Excessive Yawning and Constant Need to Breathe Deep

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For the past few days, I've been yawning a lot, much more than average (once every few minutes I feel the need). If I'm not yawning I'm breathing in as deep as I can to get similar "satisfaction". Often I cannot get the "satisfaction" from these and so the urge grows and grows, meaning it can get quite uncomfortable. When I do manage it, the urge is back a few seconds later. This is whether I'm tired or not, almost all day. 

I'm not particularly anxious about anything in particular, and get the same amount of sleep as before this started. 

This also happened at some point within the past year which continued for a month or two if I remember correctly. 

Does anyone have any idea what it is or how to make it a bit better? 

Thanks.

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  • Posted

    I cannot believe that I have actually found this site!!! I am 44 years old and I have had this problem since my early 20's. I have been to allergists and a pulmonary specialist and no one can find anything wrong! It comes and goes and has recently been gone for almost 2 years, but it just started again and has been going on for about 4 weeks now, so I have started the google searches again and can't believe I found this discussion. I was thinking about seeing an ears, nose and throat doctor since I haven't been there yet. In the past I have looked into breathing techniques and I think it has helped (probably why it goes away for awhile?) I am so happy to find out about the Buteyko Breathing. I am looking at the website now. Somedays I am convinced it is anxiety, other times I am convinced it is a terminal illness, but mostly feel like I am crazy! Nobody I know has any idea of what I am talking about!!!
    • Posted

      you and me both!!!!!  i thought i was going coocoo.....i asked friends and family and they thought i was crazy.  i am so glad i came to this forum and seen the comments.  we are not crazy. 
  • Posted

    Hi there,

    I just want to say thanks so much to all for sharing your experiences and your advice.  Even your frustrations.  Unlike some of you that have gone through this for years (i cannot even imagine what that's like) i only experienced this for a couple of weeks now, yesterday being my worst day.  i felt like a fish out of water.  All day sighing and yawning just to get that satisfying deep breath.  I made an appointment to see my doctor for tomorrow, but i was still unease about the whole thing, so i googled it.  I ready a few pages on other sites and then this one.  OMG!!!!! was i ever thrilled to had come to this page.  I joined today just to that i can comment here.  Ever  since last night, after reading the comments on this forum and Will's advice, i youtubed Boteyko Method and i started practicing immediately.  After a minute or so of doing that i noticed an changed and i had been minding my breathing very closely , paying attention to when i need to yawn and things like that.  Yesterday i was yawing about 6 times in a minute and taking deep breaths about the same, 6 times.  I was so annoying and very debilitating.  I knew something wasn't right. Today, i can tell you that i feel so much better.  I am on the go, at work or at home with the kids and i am trying my hardest to breath slowly and basically stop my breathing.  I've been doing some research and watching a lot of videos and i tell you, i am so thrilled i came to this page.  

    BTW, mine is stress related as i started a new job 3 weeks ago.  and now have a very demanding new full-time job, while i kept my old job as part-time for the next few months.  I've had anxiety attacks in the past (due to work stress of course) but it wasn't anything like this.  There were more like rapid heart bit, feeling of heart-attack type things.  I've never thought this was even a possibility.  

    To top it all of, i now know what my daughter had gone through before.  She does this once in a while and the doctor didn’t know why.  she has had tests after test and nothing.  But now i know!!!!!! she is too having anxiety and i feel i can help her now.  She is only 6 years old and I cannot imagine her going all her life like this. BTW i am 35 almost 36 years old, 4 kids and a very hectic life.  this is another wake up call to start giving some time to ME and try and relax a bit.  I hope you all have found relieve from this.

    • Posted

      Yes I feel like it is a big wake up call to relax! I really want to start some type of meditation. I've said that forever but have yet to do it! The breathing techniques that I found on youtube have helped so much! I started as soon as I found all of this and it has gotten dramatically better since then. I am concentrating on breathing only through my nose and fighting the urge to yawn when I can which the urge is coming much less. When I am busy and can actually get the breathing off of my mind I start to breath normally (like I do when all of this isn't an issue) but then I think of it again and I start to feel that pressure in my ears like I have to yawn. When I sleep it gets so much better because I am relaxed and my breathing slows and I stop that overbreathing and gasping for air . When mine is really bad, I have so much pain in my neck and shoulders and my throat feels so tight. I also notice my heart rate increase almost like palpitations. When this first started back in my 20's, I remember that being a huge problem, feeling like my heart was going to pound out of my chest.(actually seeing my shirt move because my heart rate had increased like I was exercising when I wasn't)  Something else that I found interesting, my mom has breathing trouble, she has pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea, and she is overweight, so her breathing issues have been different from what I have dealt with. When talking with her about the breathing exercises, she said how much better her breathing is when her cpap is on and she could never understand it because she gets no oxygen in her cpap and she has a mask on (which should not make you feel like you can breath better when you are gasping for air!) but it is the one time that she is breathing only through her nose and most of the day when she is up and moving around she is breathing through her mouth and probably overbreathing and taking in too much air. I just can't say enough how happy I am that I found this message board and so many others who have experienced the same thing! 
  • Posted

    Hello.

    I am 23 yrs old now and I had the exact same problem for over 4 years until this year.

    I could not take a deep breath and would get maybe one satisfying breath every ten breaths or so.

    It started very randomly and I had no idea what it was.

    It got to the point where I would wake up in the middle of the night, feeling as if my entire stomach and sides were totally brusied in the inside.

    Felt like they were beat up.

    When i researched why this may be, I discovered that it was most likely due to lack of oxygen to my organs.

    I took many breathing tests and did probably what everyone else here did and found nothing.

    However, unlike probably everyone here,

    I did find the cure or the root of the problem, and it was not anxiety.

    I wanted to come back to this forum and let everyone know what the problem was because I remember how frustrated I was of people just saying they have the same thing, but nobody really saying anything sueful besides breathing exercieses.

    The problem for me was an allergy to dust.

    I know what you re thinking.

    You probably think you dont have an allergy to dust and that you can keep scrolling, but dont be fooled.

    I too did not believe it when the doctor suggested it.

    I thought it was ridiculous.

    However I was givien a puffer specigfically for dust allergies.

    I use it once a night and I can breathe normaly again.

    Really changed my life.

    For the first one or two weeks you may not notice much.

    But the puffer slowly begins to open up your air way and allow for those deep breaths.

    I hope this helps and I hope nobody will have to spend 4 years like i did.

     

  • Posted

    I breathe great until I get to work. At work it very hard for me to breathe on top of that I feel dehydrated. What could this be?
  • Posted

    I notice i have more issues with this when I consume any stimulant such as caffeine (coffee, soda, even chocolate!) I also have taken wellbutetern and noticed ghat each time i was on that my symptoms seemed to get more frequent. I went a full year without when I went organic / no stimulants, no smoking, not around smokers, and got plenty of exercise. This seems to still have some kind of medical start for me, but anxiety dies play into it. As does humidity! Hot Iowa muggy summers are not great on it. But can be managed. I know I have to reassure myself and slow myself down. It is easy to hyperventilate and once younstart doing that it snowballs. Hope this helps, because yeah, every doctor will put you on pills and have no clue! They stuck me on the telemetry unit of the hospital on a heart monitor for a week and still had no idea what was going on, when it was my meds and I figured it out on my own by going off them. They just want money, they aren't invested in your care these days.
  • Posted

    I have been experiencing this for a long time. I dont know how to fix it, but i can see how it gets on your nerves. It is very annoying. People say to take a deep breath in and hold, or breath using your stomach. 

    wink hope this helps

  • Posted

    I am so thankful to read this.  I thought maybe I was having some form of heart disease!.  I'm going to look up the method described below.
  • Posted

    I have had this for some years now. It comes and goes and lasts from between 2weeks to a month plus. Through all this attack, no solution had ever been found as all medical test yield nothing. I only live through the trauma till the condition stops. One thing is certain, which is that this condition is beyond medicine. I dont want to bore you with long stories, but to tell you that I found a solution. I recently had another traumatic onset and it was so bad it was affecting my job output and relationships. Tried so many things without success until I hit it. I found a remedy that works perfectly without the need for any breathing therapy. Funny enough this is something that is so easily available, yet we dont know its potency. It might even sound so stupid when mentioned, but I promise you will be marvelled at its effectiveness. DM me on my twitter handle chibuzou1 and I will give u this recipe. I promise I will not be a waste of time. Cheers
  • Posted

    I don't normally Google for medical help because it always gives you the worst result. But this time I'm so glad I did  because I had actually tried everything else.  It's such a relief knowing that I'm not the the only one going through this I was even thinking that I could be hypocondriac the doctors just look at me as if to say ( you again ) I'm soooooo fed up I just want want to feel normal again. I'm defiantly going to take all this advice on board and give it a try.  This started just before Christmas it started just a few times a day I was struggling to feel satisfied while taking a breath and gradually got worse I then had a panic attack for no reason and that's when it got really bad I thought I was dying the doctors did lots of tests and the same results every time they would say they can't find anything. Reading this has made me feel so much better I now know I'm not alone I thought I was going off my head. Thank you to everyone who has written on here. 
  • Posted

    Does anyone experience pressure building in your ears with this? I really notice lately that I am and I have to try to pop my ears frequently.
  • Posted

    I too have been dealing with this for years. The last 3 days have been a nightmare! My chest & back are both now sore from trying to catch my breath every few seconds. I do have anxiety along with OCD. I have been under stress as well. I experienced a new symptom last night though that worried me. My left arm went "dead". It was very cold, tingly & felt like it was asleep. I was laying on my back. My fingers and everything were ice cold. I started freaking out a little wondering if something was wrong with my heart!!! After about 3 hours of this I finally fell asleep & when I woke up it was fine. My breathing still sucks though.
    • Posted

      I know, hang in there. I'm feeling like sh*t for days now with this breathing thing. I'm off to work in a few minutes and hopefully I'll get throught it. After about 8 years of this I've learned one valuable thing which is acceptance. But you won't be able to accept it unless you surrender to it. Just know it will pass.The more you resist the more you will struggle. At some level you know this suffering is self created. It comes from the mind's inner conflict. It comes from a thought, an interpretation not the actual situation. Once you realize you have truly had enough suffering in your life, it will be then when you can say, "I don't need this anymore." Suffering can be a great teacher. In fact, for most people suffering is the only spirtual teacher they have. I hope this makes some sense to you. Best wishes,  Bob---
    • Posted

      Yours is the most depressing post I ever read. This just started for me. It really hasnt affected me much yet except for it being strange. but your post is scary. I think there is a lot of tests to be done before I panic. I think it may be acid reflex because i have had it bad and i know it is of my own doing, so I am done with sweets and greasy food and no vegetables. I don't know if anyone smokes on here, but I am cutting down on that too.

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