Shortness of breath terrified all the time!!

Posted , 112 users are following.

What does everybody's shortness of breath feel like? I even feel really really out of breath even when I talk which worries the c**p out of me!

I wake up with it and go to sleep with it every night, I feel I have got to catch my breath every few minutes just to make sure I can get air into my lungs I have this like pulling sensation in the middle of my chest that makes me want to catch it every few minutes which dosnt go away at all which drives me barmy! Also feels like I have something lodged right in the middle of my chest that I'm breathing around awful feeling.

This all started after I had 2 full blown panic attacks 10 months ago and I woke up with all these crazy Symtoms the day after I had them is this normal?

Im on medication mitrazpine and propanolol which I'm thinking of changing the mitrazpine because I was on this while I had these attacks they put me on propanolol the day after I had these attacks 3 a day 40mg and I'm having CBT therapy.

My therapist says I should stop trying to catch my breath all the time as I'm feeding my anxiety but even when I try and stop doing it it will catch itself so I can't win which makes me think there is something wrong with my breathing!

I have tried breathing exercises which don't help. I have had a X-ray which was all good and 3 ECGs which were good and chest lisend to and oxygen levels tested to everytime I'm are the doctors which is always good, I just just can't take this no more!

I feel I'm on the brink here I can't live like this another day😢 Is this ever going to go away? or am I going to feel like this forever I feel trapped in my own body.

I posted this about ten minutes ago but I think it has been deleted for some reason nevermind.

7 likes, 309 replies

309 Replies

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  • Posted

    thank God im doing much better. it went away on its own.....what i did:

    1. take potassium supplements. my potassium levels were low and i read it affects your muscles and may give your lungs a hard time working properly.
    2. dont think about it to much. try to distract yourself with something positive. the mind is very powerful and can trick us if we dint fight it.
    3. vaporization with eucalyptus.
    4. and mainly praying. God will heal you. you just have to trust him and believe youll get over this. trust me i was terrified and depressed just like yall....oh and stop watching the covid19 news...theyre meant to cause panic!!!
    • Posted

      Thats positive for us to learn from you.

      kindly help us on the same.

      • i am not able to sleep as i feel the breathness or diahram movement or inhaling more air kind of sensation
      • I am trying not to think about this but still i like to learn from you how to do that
      • Now unnecessarily fear is getting developed as i am not getting sleep.

        such chain reactions to be stopped to get the healing.

      I am sorry to ask. i dont know how many are having this issue and the solution on this.

    • Posted

      Hi

      its been 3 months i am having this problem. it become worst like sleeping is tough

      since this sensation is there "shortness of breath " i am unable to sleep or concentrate on regular work.

      how are you able to manage ? kindly update the thread plz . how to distract and avoid thinking about it

      since its lock down period i am working from home. and most of the time i need to think about it.

  • Edited

    hello eveyone hope you all find relife very soon ! i feel the exsact same zconstantly feeling suffecated and as i have to gasp for air eveey few minutes but it dosnt help and its contant. my gp has started me on medication as its bean going on a while now and its called (Citalopram) the problem is i was starting to acsspet it and deal with it the best i could but this medication as set me back to the day i started having the issuse i feel as though i have no control again. please has anyone had this medication before and dose it work after a while ?? today is my 3rd day off it 😔

    • Posted

      Hi. i was wondering how you have made out? I just started taking Wellbutrin and I think I am going to get weaned off already. its not bad but i think I am having physical symptoms from it and I don't like that. I had a panic attack back in December and it seems like ever since then my anxiety has gotten worse. I get shortness of breath as well. it comes ans goes. It seems that when I am laying down it is a little better or when I so a big burp it clears up. I also have acid reflux so I am not sure if that is what it is or not. I just wish it would all go away. It's very frustrating and annoying having anxiety. I was doing so well. My last panic attack was in 2014. I hope this passes really quickly. Do you do any kind of breathing exercises, yoga or meditation? I do breathing exercises sometimes when I start feeling anxious. Maybe I should incorporate it into my daily routine.

  • Posted

    Hi everybody, I'm having the same symptoms as everyone else is describing here and it's making my daily life so difficult! It started suddenly two weeks ago while I was unloading the dishwasher and hasn't stopped ever since. The only relief I get is sleep, but it comes back immediately upon waking. My GP said it was anxiety, but at the time of my doctor's visit I also had a lump in my throat and chest heaviness so I went to a gastroenterologist who put me on omeprazole, which helped the chest heaviness and lump sensation go away. However, the breathing difficulty persists. I'll spend a minute breathing normally but my body insists that I take a deep breath and I can never "finish" that breath, like when you finish a yawn. This is so frustrating as I just want to breathe normally but my body won't stop forcing me to attempt deep breaths. The odd thing is, it hasn't affected my ability to play the clarinet, which I'm very grateful for, but it has really made all other parts of my life incredibly difficult and even eating is difficult. I've been reading many forums and I wonder if it could be a hiatial hernia causing pressure on my diaphragm but I have yet to be tested. I will be getting bloodwork and an H. pylori breath test done soon. I check my oxygen levels with a finger monitor in my home and its always 98-99%. Idk why this is happening and I just want it to end.

  • Edited

    Hi everybody! My shortness of breath is slowly going away and I wanted to share what seemed to have been causing mine so if anyone else is having the same issue they can check in and possibly feel better! I started taking omeprazole and after about 5 days I started having less and less shortness of breath and it seems to have been originally caused by acid reflux and esophagitis. The damage caused to the esophagus sometimes causes the nerves around there to send signals to the brain that our brain interprets as having to take constant deep breaths, so after starting the medication it needs time to heal before the shortness of breath can go away completely. This seems to be the case with me, especially since the day before I got symptoms I ate a very fatty and dairy-heavy meal that likely led to increased acid production and subsequent esophagitis. If anyone suspects this may be the case, get an appointment with a gastroenterologist! Best wishes to everyone going through this : )

  • Posted

    Hi All,

    is there any help who got succeeded coming out of S/B , sleepless nights due to anxiety ? ? ?

    Actually its been 3 months still i feel the same in addition to that sleep is not coming

    1. Always feeling i have shortness of breath ...
    2. chest pain i mean bones not inside the chest - not to worry
    3. Night sleep
    • Yawning more . but when i try to sleep it goes away. Actually i dont have any worries .
    • even if i start sleep some days exactly after 2 hours i woke up. my mind keep thinking lot or want to be busy in walking etc
    • even if i start sleeping at 10 PM , exactly around 4 AM i woke up and no sleep after that

      All the doctors says nothing to worry it will go away in time.

      they confirmed its not due to acid / not related to any lungs /heart etc . almost 5 doctors all told its just anxiety . they asked me not to worry about it. But how come when we feel the shortness of breath ? or not getting sleep ?

    Any one has luck ?who came out of this problem ?

    Give your suggestions please.

    • Posted

      Dear Saran,

      if "professor" anita above your comment was kind enough to share that I helped her and guide her to the problem you would contact me. Thankfully I read the forum from time to time. Please contact me with personal message and I will try to help.

    • Posted

      Hi Dimitar, I don't see the need for sarcasm... I actually personal messaged Saran many weeks ago and she didn't get back to me. I simply shared my experiences because I wanted the people who come to this message board to know that what the reason for my issue was, in case theirs is similar. I messaged many people from this board in desperation, including but not limited to you, so I didn't think to share the name of every individual who responded to my messages. The thing that helped my issue was the omeprazole, which an actual doctor told me to take, so I am not trying to be a "professor" I am simply sharing my experience. I'm sorry if that upset you. I still get notifications for this forum as well.

    • Posted

      Actually its cyclic deadlock condition what we say in engineering.

      After seeing all the posts and doctors , i found only way is to

      • not to worry about it ( but how ? as the breathing sensation is always there )
      • not getting sleep ( then how our brain will get enough rest and ready for next day ? ? )
        • since COVID lock down , the situation is still worst to mingle and talk to people.

      kindly suggest something which can help many people here ....

      At least we should be able to do our normal day to day work activities , talking , food , sleep , work etc.

      if we keep thinking about this we cant even enjoy nice music , film or love some one . it will be great if some help here.

  • Edited

    I think I've suffered with this for the last 5 or 6 years on and off. I've recently been feeling a lot better the last 2 months. My girlfriend found out she had Coronavirus so instantly my anxiety shifted towards her and making sure she was well and safe. It's only the last few days my breathing has become an issue again. Anxiety is 100% to blame for this. Anxiety doesn't go away, it just shifts to another part of your body giving you new symptoms!

    • Posted

      Actually if this shortness of breath is kind of short time its ok . but i feel its always there which is not allowing me to

      • sleep ( day time not at all ) ; night time some how ok but not sound sleep
      • shortness of breath - always having

      its something not allowing me to concentrate on my software coding work / testing work . It will be great to get some help on this .

    • Edited

      Sorry for the late reply! Yeah I am the same. Like it can go from being extremely irritating and present to very mild. I once read an article on it and it can literally change from day to day. This was an anxiety article.

      I get chest pain with it. Lumps in throat and all sorts. One thing I did find that help that I stopped for some reason was anxiety sleep hypnosis on youtube. I found of that kind of gave me instructions to sleep, there are so many on there. Just put your earphones in at night, get comfortable and listen in. I had it really bad one night and this relaxed me and I fall sleep within 5 or 10 mins listening.

      Take care.

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