Mysterious shortness of breath, no satisfactory answers

I'm an otherwise healthy 29 year old man.

Is this neuropathy? Or just anxiety? I'm at my wit's end with these mystery symptoms:

-shortness of breath that asthma medications and steriods don't fix; I can't always take deep breaths and when I do, it sometimes hurts
-dry cough that doesn't go away
-numbness/tingling sensation that seems to happen randomly and dissipate after 30 mins-hr, going down the left side of my body from my face, neck, down to left arm and hand. Sometimes i feel pain on the right side and legs. Left side of neck hurts.

It's gotten to the point where sleep is difficult.I've been taking Ambien to help me sleep, it seems like it suppresses the symptoms while I'm asleep (I'm able to breathe). But when I wake up, the symptoms happen again. I've been to pulmonologist, they said I have normal respiratory function & my heart is also perfect.

I am wonder if it's my bad "computer neck" posture causing this? It doesn't seem like that's the case. I went to get a chiropractic adjustment but it hasnt fixed my symptoms. The shortness of breath sometimes abates, but changing position doesn't seem to affect it. Chiro says it's the result of pinched nerves due to my misaligned spine & ribs. But I really want to see a physical therapist or neurologist to be sure. Any clue what's torturing me?

Hi @t0m95, I moved your 2 discussions into one discussion to appear in both the Asthma and Lung Health groups. I think you might be interested in these related and informative discussions started by @gabrielm

- Living with Mysterious Air Hunger: My Journey and Tips for Managing https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-with-mysterious-air-hunger-my-journey-and-tips-for-managing/

- Mysterious shortness of breath: What has helped you? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mysterious-shortness-of-breath/

Have breathing exercise been suggested to you?

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.