Breathing problems only better when lying down!

This is my first time here. I came here with the same sort of question. I have chronic throat clearing all day long. 1000 times on a bad day 500 on a good day. Its been getting worse over 2 years and really bad the the last year. Mine goes away completely within 5 minutes of lying down. I feel so refreshed in the morning and usually 10 minutes later it begins again.

I have tried many solutions to no avail except one. I got complete relief after taking Ibuprofen one in the morning one in the afternoon. First day was good 2nd day was like heaven. Third and fourth the same.

I stopped because of blood sores on the skin. They warn you not to take it too long. It got back to normal hacking after 3 days. I tried it again after 2 weeks with the same result. Very strange.

Ok here goes. Ive tried Azelastine, Nasacort, Claritin and D, expectorants, Albuterol, Singular, Prilosec 7 days. None of these helped. Ive had a cat scan of the chest which saw the heart and liver. It Said mild copd every thing else ok. My Systolic averages 120 the diastolic is between 51 and 58. My pulse is in the 50s though I have seen 48. I am healthy run 1/2 mile and walk 3 in the morning. 67 years old. Normal weight.

?Constrictive peracarids is fixed with ibuprofen. I have no edema. I think maybe some heart problem?

Anyone have any ideas.

Hello I think I have Asthma...... I understand the pain and struggling to get air... But somethings can make asthma worse like mold or mildew... Maybe check to see if thats an issue in your house... All the best

Literally having the same exact thing!! Have had asthma for years- always relieved with inhalers. I am now 6 mos post covid- and have been having this same issue- is is soooo darn uncomfortable !! Mine is better when i lay flat or and up and walking. If i sit still - it starts- the build up of a pressure feeling in my chest. Just went to a second pulmonary doc- she said this "symptom" is called platypnea - look up this term - you will see this dexcribed. Was so happy she at least knew- thought I was going crazy!! I am a nurse and know that with respiratory distress- we always have the patient sit up - more pillows etc.Now having an echocardiogram and chest ct- soon. I will let you know how it goes. She said it could be related to heart which makes more sense. Hoping it will just improve with time. Have you had covid??

Hi Minimemo and others suffering,

I began experiencing similar symptoms about three months ago. 

I have provisionally been diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome a form of Dysautonomia. It basically means that the automatic bodily processes struggle. It can present differently for individuals and symptoms can change rapidly by the day. Treatment must be personalised.

Initially my chest felt restricted when standing but relieved by sitting and felt normal when laying. 

Sometimes the difficulty would build up over ten minutes other times it was instant. I would have a week or so with difficulty and then randomly I would feel normal.

Less than a month ago my symptoms changed and I have been completely incapacitated. My heart rate and blood pressure spike sometimes when I move and always when I sit or stand. I don't have a constricted chest like I was experiencing but breathe like I am running a marathon just to sit up.

I have many other symptoms but mostly my purpose for this message is in case it may benefit others suffering.

To test for this condition yourself whilst waiting for help from medical professionals you could try the Poor Man's Tilt Table Test for Pots. It looks at differences in heart rate when laying and standing.

An oximeter with Heart rate display has worked great for me as it has kept up with the rapid changes my body goes through.

There is a lot of good information and Youtube videos on this to explain it well if anyone is interested.

But basically a difference of 30 beats per minute or more increase from resting heart rate (when laying for several minutes) and then standing for up to ten minutes is a good baseline indicator. Blood pressure may or may not be affected. Some people have postural blood pressure changes that when treated well help the Tachycardia and are therefore called orthostatic hypo or hypertension instead and may need to be ruled out also for appropriate treatment.

At my worst I have gone from 80bpm to 150bpm in less then a minute. Now I know why I am exhausted.

The hospital doctors seem pretty clueless although I appreciate they were working to their capacity. 

I am privately seeing a Total Body Modification Practitioner who believes a virus is attacking my brain stem throwing off the automatic processing in the body and that I can recover. The virus won't show up in blood tests typically.

Many people develop Pots after a viral infection or flu shot.

Viruses like chickenpox can lay dormant in the body for decades before reacting like this. 

He is giving me treatment, hopefully I will improve.

Good Luck everyone I hope you find your answers somewhere.

Since i posted the symptoms are just tight/ pulling muscles in the back near the hip or shoulder. Still easily out of breath, could be weak intercostals for whatever reason No more of the weird inflamed feelings. Relief when lying over an exercise ball or couch arm. I have not heard of that condition before.

Hi Paul,

Did the doctor say what is causing your asthma? Have you considered anxiety induced asthma as well? I has a ragweed induced asthma attack last month, and since then I am monitoring things on a site called Climacell. But in 2019, I had asthma attacks and my meds did not help for a long time. Turned out is was asthma due to anxiety. I had used some CBD oil, which finally relieved me.

hello all, hope everyone is safe and healthy. i recently saw this post and immediately was drawn in. Over the last week ive been to ER 4 times. i have shortness of breath, the feeling of tightness in my throat and a few other symptoms as well. every day i wake up n i feel great but after 10-60 minutes depending on the day i am feeling it again i noticed when i lay down it feels better but standing or sitting up makes it worse. i thought it was gerd bc i had some reflux but thats passed and the symptoms havent. has anyone had any luck in diagnosing it??

In a way it was somewhat reassuring but also frightening to see I am not alone with my symptoms. Problem started last fall. I was referred for an echocardiogram and a spiro something test. Unfortunately I had to wait two months to get those tests and the breathing problems had resolved by that time I had them so results were normal.

About three months ago I went for a usual bike ride but within a few hundred meters I was gasping for air and very nearly passed out. Breathing problems have continued since then, but thankfully have not been as bad as it was on that bike ride. Like everyone here breathing is better when lying down. Gets worse when I sit up and even worse when I stand up. It gets worse as the day goes on. Normal walking on flat ground okay. I can still bike, but I ride an ebike soI don't need to pedal that hard. Most difficulty occurs when walking up a flight of stairs, especially if I am carrying something like groceries. Very recently though I have noticed my recovery time is less than it was a few weeks ago.

As I mentioned lying down helps as does being in cold air, Riding in my car with the air conditioning on maximum really helps. I sleep in a basement bedroom which is the coolest place in the house and with a fan blowing cool air at my face. When I first wake up in the morning I have no or minimal breathing difficulty, About 10 minutes after I get up the shortness of breath starts. It slowly gets worse as the day goes on. It gets worse if I am anxious.

Two X-rays have come back normal. Another X-ray showed I had a twisted aorta. My doctor says that is common and nothing to worry about. However, I am concerned because I have read that it can create problems for some and the fact that my father and his brother died of heart disease causes concern. I also notice a number of people here have said that their breathing problems were eventually found to be due to heart problems. What is also concerning is the number of people here who have had breathing problems for a long time and except for those who had heart problems, there seems to be no effective treatment out there. I have used an inhaler several times but it does not appear to help at all. Some of the posts here were written quite a while ago so I am wondering if anybody has found anything that works since they wrote their comments.

I've been experiencing the exact same thing for the past week or so. Went to the ER and after and ECG and blood work they chalked it up to anxiety. I took their word and took a sedative that night, hit the gym to attempt my usual routine the following morning and nothing seemed right. I was continuously hungry for air and my heart rate would shoot up with the slightest physical exertion. As an athletic 20-something year old with great cardio it didn't make any sense. I don't know if these symptoms have anything to do with these lingering "long haul" effects of sars-cov2 but I can confidently say there's something else going on.

I realize I am several years late to this 'party', but I've been having the same issues everyone is describing here... I have a pretty complicated health history, but here is the gist of it.

After 20 years of medical gaslighting, I was FINALLY diagnosed with hyperadrenergic POTS as well as a Mast Cell Disease (HATS) about a year ago. Symptoms have been relatively well controlled with a slew of meds including: Xolair, advair, atrovent, singulair, ketotifen, nalcrom, rupatadine, famotidine, clonidine, and esomeprazole (I've been given ventolin as well, but it actually makes me wheeze more and aggravates my POTS severely). However, I've been in a huge flare this past month and nothing seems to help.

All that being said, I've had pulmonary function tests done in the past and they were normal. I bought my own home spirometer and it seems my fef2575 is atrociously low... I'm not too impressed with the tech who did the PFTs and didn't mention that in the report. So anyway, before the hPOTS and HATS diagnoses I was basically told my breathing issues were in my head. However, now that I have the diagnoses, I am actually believed. And I've been given meds for it.

During this flare, I've been at the ER 3 times, including one 4 day hospitalization where they were absolutely horrid and literally almost killed me by giving me the wrong meds (I get it, I have rare conditions). I essentially discharged myself after 4 days because it was pretty clear they weren't going to help me. Of note, my EKG upon admission showed some possible abnormalities, but echo and CT were apparently normal. Blood gases showed respiratory alkalosis. And D-Dimer of over 1,000 (PE was ruled out, but that's about it).

When I left, I managed to get an apt with my POTS specialist. She ordered more bloodwork. I got the results yesterday (online- she hasn't told me yet) and my D Dimer is still climbing, and blood gases still off. She, when I first talked to her, suspected the D Dimer might be from the Mast Cell inflammation, and the blood gases from hyperventilating all the time because I am coughing and wheezing (side note: the wheezing was confirmed/ heard by every doctor I came across during this past month). She said she will refer me to a pulmonologist or something to that effect, but I am extremely wary considering all my tests were 'normal' in the past (when you've been gaslighted by the medical community for 20 years, you basically have PTSD and have a great fear of 'normal' test results).

The gist of all this is that I've noticed the same thing as all of you... Unless I am waking up gasping for air, I actually feel relatively well when lying flat in bed. The moment I even remotely start sitting up (even just putting one extra pillow under my head), it hits me. I feel it in the middle of my chest, like a knot. And everything feels tight. I can't take a deep breath without wheezing (hence the hyperventilation/ messed up blood gases). If I am completely upright or walking, then I am audibly wheezing and gasping. What makes this so complicated is the fact that I have POTS, and there could be some correlation with increased heart rate = increased need for air. But POTS doesn't cause wheezing. So I'm at a loss right now and feel like I'm 90 years old (I'm 'only' 37).

My POTS specialist is the best doctor I've ever had. And with my health issues, I've had LOTS of doctors. I'm hoping she doesn't give up on figuring this out. If I get any answers, I'll post back here.