Sighing Dyspnea Anxiety
Posted , 32 users are following.
Today is 2/28/20. As I write this I find myself in my 8th or 9th week of what I feel is best described as Sighing/Yawning or Psychogenic Dyspnea. If that term is new for anyone I will explain. Ever since I was in my early 20's (57 now 😦) Have been able to take a deep satisfying breath which fills my upper lungs with so much air that I feel I could hold a musical note for two minutes or stay under water for a long time.
However, though I was aware of this I never though about it. Without boring you with my complete history suffice to say I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in my late 20's. Most of my trouble
came from perceived health issues i believed i had or worried about getting. Eight weeks ago I started obsessing on getting this breath and when I couldn't I completely derailed. Now something I only thought about briefly is an OCD type issue which is controlling my life to the point of major depression setting in.
I've done much research on this and have only found a few sites that explain this debilitating condition. When working properly my diaphragm/upper belly comes out a little and all this wonderful air fills my upper lungs. It is so satisfying that it feels I imagine as if being on a drug like crack where you always want another high ( breath in my case) like that. When it doesn't come you try to force it which makes it harder to get and then makes you feel like you are not getting air to your upper lungs. In other words you are breathing but you feel and walk around like you are suffocating. The longest so far has been 14 hours that I couldn't get that deep breath. Now its all I think about until I try to sleep.
I've had blood work/chest xray and a physical a week ago. All is normal. I started Zoloft 6 weeks ago and it was raised to 200 mg this past week. I start therapy in two weeks.
And even though I know logically its all anxiety and mind related I can't stop. When I sleep Its not happening so I want to stay in bed all the time so that I can drift in and out of sleep and have some peace not thinking of it. As soon as I wake its my first thought. Can I get the deep breath? Dammit it's not coming. I sit up try to force it to the point of dry heaving because I'm trying to gulp in so much air.
At work its the same thing...And ironically I work in a Psychiatric Facility and know all about anxiety issues. Yet here I am. I don't want to think about it anymore. And if I do and I get the deep breath I want it to be enough for awhile, not where I'm thinking about getting it again 2 minutes later. I'm scared that it will never go away and I don't know if I can live like that. I know I'm not suffocating because I don't faint and haven't died. I know I'm still breathing and will continue to do so. However, that suffocating feeling is beyond horrible and even though I know that deep breath will eventually come I simply don't know how to cope with this awful feeling or this obsession. Thanks for reading and or commenting.
1 like, 48 replies
madison81002 Steelers1
Edited
hi there
i have searched all over the internet to find a solution or other people that have experienced this problem. Im a 23 yr old female. a year ago i had a panic attack that led me to go to the ER because i was convinced i was having a heart attack. all tests were normal and i was told i should see a psychiatrist. i was diagnosed with GAD, with panic attacks and major depression. i didnt believe it because i felt completely normal before any of this happened. since then i have become obsessed with finding out what could be wrong with me. ive been on different meds and it feels like there is always something new wrong with me. how could i go from feeling completely normal to having all these issues and major health anxiety? most recently i had another major panic attack that caused me to hyperventilate for a painfully long time. i was just lying in bed and suddenly i felt like i couldnt breathe. since that panic attack i have had this annoying sighing/yawning dyspnea. its been a couple weeks now and i went to my dr. he ordered a chest xray and it came back normal. he wanted to do a pulmonary function exam but im too broke for it so im just suffering by myself now. it feels like exactly how you describe. constantly not feeling like i can get a deep breath and having to sigh/yawn every few minutes. its become painful for my chest wall by the end of the day. sorry i wrote so much i just feel sort of helpless because no one in my life knows what to tell me and they all think ive been overreacting about my condition all this time. i know its because they just dont understand it. im just worried this is all caused by something seriously wrong with me.
alexandria92879 madison81002
Posted
I too suffer from shortness of breathe frequently. I had my gallbladder removed Dec 11 and then started experiencing all kinds of random symptoms. Been to the er a few times. First thought I had a pulmonary embolism but did multiple tests (chest ct, xray, sonogram of legs, vq scan, and tons of blood work) all came back fine. But ever since the possibility of me having one was brought up I constantly am checking my legs and focusing on my breathing. Its a terrible cycle. The shortness of breathe is horrible. I also get horrible body aches in my chest, legs and arms. I am currently taking sertraline 50mg an evening.
madison81002 alexandria92879
Edited
I thought I had a pulmonary embolism at one point and I know this has been a reason for one of my many doctors visits. Its so hard to deal with the anxiety of thinking something is always wrong. I can tell you now that a pulmonary embolism is a rare thing to happen. But i know this dosent ease the anxiety. i experience the body aches and chest tightness from the anxiety and it does scare me. it makes me feel like there is something else going on. but i have to remind myself that every test i get comes back normal. and that my heart and lungs are fine. anxiety symptoms just make everything seem so real. so i understand.
alexandria92879 madison81002
Posted
I have been on edge since the day I was checked for it. Dec 23&24. So it's been a couple weeks. But it's so hard to accept there's nothing wrong when I feel all these physical symptoms. I constantly have shortness of breathe. It's overwhelming.
amber2021 alexandria92879
Posted
madison, i have also been going through this for 7 months. (go read my long reply from the other day that i put on here.) about 3 days ago i started buspar 10mg and i THINK its starting to help yall! i will let yall know FOR SURE in 2 weeks! and also drink plenty of water every day and slow down on caffeine if you drink some! it will help alot too! and do the breathing technique where you breath in your nose for 4 seconds and then you breathe out your mouth for 8 seconds. (dont do it that long if you get lightheaded.) but do that 4-5 times and it will help a little as well. and get a inhaler if you can! i find that it does help! ive already been through 2 inhalers. but to everyone who is going through this, we all Definitely have generalized anxiety disorder and yall, this constant deep breathing/sighing is NOT going to stop until you get on anxiety medicine to take every day. i finally started buspar 10mg ONE PILL TWICE A DAY just 3 days ago and i really think its starting to work. FINGERS CROSSED. i have been at my wits end thinking that THIS was gonna be my life forever and that it will never go away! but i dont think God would allow such a thing to happen to people. and ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ALL OF US HERE ARE GOING THROUGH IT and just imagine how many more people are going through it. so its GOT to be a COMMON thing. and EVERYONE ON HERE has said they have anxiety. i never thought that my anxiety would do this to me. but it has. i have had anxiety, bad panic attacks and depression since i was 12. and im 23 years old now. but just recently i got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. and if yall go search the symptoms of it, you will see that one of the symptoms is "not being able to get a deep breath ." and ALL of us on here has had x-rays and CT scans and they all come out fine. so its got to be our anxiety guys. SO PLEASE GO GET ON ANXIETY MEDICINE. it will HELP YOU SO MUCH. you can find one that is right for you. there are so many out there. ive been to the hospital 20 to 30 times in the past 7 months for this constant deep breathing/sighing problem and ONE of the doctors said its GOT to be my anxiety. she said that her husband was LITERALLY GOING THROUGH THE SAME EXACT THING IS ME, HE KEPT TRYING CONSTANTLY TO GET A DEEP BREATHE AND HE WASNT SATISFIED SO HE HAD TO KEEP TRYING AND IT WAS JUST A NEVER ENDING CYCLE AND THEN YOUR CHEST WALLS HURT LIKE HELL AT THE END OF EACH DAY. and she said he finally saw a therapist and got on anxiety medicine and then IT ALL STOPPED. and his normal anxiety was diagnosed in to GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER. so all of us here have GAD. so we have to treat it to get it to go away. if we dont, it will never go away and it will just get worse. so I HOPE this gives yall HOPE that anxiety medicine can help yall. ❤ you just have to find the right one for you and it has to be prescribed correctly. you can try buspar 10mg but it would need to be taken twice a day. so 1 pill twice a day. one pill in the morning and 1 pill at night. and it takes a few weeks for you to feel the full effects of it, but you might start noticing a difference in 3-4 days like i have. i will come back in 2 WEEKS to give yall a update. im Praying for yall and please Pray for me too. God's got us!
jack55456 Steelers1
Edited
hi all. i have had this too for 15years. it has been debilitating. i still struggle with this, but have learnt to smother my sighs/yawns and i do the butekyo method. it is the only thing that helps. get a frolov device and use it three times a day, also do the butekyo method after a few months. sleep with mouth taped. go slowly and gently. as i said i am still working through, but this is drastically reduced my condition. there are good times and bad. there are now times i dont think about my breath, which has not happened in years.
i have tried ABSOLUTELY everything you can think of and this is the answer. its not easy. keep reminding yourself you feel suffocated anyway, so may as well reduce your breath.
amber2021 jack55456
Posted
jack, i have also been going through this for 7 months. (go read my long reply from the other day that i put on here.) about 3 days ago i started buspar 10mg and i THINK its starting to help yall! i will let yall know FOR SURE in 2 weeks! and also drink plenty of water every day and slow down on caffeine if you drink some! it will help alot too! and do the breathing technique where you breath in your nose for 4 seconds and then you breathe out your mouth for 8 seconds. (dont do it that long if you get lightheaded.) but do that 4-5 times and it will help a little as well. and get a inhaler if you can! i find that it does help! ive already been through 2 inhalers. but to everyone who is going through this, we all Definitely have generalized anxiety disorder and yall, this constant deep breathing/sighing is NOT going to stop until you get on anxiety medicine to take every day. i finally started buspar 10mg ONE PILL TWICE A DAY just 3 days ago and i really think its starting to work. FINGERS CROSSED. i have been at my wits end thinking that THIS was gonna be my life forever and that it will never go away! but i dont think God would allow such a thing to happen to people. and ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ALL OF US HERE ARE GOING THROUGH IT and just imagine how many more people are going through it. so its GOT to be a COMMON thing. and EVERYONE ON HERE has said they have anxiety. i never thought that my anxiety would do this to me. but it has. i have had anxiety, bad panic attacks and depression since i was 12. and im 23 years old now. but just recently i got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. and if yall go search the symptoms of it, you will see that one of the symptoms is "not being able to get a deep breath ." and ALL of us on here has had x-rays and CT scans and they all come out fine. so its got to be our anxiety guys. SO PLEASE GO GET ON ANXIETY MEDICINE. it will HELP YOU SO MUCH. you can find one that is right for you. there are so many out there. ive been to the hospital 20 to 30 times in the past 7 months for this constant deep breathing/sighing problem and ONE of the doctors said its GOT to be my anxiety. she said that her husband was LITERALLY GOING THROUGH THE SAME EXACT THING IS ME, HE KEPT TRYING CONSTANTLY TO GET A DEEP BREATHE AND HE WASNT SATISFIED SO HE HAD TO KEEP TRYING AND IT WAS JUST A NEVER ENDING CYCLE AND THEN YOUR CHEST WALLS HURT LIKE HELL AT THE END OF EACH DAY. and she said he finally saw a therapist and got on anxiety medicine and then IT ALL STOPPED. and his normal anxiety was diagnosed in to GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER. so all of us here have GAD. so we have to treat it to get it to go away. if we dont, it will never go away and it will just get worse. so I HOPE this gives yall HOPE that anxiety medicine can help yall. ❤ you just have to find the right one for you and it has to be prescribed correctly. you can try buspar 10mg but it would need to be taken twice a day. so 1 pill twice a day. one pill in the morning and 1 pill at night. and it takes a few weeks for you to feel the full effects of it, but you might start noticing a difference in 3-4 days like i have. i will come back in 2 WEEKS to give yall a update. im Praying for yall and please Pray for me too. God's got us!
lutfor18262 Steelers1
Edited
OMG! I've been suffering from this type of dyspnea for the last 4 month or so. the crucial part is I can't explain this to my doctor properly. I've got X-ray, ECG,ETT and blood test as the doctor prescribed. but everything is normal as result. but still I feel shortness of breath, I thought, I'm alone on this Way, but I'm not. I'm afraid that how long I need to suffer this. It actually hinders my study.
amber2021 lutfor18262
Posted
tom, i have also been going through this for 7 months. (go read my long reply from the other day that i put on here.) about 3 days ago i started buspar 10mg and i THINK its starting to help yall! i will let yall know FOR SURE in 2 weeks! and also drink plenty of water every day and slow down on caffeine if you drink some! it will help alot too! and do the breathing technique where you breath in your nose for 4 seconds and then you breathe out your mouth for 8 seconds. (dont do it that long if you get lightheaded.) but do that 4-5 times and it will help a little as well. and get a inhaler if you can! i find that it does help! ive already been through 2 inhalers. but to everyone who is going through this, we all Definitely have generalized anxiety disorder and yall, this constant deep breathing/sighing is NOT going to stop until you get on anxiety medicine to take every day. i finally started buspar 10mg ONE PILL TWICE A DAY just 3 days ago and i really think its starting to work. FINGERS CROSSED. i have been at my wits end thinking that THIS was gonna be my life forever and that it will never go away! but i dont think God would allow such a thing to happen to people. and ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ALL OF US HERE ARE GOING THROUGH IT and just imagine how many more people are going through it. so its GOT to be a COMMON thing. and EVERYONE ON HERE has said they have anxiety. i never thought that my anxiety would do this to me. but it has. i have had anxiety, bad panic attacks and depression since i was 12. and im 23 years old now. but just recently i got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. and if yall go search the symptoms of it, you will see that one of the symptoms is "not being able to get a deep breath ." and ALL of us on here has had x-rays and CT scans and they all come out fine. so its got to be our anxiety guys. SO PLEASE GO GET ON ANXIETY MEDICINE. it will HELP YOU SO MUCH. you can find one that is right for you. there are so many out there. ive been to the hospital 20 to 30 times in the past 7 months for this constant deep breathing/sighing problem and ONE of the doctors said its GOT to be my anxiety. she said that her husband was LITERALLY GOING THROUGH THE SAME EXACT THING IS ME, HE KEPT TRYING CONSTANTLY TO GET A DEEP BREATHE AND HE WASNT SATISFIED SO HE HAD TO KEEP TRYING AND IT WAS JUST A NEVER ENDING CYCLE AND THEN YOUR CHEST WALLS HURT LIKE HELL AT THE END OF EACH DAY. and she said he finally saw a therapist and got on anxiety medicine and then IT ALL STOPPED. and his normal anxiety was diagnosed in to GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER. so all of us here have GAD. so we have to treat it to get it to go away. if we dont, it will never go away and it will just get worse. so I HOPE this gives yall HOPE that anxiety medicine can help yall. ❤ you just have to find the right one for you and it has to be prescribed correctly. you can try buspar 10mg but it would need to be taken twice a day. so 1 pill twice a day. one pill in the morning and 1 pill at night. and it takes a few weeks for you to feel the full effects of it, but you might start noticing a difference in 3-4 days like i have. i will come back in 2 WEEKS to give yall a update. im Praying for yall and please Pray for me too. God's got us!
Steelers1
Posted
if you can tell me exactly what is happening to you. i think some of the comments that have been made since i first posted a year ago may not be related to what went through. i certainly want to help but dont want to give you advice on something that may be different from what I experienced
GingerCat1030 Steelers1
Edited
Hi - Glad I stumbled across this as i have been dealing with this same issue for over a year now! It is incredibly frustrating and discouraging to be told it is just anxiety.
I've seen 3 different GPs, pulmonologist and cardiologist. My chest x-ray/CT came normal, as well as my PFTs. My PCP told me it is just anxiety and upped my Zoloft that I have been on for 10+ years, along with Xanax that does not help.
I had the same bout of issues 9 years ago and all the same tests were normal - it just kind of went away and I don't know why.
I keep a pulse oximeter on me all the time to check my stats and it is always 97%+, but I have had the occasional dip into the 80% area with no explanation.
If anyone has successful 'treatments' they recommend, I am all ears because I'm at wits end:(
lindsay13316 GingerCat1030
Posted
I wish I could help you but all I can offer is to say you are not alone. I've been dealing with this for over a year now as well and also at my wit's end.
amber2021 GingerCat1030
Posted
ginger, i have also been going through this for 7 months. (go read my long reply from the other day that i put on here.)Also my oxygen stats are 97 most of the time but sometimes it goes to 90 and nobody can explain it either so i know the feeling. i do think its Generalized Anxiety Disorder. i was also going to get my liver checked JUST IN CASE. . Maybe yall should do the same. About 3 days ago i started buspar 10mg and i THINK its starting to help yall! i will let yall know FOR SURE in 2 weeks! and also drink plenty of water every day and slow down on caffeine if you drink some! it will help alot too! and do the breathing technique where you breath in your nose for 4 seconds and then you breathe out your mouth for 8 seconds. (dont do it that long if you get lightheaded.) but do that 4-5 times and it will help a little as well. and get a inhaler if you can! i find that it does help! ive already been through 2 inhalers. but to everyone who is going through this, we all Definitely have generalized anxiety disorder and yall, this constant deep breathing/sighing is NOT going to stop until you get on anxiety medicine to take every day. i finally started buspar 10mg ONE PILL TWICE A DAY just 3 days ago and i really think its starting to work. FINGERS CROSSED. i have been at my wits end thinking that THIS was gonna be my life forever and that it will never go away! but i dont think God would allow such a thing to happen to people. and ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ALL OF US HERE ARE GOING THROUGH IT and just imagine how many more people are going through it. so its GOT to be a COMMON thing. and EVERYONE ON HERE has said they have anxiety. i never thought that my anxiety would do this to me. but it has. i have had anxiety, bad panic attacks and depression since i was 12. and im 23 years old now. but just recently i got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. and if yall go search the symptoms of it, you will see that one of the symptoms is "not being able to get a deep breath ." and ALL of us on here has had x-rays and CT scans and they all come out fine. so its got to be our anxiety guys. SO PLEASE GO GET ON ANXIETY MEDICINE. it will HELP YOU SO MUCH. you can find one that is right for you. there are so many out there. ive been to the hospital 20 to 30 times in the past 7 months for this constant deep breathing/sighing problem and ONE of the doctors said its GOT to be my anxiety. she said that her husband was LITERALLY GOING THROUGH THE SAME EXACT THING IS ME, HE KEPT TRYING CONSTANTLY TO GET A DEEP BREATHE AND HE WASNT SATISFIED SO HE HAD TO KEEP TRYING AND IT WAS JUST A NEVER ENDING CYCLE AND THEN YOUR CHEST WALLS HURT LIKE HELL AT THE END OF EACH DAY. and she said he finally saw a therapist and got on anxiety medicine and then IT ALL STOPPED. and his normal anxiety was diagnosed in to GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER. so all of us here have GAD. so we have to treat it to get it to go away. if we dont, it will never go away and it will just get worse. so I HOPE this gives yall HOPE that anxiety medicine can help yall. ❤ you just have to find the right one for you and it has to be prescribed correctly. you can try buspar 10mg but it would need to be taken twice a day. so 1 pill twice a day. one pill in the morning and 1 pill at night. and it takes a few weeks for you to feel the full effects of it, but you might start noticing a difference in 3-4 days like i have. i will come back in 2 WEEKS to give yall a update. im Praying for yall and please Pray for me too. God's got us!
Oieoie Steelers1
Edited
Thank you for posting this! I have been suffering from the same since I was a child (now 43), and never knew how to explain it to anyone, or what to do about it, except just to deal with it the best I could. At times it was worse than other times, but I remember it as it pretty much always being an issue to varying degrees, until my early adult years. Then I got some peace for many years, with only occasional episodes.
To the few friends I've tried to explain it to I just said I had a "breathing thing" where the closest picture I could come up with was if my if my lungs had an elastic band at one end, and a hook at the other, then I had to get the rubber band on the hook to achieve the satisfaction I needed. Very often I would not manage to reach the hook, and it was all-consuming and extremely frustrating! I would always yawn of it didn't work by simply taking a deep breath. Yawning was more efficient.
I NEVER knew this was an actual thing that others suffered from, and that it may be caused by anxiety! But it makes sense to me. I am currently waiting to be assessed for autism spectrum disorder, and I'm no stranger to anxiety in other forms, although I have never seen a doctor and getting diagnosed with anything. My (self-experienced) stress levels has been increasing over the past years, and lately this breathing thing has returned, but not to the point where it is present all day or even every day.
The main reason I am googling this now is because my youngest son (5) has been sighing a lot lately, doing the frequent deep inhalations and not quite getting what he wants. He has not been able to give me an explanation to why/what he's feeling, except one comment where he said he can't draw his breath properly. It feels very much like he's suffering from the same thing I did when I was a child (and many of you).
I have searched for info in my native language several times, but either there is little info out there in my language, or I just haven't found the right terminology and words to search for yet. So happy I finally googled it in English!
amber2021 Oieoie
Posted
I have also been going through this for 7 months. (go read my long reply from the other day that i put on here.) about 3 days ago i started buspar 10mg and i THINK its starting to help yall! i will let yall know FOR SURE in 2 weeks! and also drink plenty of water every day and slow down on caffeine if you drink some! it will help alot too! and do the breathing technique where you breath in your nose for 4 seconds and then you breathe out your mouth for 8 seconds. (dont do it that long if you get lightheaded.) but do that 4-5 times and it will help a little as well. and get a inhaler if you can! i find that it does help! ive already been through 2 inhalers. but to everyone who is going through this, we all Definitely have generalized anxiety disorder and yall, this constant deep breathing/sighing is NOT going to stop until you get on anxiety medicine to take every day. i finally started buspar 10mg ONE PILL TWICE A DAY just 3 days ago and i really think its starting to work. FINGERS CROSSED. i have been at my wits end thinking that THIS was gonna be my life forever and that it will never go away! but i dont think God would allow such a thing to happen to people. and ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ALL OF US HERE ARE GOING THROUGH IT and just imagine how many more people are going through it. so its GOT to be a COMMON thing. and EVERYONE ON HERE has said they have anxiety. i never thought that my anxiety would do this to me. but it has. i have had anxiety, bad panic attacks and depression since i was 12. and im 23 years old now. but just recently i got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. and if yall go search the symptoms of it, you will see that one of the symptoms is "not being able to get a deep breath ." and ALL of us on here has had x-rays and CT scans and they all come out fine. so its got to be our anxiety guys. SO PLEASE GO GET ON ANXIETY MEDICINE. it will HELP YOU SO MUCH. you can find one that is right for you. there are so many out there. ive been to the hospital 20 to 30 times in the past 7 months for this constant deep breathing/sighing problem and ONE of the doctors said its GOT to be my anxiety. she said that her husband was LITERALLY GOING THROUGH THE SAME EXACT THING IS ME, HE KEPT TRYING CONSTANTLY TO GET A DEEP BREATHE AND HE WASNT SATISFIED SO HE HAD TO KEEP TRYING AND IT WAS JUST A NEVER ENDING CYCLE AND THEN YOUR CHEST WALLS HURT LIKE HELL AT THE END OF EACH DAY. and she said he finally saw a therapist and got on anxiety medicine and then IT ALL STOPPED. and his normal anxiety was diagnosed in to GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER. so all of us here have GAD. so we have to treat it to get it to go away. if we dont, it will never go away and it will just get worse. so I HOPE this gives yall HOPE that anxiety medicine can help yall. ❤ you just have to find the right one for you and it has to be prescribed correctly. you can try buspar 10mg but it would need to be taken twice a day. so 1 pill twice a day. one pill in the morning and 1 pill at night. and it takes a few weeks for you to feel the full effects of it, but you might start noticing a difference in 3-4 days like i have. i will come back in 2 WEEKS to give yall a update. im Praying for yall and please Pray for me too. God's got us!