’t had any further issues. Maybe see what orthopedic would say?

I am currently having the same symptoms/situation. Its like I wrote this coz its literally the same. I have a GAD, I was diagnosed by my neuro wayback 2013. It went away for a couple of years but last year a full blown anxiety while im sleeping cause me to be very cautious about my heart health and breathing. I am also checking the best way to deal with this.

Did you know that Astragalus and Sativa nigella are good for Allergies and pain? Google "is Astragalus related to Sativa: and scroll thru the 10 or so totally unrelated answers till you find one that applies. From there you're on your own...i've been doing the researching for a friend with Lupus who has a very bad time come pollen season.
Good luck.

TARGET HAS A CHILDS SMALL PILLOW THAT IS PERFECT FOR AROUND $5.00. I have cervical stenosis and it's perfect for a low support and it's washable too.

I'd say see a neurologist for sure. He'll test stuff, probably send you to a neurology Specialist, depending on his findings. I've had tons of neuro problems and ultimately ended up with a neuro/Parkinson's, neuro/Seizure disorders, and a general neurologtist, so you can probably guess that I have you symptoms plus a whole lot more, but you didn't mention a cardiologist. Right now everybody (doctors, nurses, GP) are in a tizzy about my mysterious low blood pressure and low pulse, but the cardiologist isn't concerned! I have tightness in my chest almost every night and with it usually there's the breathing mess. It goes away right away with a nitro, or if I ignore it , it takes a bit longer to fall asleep because it's kinda hard to ignore. And I usually wake up with a stiff neck. I think I need to find the right pillow, but it might just be Something Else. Too much going on with me, and it's got all my doctors kind of in suspended animation, waiting for all these disorders and symptoms to straighten themselves out, or for one treatment to fix something...or a magic pill, maybe. Just be sure that you have a complete meds list with you and a complete list of all symptoms, not just the ones that concern you right now, like I tell everyone about migraines, even tho I've only had one in the past 10 years, and I wen t merrily along with a 25 year gap between my youthful seizures and my SlamBang clump