Shortness of breath even when im not having an anxiety attack!

I have dealt with anxiety my whole life. Mostly social anxiety that I always could manage. a few years ago I started to notice my anxiety was getting worse and was not manageable without medication. I started out on a low dose of Lexapro which helped but overtime I started noticing it was not helping anymore, like it needed to be bumped up. My doctor up'd my dosage and I started having really bad side effects. I decided to try and manage it without medications again and did great for a while but it came back. I tried different things besides medication to see if they would help but they didn't. My doctor wanted me to try the low dose again but I had another reaction, which is weird because I could handle it before. We tried different medications but every time I would have a bad reaction. I was extremely stressed at work and started falling ill. I've been to the hospital 3 times in the last month and a half because I feel like im dying. I have been physically sick since may 12 of this year because of my anxiety. I was in denial at first because I thought there is no way anxiety could make me this sick and I thought my doctors didn't care, i really thought something was wrong with me. At first I was having stomach problems so now I have to go see a gastro specialist but now it is turning into breathing problems on top of stomach issues. i have had so many tests done and they all come back normal. my breathing problems started a few weeks ago, when I would wake up in the morning, I felt like I can't breathe. it would go away after a few minutes but now it lasts almost all day even if I am not anxious which really worried me. I went to the hospital for the 3rd time because I couldn't breathe and was freaking myself out. I wasn't sleeping, I was so afraid I would stop breathing in my sleep, but the doctor at the er did a chest xray, ecg and a scan of my lungs which all came back normal. I was a vaper for many years so I seriously thought it had something to do with that. I second guessed my doctors a lot and thought they were just telling me this to make me not panic, but I now know that's not the case. I also recently started counseling but did not like the person I was seeing so now Im on a wait list until august. Recently I had a genetic test done to see what medications I can take without having a reaction, there was only two on the list and I will start taking my new prescription tomorrow. I know I will have side effects so I am really anxious about it but they want me to give it a few weeks to level out. I am nervous for these next fews week because I am tired of not feeling good. I just want my life back. my anxiety has kept me from doing so many things, I had to leave my job because of it and can't work right now which is making me more stressed but Im still physically sick so I can't. I never thought anxiety could affect someone this bad. it's so hard and I just want to feel better.

Hi there

Sorry to hear of your struggles. I am in a similar situation although my breathing issues are new in the last week. A week ago I suffered my first panic attack and was hyperventilating. Since then I am so conscious of my breathing its affecting nearly every day whether anxious or not. I have spoken to my doctor twice this week but told its all anxiety related. Its so scary and I just hope it eases as its so exhausting.

Any advice or happy to chat

I was diagnosed with anxiety when i was about 15/16 years old. i'm now 43 and a couple of weeks ago i noticed my heart felt like it was racing, but i wasn't doing anything strenuous. i ended up going to the ER, all tests came back normal. went to see my cardiologist who put me on 25mg of metoprolol once a day to lower the heart rate. i have still been feeling super off since i first noticed my racing heart. i went back to the ER today and once again, all my tests came back normal. i have no appetite, i will break down and cry at times because i don't want to feel like this anymore and i feel tightness and shortness of breath almost constantly. i can only assume it's my anxiety and possibly depression. i have clonazepam for my anxiety but now i'm afraid to take it since i now take the metoprolol and i'm worried my blood pressure will be even lower than it normally is. i'm always having worrisome thoughts and questions of what if? i think tomorrow i will call a psychologist and go see her. hopefully she can help bring my life back to normal

Absolutely can relate. I am 29 years old and have suffered from chronic anxiety and panic disorder for 10 years. The shortness of breath or air hunger, i feel constantly for weeks. It sometimes goes away when im busy and at work, however when i start to think about my breathing it can happen. I have had blood work, chest x ray and many other tests, all clear and only to be told its in my mind. 3 days ago i felt like i couldn't breathe, i kept trying to get a 'good breath', my hands went tingling and i started having a major attack, i thought i was going to die. I got in my car and drove myself to the nearest hospital. Evidently, i was fine and was given valium to calm down. This keeps happening to me, i have visited the ER so many times over the last 10 years with the above situation.

I have started lexapro two weeks ago which actually made my panic attacks worse in the first week - my doctor said it was me overthinking taking a tablet. I am in my second week and have not gone to the ER, however as i write this, i struggle to get a good breath at times. I have been given Kalma ( xanax) for panic attacks and have a few valium left as well. I too believe something is wrong with me and it can't just be anxiety. However, i am praying the lexapro works this is my 10th day on 10mg and no major relief. If anyone has tried lexapro for this issue please let me know if this helped or not.

I wish we didn't have to go through this and that there was a miracle cure, i just want to be normal. Sending love and good health to all.

I'm 34 Yr old female and I've suffered aniexty and depression since my early teens. stems from childhood trauma I also suffer complex ptsd social aniexty and health aniexty. I've been on prozac (fluoxitine) on and off most of my life. I've recently 4 days ago had to go back on them. I'm suffering terrible panic attacks completely out of no where I get this over whelming feeling I cannot breathe its like a hot mist of fear consumes my body and I find I cannot take a full breath or get enough air. then I feel like my throat is closing or getting tighter I cough alot whilst this happens also. same as most other people on here I've had blood test ecgs x rays stress test 48 hour halter moniter a heart scan. mri on my head and neck. so much and all comes back fine. its crazy and it's taken over my once very popular life I stay in im not sociable anymore I've lost my confidence. its effected my personality and I'm not as bubbly as I used to be. also it's causing problems with my partner. I find she is over it and my aniexty and doesn't really support me much anymore as every day is a different thing I worry about I can understand how tedious that can be over the years. but im really hoping to get s grip on it now im hoping these tablets will help me control the panic attacks again as I'm really struggling. I also have a weird symtom of aniexty. where by I cannot swallow not all the time but occasionally I'll choke on food as I try to swallow it I just loose the ability to swallow and the more I panic and think about it ther more the action of swelling dosnt happen its crazy that aniexty can cause all these physical effects. Reading all the comments really does help though. it helps to know your not alone and that other people suffer this too because it is scary and it is debilitating but most of all its lonely. People get fed up of it after a while mind u I get fed up of my self but its not a choice it just happens ⁸

im dealing with the same thing. im 25 years old and i feel like im going to stop breathing at any moment. i have been To the emergency room multiple times. I have had multiple chest x rays, blood work and an ekg and everything was normal. The first visit they diagnosed me with dyspnea, the second time they told me I was having a panic attack and the third time they told me my airways were inflamed and that I was having an asthma attack. I have been dealing bwith this for now 3 months. The shortness of breath is constant from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I have been prescribed Ativan and told I needed to relax. I have tried EVERYTHING. I have gone to Disney and universal, went to the beach, Went to a small concert anything that would make me happy and I can’t shake the feeling at all. Sometimes I wake up from my heart beating so fast cause I feel like I’m not breathing correctly in my sleep. I cried reading all of these replies because I don’t feel alone anymore and I’m hoping this opens a new chapter for healing for all of us.

im dealing with the same thing. im 25 years old and i feel like im going to stop breathing at any moment. i have been To the emergency room multiple times. I have had multiple chest x rays, blood work and an ekg and everything was normal. The first visit they diagnosed me with dyspnea, the second time they told me I was having a panic attack and the third time they told me my airways were inflamed and that I was having an asthma attack. I have been dealing bwith this for now 3 months. The shortness of breath is constant from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I have been prescribed Ativan and told I needed to relax. I have tried EVERYTHING. I have gone to Disney and universal, went to the beach, Went to a small concert anything that would make me happy and I can’t shake the feeling at all. Sometimes I wake up from my heart beating so fast cause I feel like I’m not breathing correctly in my sleep. I cried reading all of these replies because I don’t feel alone anymore and I’m hoping this opens a new chapter for healing for all of us.