The SOLUTION: Excessive Yawning and Constant Need to Breathe Deep!
Posted , 68 users are following.
All, Flutterbypie started this thread and there have been hundreds of responses: https://patient.info/forums/discuss/excessive-yawning-and-constant-need-to-breathe-deep-299705?page=0&utm_source=forum&utm_campaign=comment-notification&utm_medium=email#2776377
I needed a way to get my message out to everyone and thus wanted to start a new post. Many people suffer from this ailment which causes people to contantly (usually in 4-7 minute intervals) to take a deep breath in order to just "trigger" that satisfying feeling in their upper lungs. But it's not that simple, because sometimes that feeling doesn't come. And we keep forcing that deep breath, trying to get the satisfaction - a forced yawn, contortion of the body, whatever it will take. It always comes eventually, but the cycle starts over. We all say it's worse when we eat. We all say it's not a problem while sleeping. We all say it goes away at times when we are heavily focused on something.
Trust me, I HAD it for almost 2 years, and it wasn't just once in a while. I literally had this thing NON STOP EVERY DAY until a few weeks ago.
One caveat before I say what I did - I've talked to many people with this condition, and it's true it's not a one size fits all solution - some have hiatial hernias, others have GERD, and I'm sure others have other conditions that cause it. But if you have any inkling of a thought that it could be anxiety, keep reading.
The reason why you will never hear someone say "here's the cure for it" is because it's not that simple. But I'll just throw it out there right now. YES IT'S A COMBINATION OF ANXIETY AND LIFESTYLE. STOP seeing doctors (again, caveat - unless you think it might not be anxiety per the above), STOP reading on the internet about what people do to fix it (pepto bismal, breathing exercises, just STOP). It's ANXIETY AND LIFESTYLE. And I didn't believe it either because, sure I was anxious about a few things every now and then (who isn't?), but this thing lurks around all day even though you don't think you are particularly anxious. But I guarantee there are things you are anxious about. For me, and I bet for many of you, I was anxious about my overall health. Why wouldn't I be? I was grasping for a satisfying breath every few minutes thinking this must be the end, so it makes sense. But I did something drastic, and I admit that I am a little bit in shock that it ACTUALLY worked!
I completely turned my lifestyle upside down. I am not suggesting all of you are fast food junkies, but I was. I wasn't obese (196 weight 5'10 male) but I could stand to lose 20-25 pounds. I was drinking coffee, diet coke, some water here and there - but burgers, fried foods, some good foods here and there - ZERO exercise. My waist was 38 and I remember it being a 36 for years, so this was a relatively sudden expansion.
For the past three weeks (which isn't long), I've 100% cut out:
1) Caffeine and carbonated drinks
2) Soda
3) Fast food
4) Fried foods
And added:
1) Vegetables and fruits to diet
2) Exercised vigorously on an eliptycal for 20 min a day
As time went on and my weight dropped (now at 190.3), the need to deep breath almost exponentially vanished. I still breath deep every now and then mind you, but you have to remember, everyone breathes deep every now and then. I talked to a doctor who said people breath deep once every 20 minutes. But we are hyper focused on it, so we will think "Oh geez, it's back". It's not.
I never in a million years thought I would beat this thing, especially as quickly as I did, and a couple people I know did a massive lifestyle change and they said things look better. I wish this worked for everyone, and I'm sure there will be someone who says "but I am super fit and already eat well". You might have a different issue, OR, it is still anxiety but as I said - I was nervous about my health - now that my blood pressure has visibly dropped and I'm sure my cholesterol levels have too - I am NOT SO NERVOUS ABOUT IT and that's why my deep breathing went away. So you need to find out what you worried about and address it.
I hope this helps folks, and it can't hurt to try this if you think you might be worried about your health. I also feel there's a component of your stomach expanding (from food, extra fat around waist, etc.) that changes your breathing patterns - I don't know if it's more that or anxiety, but I don't really care as this works. Please do try it for a couple of weeks and let me know how it goes!
Again as a final disclaimer: I am not a doctor so if your deep breathing is totally unrelated to anxiety or diet/lifestyle, then you should definitely get it checked out. I can speak for myself, and many others, we've had our fair share of doctors and there's nothing they can give you to fix it. You need to fix it yourself and I am living proof that I was able to beat it! Good luck!
8 likes, 127 replies
Guest steve91931
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milos83172 steve91931
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Hello everyone, for me it all started that one night in october after a nightmare, i woke up and panic attack started i couldn't get air and excessive yawning and constant need to breathe deep started. Also i noticed one more negative thing after that was i couldnt sneeze, i get urge there is "aaaaaahhhhh" but than when "chooooooo" have to happen there is a block sort off. I still have those feeling inside me that i need to get that satisfactory breath but maybe im just concious about it. Also im anxious about some thing im trying meditations, positive thinking, and buteyko breathing helping alot (i wasnt breathing correctly whole my life) i see thing are getting better and better from day to day and its all in our minds. And when i roll my film back after "i was normal" i remember i have those satisfactory breaths but just didnt paying attention on them. Just head up, possitive thinking and i hope everything is goint to be well. Sorry for maybe bad english![smile](https://patient.azureedge.net/forums/emoticons/smile.gif)
milos83172 steve91931
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lisamaria steve91931
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milos83172 lisamaria
Posted
The more you confront situation it's going to be worst, just accept it and try to understand.
sara_32228 lisamaria
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lisamaria steve91931
Edited
milos83172 lisamaria
Posted
Sorry for my answer, if you have that kind of issue then visit doctor, i can say for myself that there is nothing wrong with my sighing, the "problem" is only that i'm aware of my sighing and breathing all the time :D I measured my sigh and its like normal aprox every 5 mins only problem if you can say its problem but its not is that we are aware of that and it getting us uncomfortable. When i was trying to not sight deliberately i just couldnt, the lungs needed to reset itself and they did without my will.Like Steve and others i sarted to working on mysleft, changed lifestyle im more aware of myslef now, maybe what this is happend to us is just body sign that we need to change something about our life, and when we started been aware of breath and sigh we thought that something is wrong with us. Apart of me i feel my lungs are filling with that so called "bad air" that lungs need to be reset it every 5 mins.
lisamaria steve91931
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jc00766 steve91931
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Just you think you figured it out, I come along and throw a monkey wrench in your gears. Lol!
I was slightly overweight, non-smoker but did drink about three units of alcohol per day. I also could've exercise more. Found out I had fatty liver and decided to do something about it. I quit drinking altogether, and began eating healthier. I ended up losing almost twenty lbs in 6 weeks, but then started getting this constant need to yawn urge. This started about a month ago, and is still here with me to this day. I also remember having this a couple of years ago, but not to this extent. But like many others on here regarding this, I am one of those who doesn't get it when I'm sleeping, I have had a hiatal hernia for over twenty years and have been on medication for it for as long. And so on and so forth. Anxiety? I've had lots of stress in my life being a school teacher, but in the last few years teaching has been a real treat, so if it's anxiety and it's not from teaching, then I have no idea from what?
The only thing I can think of for myself is the fact that I turned my live upside down, like you did, but for me, it's what caused it.
sara_32228 jc00766
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jessicapower1 jc00766
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Same! I got healthy and then it happened.
lynn26320 steve91931
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I'm so glad this has come up. For the past couple of months I have had this problem. Yawning all the time and every so often feel the need to take a really deep breath in case I stop breathing altogether. I am generally quite an anxious person and worry about a lot of things but have only had this problem since putting on weight. I am heavier than I have ever been before since spending several months in the UK and eating lots of unhealthy things. I am now trying to eat more healthily and exercise and hopefully this will cure the problem.
lynn26320 steve91931
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corinicew steve91931
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I run, I am a rock climber and acrobat, I meal plan and eat healthily and as a woman have 12% body fat. However, I have had this issue constantly for over 5 years. I thought it might be anxiety, but as a freelancer I get to wake up when I want, get plenty of sleep, don't have stress in my occupation as all my clients are very pleasant, and make good money so I don't worry about that either. I live in Southern California and spend almost all my free time outside doing active things and am very happily single at 24 years old. These are the only things I think may cause me to have this problem:
-I may have injured my lungs in a ski accident back in college when I sprained my neck and back, but I feel like I had this problem before that too.
-I was diagnosed with asthma as a child, but potentially besides this, it has not caused me problems since 10 years old.
-I had a few panic attacks over the summer, but those were my first ones ever
-I have dealt with depression since I was a child, but feel that I am pretty good at working through it and making sure to go out on a climbing trip or get outside as much as I can when I feel it coming on
-I have seen some areas of mold building in my apartment that I am worried about
I'm not trying to say that this information here won't help you, because it has clearly helped a lot of people, I just wanted to reach out and see if maybe any one else has a similar experience to me, where they've done everything right (at least I feel I have) and are kept up yawning at night and during the day because of the air hunger.
Today is one of my worse days, I've had two glasses of water, my B-12, Vitamin C, and iron supplements that I take every day, and a protein shake with Almond Milk instead of Milk so far and done yoga and stretching and am now sitting in my office doing work. It is 11:00 am.
sara_32228 corinicew
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nancy64314 corinicew
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I don’t understand how you can even go to work? I find myself not being able to do anything because of the terrible feeling I get trying to take and be satisfied by a deep breath yes it feels good when I am able to catch that breath but the feeling keeps returning I don’t exercise much because of my age but I do like to keep active and I find myself not being able to do anything except panicking over my symptoms . I have lost a considerable amount of weight I have been to the emergency room three times and all of my specialty doctors including pulmonary, EAR nose and throat, heart doctor, primary doctor, endocrine doctor, and had all kinds of tests done even for my thyroid. I do have what they call silent reflux that I take OMEPTAZOLE for. and my pulmonology doctor gave me Advair to take two times a day as a preventative but I don’t feel that these are the problems that are causing my AIR HUNGER. it is debilitating and my children are all upset with me I cry a lot and just feel like giving up most of the time I have had this for about five months.
jessicapower1 corinicew
Posted
Did you end up getting it figured out?