Mysterious shortness of breath, no satisfactory answers

Posted by t0m95 @t0m95, Mar 15 12:55pm

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.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Asthma & Allergy Support Group.

t0m95 | @t0m95 | Mar 15 2:32pm

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?

Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Mar 15 6:07pm

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?

bruizersmom | @bruizersmom | Mar 20 8:54pm

In reply to @t0m95 "I'm an otherwise healthy 29 year old man. Is this neuropathy? Or just anxiety? I'm at..." + (show)

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

anna17 | @anna17 | Mar 21 8:42am

In reply to @bruizersmom "I'd say see a neurologist for sure. He'll test stuff, probably send you to a neurology..." + (show)

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.

bruizersmom | @bruizersmom | Mar 21 9:27am

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.

mranxiety | @mranxiety | Apr 6 2:40am

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.

lluth412 | @lluth412 | Apr 7 7:54am

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?

Please sign in or register to post a reply.