I feel like i am breathing through a straw
Posted , 4 users are following.
Does anybody feel like they are breathing through a straw? Like you can't get a full satisfying breathe into your lungs? i have been have had chest xray, pulmonary function test, blood work, EKG, and everything has came back good and my doctor says im healthy as an ox. Been dealing with anxiety for a couple of months and have recently started this week on some anxiety medication. The breathing problem comes and goes and seems to happen once every 2 weeks and will stay for a couple of days. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do?? Cant stand this, and just ready to get back to normal! (Hoping the medication helps out as well)
0 likes, 6 replies
jan34534 zachary40647
Posted
shortness of breath is one of the the most common sensations of anxiety. It’s important to learn the proper way of breathing when you have this. So many people breathe very shallow and don’t get a full breath in.
I learned through great breathing exercises I found on YouTube. They are specific for anxiety. all you have to do is listen to them and practice. You can just search for breathing exercises for anxiety or mindfulness breathing exercises, etc. there are hundreds of them as well as some great meditations for anxiety to calm down. Belly breathing is emphasized. Hope you feel better soon!
dip58448 zachary40647
Edited
I feel like this all the time for the last 4 months. Some days are less intense, some more, but it's there to some extent all day (except when I sleep, or am very into my work). It takes a LOT of effort to inhale, especially to get a deep breath, and sometimes even with effort, the deep breath doesn't work. I also get short of breath VERY easily, from just doing dishes or light cleaning. I can't exercise anymore and before this, I was quite fit and loved exercising. Even when I am short of breath, feels like the air gets stuck on my throat and doesn't go into my lungs. I was told to try inhalers and acid reflux meds for a week to see if they made a difference. It made a difference for a day, then went back to the usual. I think it's anxiety. It's a little confusing, because I have no major stress in my life at all. How are you feeling now? How did this start, and what have you tried? Do you have stress in your life?
zachary40647 dip58448
Edited
Mine has been going on non-stop for 4 months as well, but some weeks its better than others. When i was younger i had panic attacks and about 7 months ago they started to come back. (had a very very stressful job). Then one night i woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air and ever since then I have dealt with this crap. Convinced my self that i had something wrong with me (heart disease, lung cancer, or something) went to the doctor and they drew blood, did 2 EKGS, pulmonary function test, and Chest Xray and everything came back looking great. My doctor told me its all just stress and started me on ProZac, i just started last monday and it takes 4-5 weeks for it to work so that it self has not helped me yet. Before putting me on ProZac he gave me something to take as needed for anxiety but it didnt help my breathing at all. Finally the other day I was reading an article and i finally just told my self that I have health anxiety and i have convinced my self for 4 months that something is wrong with me so its gonna take some time to get over this and for my breathing to get back to normal. Now im just trying to not even think of it, was getting to where it was the first thing i thought of when i woke up and the last thing i thought of when i fell asleep but just doing my best not to even think about it. From what ive been reading alot of people who have dealt with this and get put on anti-anxiety meds start doing better after 5 weeks once your brain chemistry gets back to where it needs to be.
dip58448 zachary40647
Posted
Yea, I know what you mean. I also think about my breathing from the time I wake up to fall asleep. Before this happened, I never even thought about my breathing once. In addition to not getting a deep breath, do you also require a lot of effort to inhale? I have that, where I feel like I have to use so much effort to inhale. Are you able to exercise at all? That's my biggest thing. I used to love exercising. Now, even after a short walk, I feel like I'm struggling to catch my breath. Hope the Prozac works for you - please keep us posted!
dip58448 zachary40647
Posted
Yea, I know what you mean. I also think about my breathing from the time I wake up to fall asleep. Before this happened, I never even thought about my breathing once. In addition to not getting a deep breath, do you also require a lot of effort to inhale? I have that, where I feel like I have to use so much effort to inhale. Are you able to exercise at all? That's my biggest thing. I used to love exercising. Now, even after a short walk, I feel like I'm struggling to catch my breath. Hope the Prozac works for you - please keep us posted!
kassidy40951 zachary40647
Posted
Hello, I know this post is old but I just wanted to come back and ask if you ever did get better..? I am a college student and have struggled with anxiety my whole life but never to this extent. Its been about two months now, one day i just woke up unable to breathe and have not been the same since. Drs say im healthy yet anxiety meds do not work. It gets so bad sometimes i think i am going to pass out. Nobody I know has experienced something like this and nobody seems to understand or comprehend what I am saying when i try talking about it. If you have gotten better what have you done to do so? If anything? I hope this message finds you well and you can get back to me soon.