Having trouble taking full deep breath, body is shaky and chest tightness
Posted , 20 users are following.
I woke up January 1st feeling tired and short of breath. I didn't think anything of it maybe I was just exhausted. By Wednesday I started to panick because I couldn't take a full deep breath. I found myself yawning more to try and get a deep breath in. I felt some pressure on the left side of my ribs and slight chest pain and decided to go to the hospital. They did an ekg, chest x-rays, and blood work and all came back normal and healthy. They sent me home and nothing changed so I found myself going back 2 days later this time I could barely catch my breath I wasn't sure if I was having a panick stack due to me feeling like I couldn't breath fully. They ran the same tests all over again and also did a CT Scan. Everything came back normal but they said it's possible I have pleurisy which is an inflammation to the outer lining of my lung, they said that could be making it hard to breath and they gave me 600mg of ibuprofen and sent me home. It's now day 12 and nothing has changed I have been waking up shaking with tightness in my chest due to not being able to breathe correctly. I went to my Primary Care Dr who gave me a breathing test through a tube which came back not normal. They said I might have asthma but they need to run more tests. I'm 28 healthy and I am not a smoker and no history of asthma in my family. She also prescribed me Medrol which is a steroid for inflammation for 5 days. I'm on day 2 and still no changes. They gave me an inhaler to try and that did not work. She also said it's anxiety and prescribed me lorazepam 0.5mg to take as needed until they run more tests. I took one last night and it got me sleepy but it did not help me breath better. I'm at a loss right now because I don't know what it could be. I've been very weak and dizzy if I stand up for too long and it's been affecting my everyday life. I just want to know if there's something they haven't checked for that could be causing this?
0 likes, 27 replies
jojo44 kimberly38
Posted
Hi, have you suffered from health anxiety for a while, or are you brand new to this? I've had it for a few months now (though only knew it was called health anxiety since Nov). I personally don't have chest pain as a symptom, but have spent lots of time on here, and tonnes and tonnes of other people do.
You have a fab Dr, putting you in for so many tests so quickly. Please do take comfort from all your good results that you've had back! If you couldn't breath properly, you'd not be able to type on here; honestly. It feels like that, but it's not true. You must be breathing properly, to even be reading this.
I teach emergency first aid. On all my courses that I've attended the instructors always say 'if you can talk, you can breathe'. It's literally that simple!!! Please take that on board. If you can talk, you can breathe. Lots of love x
kimberly38 jojo44
Posted
Hi, I have suffered from anxiety before but very mild. I would get it once in a blue moon if I had a stressful week I might get an episode here and there where my heart would beat really fast and I felt scared but they were very different than these symptoms and it would usually be gone within the hour. I sorta knew how to control it. I feel like this is a little different. I wake up and immediately my whole body is shaking on its own and if I over exert myself trying to wash my face even I get a small chest pain. I have been trying shallow breathing through my nose but then I get the urge to take a deep breath and I cannot. I think the reason I am so nervous is because it has been going on for 12 days now and the Drs can't seem to find what is causing me not to breath properly. I honestly don't think it's asthma although I did fail the breathing tube test I feel like it may have been due to me feeling anxious at the time it was taken.
shayla81596 kimberly38
Posted
I'm having all the same symptoms and I have had all the same test recently except a cr scan the last one I had was in August and it was normal but I wasn't having this hard of time breathing... I went to my doctor today for a check up because I was in the ER the other night. I'm just so scarred they're missing something! I'm terrified of clots even tho I don't have family history of them and my doc says I have no risks to have clots so I know I have to trust in her it's just hard to when you feel this way.
right now I'm also getting pains in my abdomen and back by my kidneys my left side idk what it could be from but I'm scared
amy_57955 shayla81596
Posted
try to calm yourself and tell yourself it's you are safe and healthy. It's amazing how your mind can get carried away and cause you to worry yourself into a frenzy. Your thoughts create how you feel. Try changing your thoughts and see what happens. I realize easier said than done.
shayla81596 amy_57955
Posted
Yes definitely easier said than done but I'm gonna try. I'll try anything at this point. I hate how powerful the mind is!!
amy_57955 kimberly38
Posted
My 23 year old daughter had some similar breathing issues. It would go one for 2-3 days where she said it was like she couldnt get a deep breath.
It has come and gone 3-4 times over the last 12 months. It never lasted more than 10-12 days. It's been a while since she's had it. I googled alot on the internet and found some breathing exercises that seem to help others. My daughter never tried the excercises since it when away. It could be stress related, however she said she didnt feel stressed. I am sorry I can't remember what the breathing exercises were called. Try to calm yourself and tell yourself there is nothing wrong with you and not to worry. Maybe you'll find it goes away.
kimberly38
Posted
stacy1978 kimberly38
Posted
WhatsWrongNow kimberly38
Posted
Would love to know if anyone on this thread recieved a proper diagnosis or found the symptoms subsided. I've had the same tightness & inability to take a full breath without pain. A well ago I thought I was getting sick, had achy body and those symptoms went away, but Sunday night I became fatigued all of a sudden, &Monday was battling chills/ fever... but that also was gone today. But the tightness issue began yesterday. I'm completely fine (besides this) today. Went to urgent care with the lung concern telling them right away, I didn't have congestion &felt fine. They were no help. Swabbed me for flu, which I know I don't have... and heard nothing in my lungs, which I didn't think they would because I have no congestion. So frustrating & annoying.... starting to worry.
Please update us if you have found relief or a remedy or diagnosis. Thanks!
minanah WhatsWrongNow
Posted
SS272 kimberly38
Posted
SS272
Posted
My instagram is xsalihaxs
Snapchat : saliha_727
minanah kimberly38
Posted
HM1122 kimberly38
Posted
I've been having the same issues since August 2017. Thing is, I'm 31, I was sick with cdiff in July and didnt get it treated until early August. That's when this all started. It was really rough dealing with the cdiff.
So ever since that, I've been feeling like I can't take satisfying deep breaths. Somedays are better than others. I even went to the ER in August because of this and all the tests came back negative. I was fine. They gave me bloodtests, ekgs, even a chest xray. Everything was normal. ER dr said it's anxiety. I thought he was full of it.
I followed up with my GI, even had a endoscopy. Everything normal and he said its anxiety. My primary dr ran his own ekgs on me. Normal. He actually told me I have chronic anxiety. I was being treated for it for a couple of months, but had to stop because I am now pregnant. So, since I stopped taking my antidepressants and xanax, it's been acting up a bit, but it could also be from my pregnancy also.
I guess I'm just going to have to accept that it's chronic anxiety. It's just a really crappy thing to have.
kennedy_61910 HM1122
Posted
Hello!! How crazy, I also developed my health anxiety after a long bout of recurrent Cdiff!! That disease really sucks, doesn't it? I have had it six times since last year - found it was Cdiff after the third time it happened when I finally went to the docs. I am due for a colonoscopy soon to see what is going on.
?During my last treatment for cdiff I think the strong medication caused some side affects that began to worry me and it spiraled downhill very quickly from there. I convinced myself I had heart disease because my chest felt tight and full. Now I believe I have a brain tumor because I get headaches. My doctor assures me it's all anxiety related - your mind is very powerful. I still think she is full of it and feel like we've missed something. It sucks because I'm only 18 and have been relatively healthy my whole life until I got cdiff.
?I'm glad I found someone who is experiencing health anxiety and has had cdiff!! What a coincidence! I hope you start to feel better soon because this is no fun.
HM1122 kennedy_61910
Posted
You're only 18 and you have recurrent cdiff? Thats really rough. How'd you end up catching it?
And you sound exactly like I did a few months ago after I finished treatment (vancomycin). I thought the same as you. Every head pain meant I must have a tumor or aneurysm. Every ache and pain was something serious. I even convinced myself of having full blown gastroparesis and that I'm going to die. And started thinking I have jaw cancer. (Not really sure how I got to that conclusion. )
Well, turns out it was full blown anxiety and Im very healthy. I took Pristiq and xanax and felt normal again.
With my breathing it happened after they put me on flagyl for my cdiff (switched to Vanco after. Flagyl is horrible and shouldn't be prescribed to anyone.) I think my mental health just went downhill after that. Apparently there's a "gut/mind" connection. If your gut isnt healthy it affects your overall mental health. Crazy how the body works.
Some days are better than others. Most of the time Im fine, but then I find myself wrapped up in how abmormal I think I'm breathing. I dunno. Doesn't help being pregnant either. Hah.
kennedy_61910 HM1122
Posted
We think I got it initially from over using the antibiotic Cipro for UTIs. I was put on Flagyl three times, and the last treatment, about a month ago, is when this all started for me... I had a complete depressive episode, overwhelming anxiety, chest pains, panic attacks... I am definitely not as bad as I was at first but haven't really felt like myself since.
?I agree.. I have good days and bad. I just want to feel like "me" again, I'm sure you can understand. My doctor assures me I'm healthy because I'm so young but I dunno, my brain apparently believes otherwise! And it's like I always think well I'm young and I got Cdiff so who's to say I couldn't have something else seriously wrong?
The body is crazy! And the mind is even crazier! So powerful... congratulations on your pregnancy though! What an exciting time, but also I can only imagine how you must feel given how crazy your hormones must be going!
HM1122 kennedy_61910
Posted
Thank you! Yeah I'm 11 weeks. Got a long way to go. I think I'll be ok. Just having an off day with my anxiety prpblem. But hey, I didn't wake up dead so I must be alright! haha
If your doctor tells you you're healthy, believe him. You are healthy, you definitely don't have a brain tumor. Trust me on this.
If I were you, I'd switch from flagyl to vancomycin (if your insurance covers it because it can be pricey, but it's worth it.) And take x2 florastor a day.
And a side note, my GI dr told me to stay off of those cdiff discussion boards. It's not healthy. (But look where we are now lol.)
You'll definitely get through this. Antidepressents work magic also in times like yours. Only a suggestion. It shuts the brain up when you can't.