Shortness of breath even when im not having an anxiety attack!
Posted , 234 users are following.
Hello I'm a 32 year old female,I have been having anxiety and some depression for about four years now!!so I understand everything that everybody on here is going through!!!!I started back on my meds almost 3 weeks ago....I can just be sitting there on my bed and start getting shortness of breath,even if I'm not having an anxiety attack....ive been to the er so many times because of my panicking....I've had xrays,ekg's,and lots of blood work done,& the doctors tell me that I'm healthy....my psychiatrist told me that I think about the breathing too much and that Its just in my head,but it scares me!!!does anybody else have that same problem???I have read other stories with the same issues!!!I just want to know that I'm not the only one going through this!!!!!
22 likes, 351 replies
marycaitlinnn G.mommy
Edited
Can someone tell me more about their breathing issues? Like do yall just have trouble breathing all throughout the day or are there moments throughout the day where you'll feel okay but then you'll think about something or hear a certain song and out of nowhere you have to gasp for air? Not exactly like a panic attack though.
ashleyDRN G.mommy
Posted
Hello All! I am hoping someone can give me some sort of relief. I am 30 years old and have never been diagnosed with anxiety. A week ago I ended up in the ER resulting from an episode that happened out of nowhere at 3 AM. I felt an impending doom feeling, SOB/air hunger, sweating, chills, vomiting, nausea, shaking, weak, fatigue, tachycardia, HTN. Everything lab wise was normal and they said I had a panic attack. I went home and went to sleep and the next day I woke up with a persistent air hunger feeling....its Day 7 and this feeling of breathlessness has never gone away. In the past week I have acute onset of symptoms that can last as little as 30 min to over an over. I've experienced chest pressure, tachycardia, HTN, rib pain from air hunger, lightheaded/dizzy, hearing loss/white spots vision, impending doom feeling, dry throat/mouth, sweating, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, hoarse voice, dry cough, throat tightness/lump in throat/feeling like throat closing/difficulty swallowing, pressure behind eyes, focal headaches, fatigue, excessive yawning, shaky/weak, orthopnea, loss of balance, and numbness/tingling. Could I seriously have developed panic disorder over night? I feel like something is seriously wrong and even said my goodbyes to my kids and husband. Am I going crazy?! The persistent air hunger 24/7 is so uncomfortable. Someone help!
denis78343 ashleyDRN
Posted
Hi Ashley,
First of all, don't be silly about saying goodbye to your kids and husband. The doctor said you are fine and they must have checked all your vitals. It is funny that you mentioned about the first panic attack followed by the continuous onset of a feeling of breathlessness, this episode happened to me 2 years ago and after that I have been feeling this type of breathlessness feeling.
Yes it's been that long, but don't be scared, its all about how you manage it. I am not a Doctor of any kind but I have seen a few and a lot have said it's anxiety and some now have diagnosed that its a behavioural pattern that I adapted. But I have resulted in doing my own research on how to manage or cure it. I am currently seeing Respiratory Physio doing a few exercises with her but its early stages and will have to see the results - she is teaching me Buteyko techniques - google it if you want to know more.
I think you first need to rule out to make sure its actually not a breathing problem and do some breathing exercises for relaxation and stress such as the 4-7-8 technique. If it is making you feel better during the moment then i believe your breathing is fine. You should also get a oxi-meter and see how much oxygen is in your blood, if ts 95% then you are getting enough oxygen. The oxi-meter actually should put you at ease to let you know that you are not suffocating, which you think you are when you have a panic attack or the onset of breathlessness.
Some of the symptoms you said above I have experienced before. A lot of them is due to you over-breathing. You are taking to much oxygen which causes symptoms such as light-headedness, tingling in the arms and legs, and dry mouth and throat. You start to panic when you get these symptoms and anxiety sets in what happens with anxiety is you breathe more and it creates this vicious cycle.
A few steps you can follow, (but as I said I am not a doctor, just the same person like you who has been doing a lot of research myself. And make sure you first check it is actually not your lungs that are the issue which you can from the breathing exercise and the oximeter and from your doctor:
I hope this helps.
james49527 G.mommy
Posted
i am also going through this, i am 16 days into my meds and i am short of breath every day and getting palpitations. I have had ecg, chest xray and bloods all clear but my head always tells me otherwise. I really struggle with health anxiety and constantly google symptoms too also i go to the doctors and a&e every other day to seek reassurance.
monica25949 G.mommy
Posted
ive been having a hard time breathing for a while i had mono in feb and i still havent felt like myself my biggest issue was breathing. and it did get better for a bit but now i feel like i still cant breathe sometimes idk if its from that or major stress n and health anxiety/depression for me its been going on since feb it sucks
md_abdul78822 G.mommy
Posted
Its almost 6 yrs your post hows your anxiety related issue now ? Is it same or you get treated ? Please reply
jordan1717 G.mommy
Posted
hello there. i had surgery about 2 weeks ago. and bam, my aniexty just started. i started not being able to breath. constantly have to take a deep breath every few minutes. i went to the hospital because i thought i had a blood clot, luckily all my test came back fine. but then it just made realize that this is all aniexty related. ive always struggled with aniexty. but i have never had this breathing issue. its actually scary, it convinced me that im dying. i have lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks because i just cant brinf myself to eat. i went to the doctor and they gave me effaxor, which i have yet to take because im scared its going to make my aniexty worse. im just wondering when this will go away and i will feel okay again, because this is driving me nuts. im also not sleeping. i do not wish this upon anyone. pls let me know if anyone has advice
denis78343 jordan1717
Posted
Seems like all doctors do these days is just prescribe anti-depression medicines left right and centre, which is very sad to see. It should be the last resort. I have had SOB (shortness of breath feeling) for almost 3 years maybe, some days are good some are bad. There are a lot of people in this basket and had these for a long time and not much of a cure. You will go down a rabbit hole trying to find answers. The best thing to do and what I do is just train your brain to ignore it. But i know its really hard to do, because all you do is just sit there and think about it. Also try and exercise regularly, eat well and get out and have fresh air as much as you can. It does help. I tend to see that bad thoughts, stress and over working can make this thing worse.
kristian35669 G.mommy
Posted
Hello, im 28 and from the UK. for the past month i too have been suffering with breathlessness. it has been constant for a month with a few days being okay. i am on 50mg sertraline which dont appear to be working for me, so i need to speak with my doctor about upping my dose. the breathlessness only seems to bother me at night when my mind is most active. it seems to only kick off when i think and worry about it. i havent seen a doctor about it yet but i feel as if i know its anxiety causing it. i know this thread is quite old, so hopefully you sorted the issue.
jordan1717 G.mommy
Edited
hello. i had surgery a couple weeks ago and right after my aniexty started. i have had this shortness of breath 24/7 for about 2 weeks and im completly exhausted. i went to the hospital thinking i was having a blood clot but all my test came clear. i still am shortness of breath and constantly feel like i have to take a deep breath to feel okay. this is creating more aniexty. does anything make this better? my doctor gave me klonopin to ease the aniexty but it does not stop the shortness of breath. im at a loss of what to do. i feel like im going to go crazy. i also can not eat, i havent eaten much the past couple weeks because im not just hungry at all. if anyone can help please let me know!
loyd00700 jordan1717
Posted
how are you doing now, any better?
joseph23110 G.mommy
Posted
I have been struggling with this since August 19th. I had to go the ER twice over this and they were very sure that it was anxiety related and told me to get counselling. Unfortunately the symptom is still there and I found counselling to not be helpful for my breathing at all. I however bit the bullet and started an SSRI (fluoxetine) since last week and today is my 10th day on it. Hopefully I get better as Michelle on this forum said she got better after 5 weeks. I will keep y'all updated. I'm finding it so debilitating to the point I had to cut some uni subjects out this semester and my sleep has been terrible!
Its like I'm breathing but I can't feel it 😦
denis78343 joseph23110
Posted
Hi Joseph,
Sorry to hear you are suffering from this also. I have had this issue for close to 3 years now.
Have you looked up symptoms of OCD, to me some of the symptoms relate to this issue. We are so obsessed with checking our breathing that it gets to a point that we are thinking about it all the time and hence these anxiety of something is wrong starts. SSRIs do help OCD issues also but heard it can take like a few months. As long as you have had yourself checked up and doctor has said nothing is wrong then you should keep telling yourself that nothing is wrong.
joseph23110 denis78343
Posted
I'm feeling so much better after taking anti depressants for a month! I've been off them for 2 weeks and my breathing is still normal! At times it does get bad especially when I'm around toxic family members but overall I can breathe and focus and live!!
ahmedzao G.mommy
Edited
Don't worry dear I have been through this and I know how it feels when you get the feeling of suffocation... when I was in that phase in my life, I tried meditation and believe it really works if you combined it with improving your sleep schedule and take some nutrition products. But you have to be extremely disciplined about your schedule..
Anyways here are some meditations you can try for anxiety.
Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing.
Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.
Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment.
Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts training. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.
Transcendental meditation. Transcendental meditation is a simple, natural technique. In this form of meditation, you silently repeat a personally assigned mantra, such as a word, sound or phrase, in a specific way.
This form of meditation may allow your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort.
Yoga. You perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you're encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.
Hope this helps Take care!!