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
loyd00700 G.mommy
Edited
There are so many people with these symptoms, its crazy. i had a surgery for a pinched nerve about 2 months ago and immediately after i started having crazy tingling in my hands 2 days later while sitting in the couch my heart rate jumped up to 120 plus and i became short of breath every since i have been unable to take a deep breath, ive been to the er and every doctor imaginable and they all say im fine ive been taking ativan but it only helps to make me drowsy enough to sleep 3/4 hours and i wake up from that everyday to what i assume are massive panic attacks, rolling waves of pons and needles, heart racing, feeling of doom and they go on for hours i started taking zoloft about 2/3 weeks ago and so far not helping its just a constant feeling of tightness in my throat and a sense that i am never able to get enough air it gets even worse with exertion which is insane because ive always been an athlete this nightmare has completely ruined my life, my fiance has been having meltdowns almost every day and i dont have many people to talk to because noone wants to hear about it anymore . ive dropped out of grad school and im losing my job if i dont return soon. this is so agonizing and unbearable it goes on 24/7 without ever having one second of peace. Im literally not capable of doing this any longer. Any addition info or anything would be greatly appreciated
denis78343 loyd00700
Edited
Hey, I hear you. First of all dont freak out, I have had this for nearly 3 years and it goes on and off. Doctors ruled out everything. It seems a lot of people have had a similar event. You have a major panic attack and something set your brain off to check on your breathing all the time now and you are on a vicious cycle of thinking about breathing when you dont need to and it is done automatically by your body. To be honest the worst thing your girlfriend can do is freak out because it then makes you more concerned and this what this thing lives of. It is sad to see no-one wants to talk to you about it but actually talking to someone about your symptoms really helps. I been on this path for a long time, I have not taken any drugs because the doctor told me not to and for someone as healthy as me I should stay away as it will bring on its own troubles (didnt get into much detail of what that is). What helped me when I had major episodes of this is to mediate , breathing exercises. Also look up Buteyko breathing , that helps. One thing I tell you I read these things for 3 years now , and these SSRI people been taking isnt helping and they keep increasing their doses more and more. I am no expert but try everything natural first and drugs as the last resort.
I hope this helps, keep your head up , there are brighter days ahead.
loyd00700 denis78343
Posted
thank you for the reply ive been doing the buteyko breathing, mindfulness stuff, meditation, anything and everything i can find for hours on end and it never lets up its such a strange combination of cant take a deep breath ever, constantly feeling like im suffocating, and breathing through my nasal passage feels like breathing through a pillow even though yheres no mucus or pressure i have found something strange twice that made a difference for only a few hours i took an ativan so i could go to the dentist and they gave me a shot or carbicaine to numb me, which is a vaso constrictor like afrin and my nose cleared up and i felt mostly like myself for a few hours until it wore off i did something similar last weekend taking an ativan and using afrin spray and i felt pretty decent for about 5/6 hours this whole thing is crazy the side effects from the zoloft are beyond intolerable so now im switching to something else ill keep doing the breathing, im going to start talking to a therapist/do iop/cbt and see what happens with the medication hopefully something helps because as alot of you know this is completely debilitating a psychiatrist told me to try to live my life as best as i can in the meantime which seems impossible
denis78343 loyd00700
Posted
I hear you. I have tried myself a lot of sprays etc a few years back. Although seems like a temporary relief but then you realise that its not the solution. You also need to realise that one of your nasal passages seems blocked than the other but this is normal what your body does and it switches over every quarter or so of the day. The medicine your dentist gave you is possibly related to make your sensations numb and might do a few other things so that you do not feel pain. I am not sure if you drink but when I have this constant episodes, if i sit down and have a few beers I do not feel it because the alcohol makes you relaxed and surpress your brain activity.
I had a small episode yesterday of feeling breathlessness, after not having it for sometime. It gets you all worried and stressed and you keep trying to take this deep breath. But try and force yourself not to, you will realise that nothing will happen, just your brain keep telling you to take it but you are not actually suffocating. From studying this thing, if you keep taking deep breaths its just going to keep going and asking for it.
Another thing that helps and I am not sure if you do, try running and high intensity running if you can. After a run you will realise that you dont feel this thing for next few hours and you feel amazing.
chandan58509 G.mommy
Posted
hey,
Thanx for asking for question. you are talking about 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.........
jacobl327 G.mommy
Posted
Hi all,
Revisiting this post as my breathing problems have been ramping up again.
I posted last year, describing the exact same problem many other people have experienced: a constant feeling of breathlessness, accompanied by consistent yawning and sighing, which rarely relieves the breathlessness. For many people, this started at the beginning of covid.
I wanted to post some things that worked for me in the past year to help with this condition, in the off chance it may help someone else.
After many therapy sessions, the source of my breathlessness (dyspnea) was identified as stress and anxiety. The main things that contributed toward my stress and anxiety were: my university work, and poor relationships at home with my family. I've been living in circumstances where my boundaries are not respected which stresses me out, and I've been conditioned to internalize a lot of this stress. I came to this realization after travelling for university research, where my breathing problems disappeared entirely, and returned as soon as I arrived home.
Some key strategies that helped me relieve my stress, and in turn my breathing:
One key thing I look forward to is moving out of home, into an environment free from these stressful influences from family members who refuse to change their ways and respect me. I've graduated university and secured a full time job, so it's only a matter of time.
I suppose, if I have one key takeaway from this post, is to consider the possibility of stress/anxiety causing your breathlessness. Do your symptoms alleviate in an environment away from certain people/places/events? Are you being treated with respect, or achieving a healthy work/life balance? Therapy can be incredibly helpful. I hope this post can help shed light on breathing problems and alleviate symptoms for some people may be experiencing. Please share your experience if it is similar to mine. I'm still experiencing constant ups and downs with my stress and breathlessness, but these strategies help me reground myself and improve my breathing.
emily6251 G.mommy
Posted
Im 16 years old and ive been struggling with anxiety since i was little, ive had something like this happen to me a while back with my head i would have really bad headaches everyday and i was convinced i had some sort of medical condition, but i had many CAT scans and i was fine the doctors said it was my anxiety and it was just in my head. but now for a couple of weeks ive been having such a hard time to breath to the point where my back is hurting and starting today my chest has been hurting, i dont know if its anxiety, and i have looked it up and google isnt helping which is giving me so much anxiety saying i have a heart condition, or cancer or a life threatning disease, im not sure if i should see a doctor or not because it could he anxiety and seeing people on here that are saying its anxiety makes me think it is anxiety, but im still having chest and back pain and i am having shortness of breath and idk how to fix it.
Sim83634 G.mommy
Edited
if you have been to GP's and emergency department and have been ruled out that ur breathing is within normal ranges, than this issue were you feel short of breath 24/7 all the time than its 100% anxiety related and rest assure you will get better over time , you wont improve overnight but it takes weeks to control ur level of stress. my issue happened in 2021 and it was totally stress related it was my second time that this feeling of suffocation happened 24/7 everyday non stop. second time around i know better how to handled the situation but still a scary situation.
things i did to improve and make the suffofication feeling go away is to:
1.switch off the news and stop reading news article
2.take anti anixiety meds eg lexopro as per doctor
3.breathing exercises everyday and a few times a day eg google them i like progressive muscle relaxation that helps heaps and other different breathing exercises
4. get enough sleep
5. eat healthy
6. switch off mobile and have alone time and watch full length movies with no disruptions improves mindfulness
7. talk to someone but needs to be positive no negativity
8. spend time with pets
9. open windows when sleeping
10. spend time in sun and get fresh air
the above has helped me get thru this i was on lexopro for a year now and everything have improved i no longer feel shortness of breath or have that suffocation feeling and have even weened off lexapro for a month or two now
it takes a few weeks for lexapro to work its magic and you need to be patient and live life with a lot of positivity during the year you may have feelings of suffocation but it will go away in a day or two
good luck people i tried commiting suicide because of this when i first had the issue over tens year ago with better management second time round you will get thru it and get better and move on with life,
i dont like leaving comments but i hope this helps people get thru the worst time of their lives
what44837 G.mommy
Posted
hey all, is any of you having this specific symptoms with the breathing:
-triggers after food cones with mainly bloated feeling
thanks!
kamran83020 G.mommy
Edited
I just came here to share my story and give you hope. I visited this forum 2 years ago with severe shortness of breath all the time. 5 years ago i got panic attacks, panic attacks stopped after 2 years but shortness of breath was there all the time. I visited every doctor, every forum and could not find answer. I suffered alot, it was like hell. How can you have shortness of breath 24/7 for 3 years? Yeah i heard anxiety can cause it, but i never believed it. I never believed that anxiety can cause such horrible physical and real symptom. But guys, i finally found relief, and now i dont have shortness of breath anymore. Now i believe that anxiety can cause every physical symtpoms and it can cause real and geninune shortness of breath.
I found relief after leaving my country, my comfort zone, i lived with my cousin in another country. Everything was new, new people, new city, new life. This new life made my mind busy all the time so i slowly forgot about my shortness of breath. I was getting less and less symptoms. And after one very busy day i realised that i didnt have any symptoms at all that day. So i slowly started to believe that my problem is mental not physical. Believing is the key. Well within 3 months i completely got rid off this annoying symptoms forever. I shared it to give you hope, if someone comes to this forum accidentally like i did 2 years ago, let them read my story and be happy.
YES ANXIETY CAN CAUSE SHORTNESS OF BREATH 24/7.
Good luck guys