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Mysterious shortness of breath, no satisfactory answers
For the past few weeks I've found it absolutely impossible to get enough air. I inhale and feel like I can't breathe deeply enough; it feels like I can't catch my breath and is particularly unbearable at night when I try to sleep. There's also a dry cough associated with it and a feeling of chest pain/numbness that sometimes shoots down my left arm and up to my face. The whole left side of my neck and left shoulder/arm hurt. I've been to the ER several times and they just tell me I have anxiety; they gave me Ambien to help me sleep, but I really don't think that can be a long-term solution.
It all started about 2 months ago when I went to the ER for chest pain that they diagnosed as costochondritis. but the pain got worse, and then my shortness of breath (which I already had) also got worse. I had shortness of breath already which my doctor said was asthma, but ventolin inhaler did absolutely nothing to fix the symptoms. When I went to the ER, they gave me steroids which also did absolutely nothing, except maybe reducing some of the chest pain. They said I had chest wall inflammation and cough-variant asthma. My heart and lungs seem absolutely healthy, I went to a pulmonologist to do a pulmonary function test which came out fine, they just said I had mild asthma. But asthma medications do nothing to reduce the shortness of breath or cough.
I'm a 29 year old man with normal weight, and I am prone to anxiety, but never had anxiety symptoms present as persistent shortness of breath at all times of day. I have bad posture from being on my smartphone/PC a lot, including forward neck posture and rounded shoulders, and I'm wondering if that's causing a nerve to get pinched or something that makes it feel like I'm not able to breathe deep enough. I went to a chiropractor - against my gut feeling about them - and they did an adjustment and said it's indeed my misaligned spine and posture causing this, but I didn't feel any better afterwards and I'm skeptical that my posture's bad enough to make me feel so out of breath, and have a pins-and-needles sensation down my arm. Is it just anxiety making me hyperventilate? Do I need anti-anxiety medication? Will chiropractic help if I stick with it, or should I do a bunch of stretches/change my ergonomics? I am at a loss with this mystery condition.
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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
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1 ReactionHave 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?
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