I feel like I can't take a deep breath

I've had this problem for years and it would only last a few minutes at a time every once and a while until this last year it's been more frequent and lasts for weeks at a time. The few Dr's I've seen are perplexed when i describe the sensation of not being able to take in a full breath of air.

I just found this article online and I thought you might want to read it too. it somewhat explains our condition.

When I get that full breath of air after trying and trying it feels amazing.

Let me know if you have found any answers to this condition.

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Has anyone gotten any test results back? Here are mine:

Stats: Male, 26, active/toned, white, asthma as a child, anxiety/depression since childhood (but surprisingly very little anxiety recently), supplements I take include pre-workout & protein powder daily, had some fillers (hyaluronic acid in the bridge of my nose) a few weeks before my SOB started, drink 1-2 coffees per day, mostly seated at a desk for work, gay (though I doubt this is pertinent information), hydronephrosis grade 4-5 reflux kidney, was living in an old house with mice. This is all I can think of.

Lung Function Test: fine

Blood work:

Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate: fine

Calcium Ionized: fine

pH: fine

IgE: fine

C Reactive Protein: fine

H. Pylori: Fine

WBC, RBC, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, Platelet Count:

fine

Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils, Immature

Granulocytes, Nucleated RBC: fine

Fibrin D-Dimer: fine

Vitamin B12, Ferritin: Fine

Glucose Random, Hemoglobin A1C/Total Hemoglobin: fine

Sodium, Potassium, Creatinine, Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR): fine

Albumin, alkaline Phosphatase, Alanine Aminotransferase: fine

Creatine Kinase: fine

Lipids (Triglyceride, Cholesterol, HDL Cholesterol, NON HDL Cholesterol, LDL

Cholesterol, Cholesterol/HDL Cholesterol, Lipid Target Values: fine

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: fine

Chest X-ray: fine

EKG: fine

Holter: some periods of low heart rate (in the 30s) - Bradycardia, going to see a Cardiologist

Echocardiogram: waiting for results

Physiotherapist: said intercostals were fine

This is all fairly new to me , its been happening for around a week now . I'm thinking its indigestion as I get pain below my heart on the left side and it mainly starts after consuming food. So i'm thinking its GERD but I cannot take a full breath like it feels like it only goes midway and I keep yawning and sometimes the yawn gets stuck and it feels like i'm gagging the yawn out ! sounds weird i know. But i'm especially worried with the spread of coronavirus and the association with shortness of breath but i have no temperature or flu, cough. I'm from the UK and there are no GP'S available right now to diagnos what it is. I'm trying to breath through my nose only but i forget and try to take a deep breath. But its so restrictive like I have a weight on my chest. I even removed my bra and am wearing looser clothing thinking it was causing the pressure , but still nothing 😦 . When i lay down it feels somewhat better and in the mornings.What should i do at a time like this ! were in the midst of a pandemic and I don't want to go to the hospital because i feel it will be selfish as there are people currently going through worse scenarios . Hope everyone's doing well and stay safe Xx

hi all, I just wanted to give you all an update. While my symptoms haven't fully disappeared they have subsided substantially. I've been on Zoloft (anti-anxiety) for a month now and recently started Symbicort (asthma medication). The pulmonologist I met with recently said the spirometry/lung function test does not always indicate asthma when it should (mine was clear). She also said the blue puffer (ventolin) is only a"band-aid" solution to asthma and that I should try symbicort for at least a month.

ive started to have the same feeling i cant get a deep breath it feels tighter right underneath my boobs in the middle of my chest its comes and goes but is there more often now i find myself out of breath when it feels like that and im talking so i find myself trying to clear it al the time by yawning or burping its worrying me it wont go away im not usually an anxious person i had a bout of post natal anxiety when my baby was born sleeping 4 years ago but thats it i spoke to the doctor he said its anxiety for sure but i cant shake it off someone help me

Hi Kenzi,

I've been dealing with this for the last couple of years. Mine comes and goes. Sometimes I am totally fine, usually when I'm distracted or busy I breathe totally fine. However, I used to not be able to take a deep breath before bed and it drove me crazy. It stopped happening when I got off adderal, so I chalked it up to being from that. Recently it has come back though and I'm not on any medication, other then vitamins. Every time I sit down to eat I can't take a deep breath. I am young, active and eat very healthy. My doctor thought it was just my anxiety, or thought it could be asthma. I haven't had asthma in years though, so regardless he didn't find a way to help me and I don't want to take drugs. I do have some anxiety, especially with everything going on right now with the corona virus, however I will feel totally relaxed or so I think then suddenly I can't take that deep breath, then it's all i can think about. Such a scary feeling and i get light headed and can't relax until i get it. It's happening more and more to me, thus how i found your question since I'm searching for answers online as well. Anyways it's comforting to know other people have this issue too i guess. I hope we can both find relief soon. Hang in there.

if you're going through this and cant find an answer, try this! I experienced this for about two yrs straight. Started out of nowhere, felt like I couldn't take a satisfying deep breath, so I just kept taking deep breaths until it felt satisfying then it would just continue- it was the worst health problem I had ever experienced, so uncomfortable and annoying! I even went to the er once- they found nothing and said it was "probably anxiety." Yeah right, I'm the least stressed out person I know... Then I went to my primary doc & she ran labs and nothing. She sent me to a bunch of specialists: GI- everything normal including swallow test & endoscopy, cardiologist- all tests perfect, pulmonologist- ordered every test he knows and.... all normal. Not only was this issue annoying but now I was annoyed that no one could find out what was wrong with me. This thing was affecting my life everyday, I thought about my breaths all day everyday with the urge to take a deep breath every 5 seconds at times. 2 miserable yrs later, I took myself to the chiropractor & went for a few months- he cracked my spine & neck and used a muscle therapy machine on my back. Shortly after that treatment, I finally saw improvements, but the breathing issue would still come back sometimes. THEN, I started massaging my back muscles with tennis balls (something I learned at a fitness class). Once I started massaging my iliocostalis muscles, I found pain I never knew I had! Now my breathing is back to normal & every time it tries to come back, I release the muscle knots and it goes away! I guess the chiropractic treatment helped relax the muscles a little but i needed to target the muscles directly more.

Hello All,

I also experienced this starting last year. Mine has gotten significantly better but I'm here to just let everyone know that I created a subreddit called "Asthma_Subtype" because I was diagnosed with asthma and found like 6 others on the asthma subreddit who experienced really similar symptoms. I want to invite you join! It's private right now just because I want to make sure everyone who joins truly is in the right place and is actually experiencing this symptom.

Someone else on this subreddit described it very well as "I had a constant feeling of being unable to get my lungs full of air. I described it as the sensation of an iron clasp around my rib cage."

If you have experienced this feeling for at least days at a time (most of us for months) please send me (joules129) a message on reddit and I will add you to the sub! Everyone there so far has been diagnosed with asthma but I feel like none of us has really figured out a good way to I guess "cure" this feeling so maybe we can all learn from each other.

Im a 16 year old male (5’11’ 150 lbs)

Since last August, I’ve been having some cycles where I always felt out of breath. I swim competitively so my lungs are usually in good condition. This sensation feels as if i cant catch a deep breath and when i yawn i cant inhale all the way. Last August it happened for a whole month but then it went away until November 2019 and its been happening every month since then for about a week at a time. I think its caused by some mild anxiety. Just recently like 2 weeks ago its come back but now for about 2 weeks. This is followed by a small clicking in my chest every-time I inhale. If anyone has advice or tips on how to stop this sensation. I would appreciate it A LOT. thanks guys

i am 16 years old and i have has this for 5-6 months now, i cannot take a deep breath and constantly have to gasp for a breath. I can only get one satisfying breath in once every 20 odd times and its like something in my chest is stopping thr breath from going into my lungs. I have had a chest Xray my heart checked i have been put on tablets for anxiety and breathing and been using an asthma pump. I still havent seen a change and i cant keep not being able to breath like this. I also cannot yawn aswell and my yawn stops just before it gets to the satisfying part just like my deep breaths. If anyone knows anything to help me please do because doctors and hospitals havent helped in the slightest.

Hey Kenzi, I recently had a similar issue, however, in my case I could run and exercise and usually felt better, it was at rest I struggled to get a full breath. I had an EKG and ECO and nothing. I had been getting the feeling that it came on with coffee but through lots of looking couldn't find anything that linked the two. During my last visit with my Dr. he suspected that there could be a disconnect between my upper and lower heart chambers and ordered an EKG halter to be worn for 24 hrs. Well, I didn't make it that far, two days ago I went to the ER with shortness of breath. I had been off coffee for 4 days and had been feeling great until around 11am when my wife and I had a latte (strong coffee). That's all it took and within an hour I was right back to trying to catch my breath. When I went in they connected me back up to an EKG and from that was diagnosed with Bigeminy PVC. The Dr. in the ER mentioned that it was good that the EKG picked it up as it was happening because the EKG's don't always pick them up? (not sure why - I'm still learning about it). Anyway, the take away is - coffee triggers my "fight or flight" response and makes my heart go into an ineffective beat pattern where I do not get effective pumping of the heart which causes my shortness of breath. I typically have between 1 and 3 coffees a day. I hope that helps you or others in some way. I struggled to find info on the web so maybe someone will find a helpful answer in all of these responses. All the best!

This started for me mid December, 2020. I went to the doctor who diagnosed it as anxiety and prescribed a non-narcotic anxiety med. I took one or two pills, but abandoned that because one day would be ok, the next bad. 7 days later I developed sore throat, fever, coughing, congestion. Tested positive for Covid. Now, all my other symptoms are long gone but two months later this persists. Had a CT scan and x ray of lungs, had full heart testing done: stress test, ultrasound, etc. and all look good. They all say "most likely Covid" but what exactly does that mean if lungs and hear look ok. So frustrated because I wish I knew if it really was "Covid related" or is it anxiety or??? what? I have been writing down "good" or "bad" on my calendar and it seems like I've never had more than 4 days good in a row. Anyone else having this experience? Prior to Covid, I had no health issues, took no medications and was active. Breathing exercises help and lying down and resting helps. But I have also run with the dog and done 30 mins on the treadmill and that didn't make it worse. I'm 65.