Can't get a deep breath / Difficulty Breathing

[Baltmaa]

Hi - I've been having difficulty breathing for at least the last 9-10 years...and it's a daily thing.  I am 31 years old, am healthy (exercise almost daily, eat healthily, am not overweight, do not smoke, and only drink socially), and yet I always feel like my breathing is extremely laboured.  I constantly yawn to try to catch a satisfying breath.  There are some periods throughout the day where it's not laboured and I feel as if I breathe normally, but then it creeps up on me and I have to start yawning again.  My nose feels very clogged all the time and my chest, stomach, and back muscles feel very constricted when breathing.  It's especially noticeable when I am working out...especially running and lifting weights.  I have to stop every once in a while just to yawn (frustrating) to stop from getting dizzy.  It's also noticeable as I am trying to go to sleep and/or when I've had a glass or 2 of wine.  I was "diagnosed" with exercise-induced asthma 9-10 years ago, but I think this was a mis-diagnosis as the inhalers never work (I've tried all sorts) and they usually end up making me feel worse.  After using the inhaler I always end up coughing up fluid and my breathing sounds gurgle-ly  (so I don't take them any more unless I feel I really need to...note that I have never had a full blown asthma attack).  I'm worried that it could be something else (was exposed to TB as a teenager, but took the "horse pills" for 6 months and was told I was fine), but none of my doctors will really listen to me.  They see that I am slim and active, and they dismiss me - I live in the UK (free socialised healthcare - so not a lot of time to spend with patients).  Has anyone else experienced this?  I see lots of threads on here with the same topic, but they all have to do with taking medications, being overweight, being a current/past smoker, being depressed/having anxiety, etc.  Please help - I'm tired of living like this.  I'm worried that I could be living with something undiagnosed that could rear it's ugly head one day.

[brianwiefering]

Let me help you.  I know the suffering you are going through.  It's absolutely awful.  What you, and the rest of these people who are crying for help, but every doctor is looking at your lungs, or heart, or diet, or saying you just need to relax or take an antidepressent... they are all missing a very real, but very curable cause.  You have a Sleep breathing disorder.  Get a sleep study done asap.  Make sure they don't only look at Apneas (when your airways cuts completely off), but they also look at your RERA's (repspiratory events).  A very common condition called UARS (Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome) is ruining peoples lives because it's going unnoticed by most doctors.  See, as you get into a deeper sleep cycle, your muscles in your body tend to relax.  Your tongue, throat, etc--they all tend to get smaller.  So, what is happening is your brain recognizes this, releases adrenaline to either wake you up, or put you back into a lighter sleep cycle.  Thus, you never get Stage 3 (deep sleep) or REM sleep.  These two stages are where your body and brain get their rest and healing each night.  But the sleep related breathing disorder constantly keeps you from getting these stages (REM sleep is when your brain produces good chemicals such as dopamine and seratonin--these make you feel good, but you are never getting them!).  So, because so much adrenilin is being used all night, your body is in a chronic state of stress--thus releasing more of the stress hormone called cortisol.  This constant "quality" sleep deprivation turns into a viscious cycle.  Now you feel depressed and anxious, and then you think that this is WHY you are not sleeping--well, guess what--it's reverse.  You have these symptoms because YOU ARE not sleeping!  Also, the dry mouth everyone complains of--well, the body recognizes you are not getting enough air through your nose, so you subconsiounsly begin breathing through your mouth--this is called Mouth Breathing.  This in turn sets off even more issues.  Now you are actually taking in too much oxygen!  When you exhale, you are pushing out carbon dioxide.  So, sin your oxgen versus CO2 levels are really off (referred to has your gases being off balance).  And also since you mouth breath, you stop breathing like you should through your nose--so since air isn't passing in and out of your nose, mucus builds up in your nose, and now you have a stopped up nose.  And, since you never get resorative deep sleep, your immune system gets weak, so you live basically with a cold (which for many then turns into sinus infections).  Here is a GREAT book that will explain all of this (I get nothing for this--I, like all of you, used to google "I can't catch a deep breath", and saw how many sufferers are out there like us.  After living in misery for years (I'm 42 now), I finally found that I was not crazy, and the anxiety, depression, terrible sleep, always getting sick, over breathing, always feeling exhausted, diarrhea often...  I finally found the answers.  Anyway, make sure you get a sleep study done where they have dealt with UARS (you might have Apnea).  Here are some websites and that book!  Please spread the word, help the millions of other sufferers who have gone to 10 different doctors only to always be dissapointed...   Either a C-PAP, or Auto-Pap, or dental mouth piede (pushes lower jaw forward while asleep to open airways), or surgery to remove tonsils and anoids and increase airway (UPPP--just google it).  First educate yourself with the links I sent you.  Second, get a sleep study done, and look at not only Apneas (I hardly had any apneas...), but also look at RERA's, and then also at your sleep cycles--I'm guessing you'll see very "defragmented sleep", meaning you don't get any deep sleep or REM sleep.  And then once you have that information, you can either go to a dentist that deals with Sleep Disordered Breathing (over 1/2 of them do now), or and ENT (ear nose throat doc) for them to look at your airways to see if they are anatomically obstructive to your airways, or maybe you just genetically have smaller airways and surgery is the answer.    http://doctorstevenpark.com/sleep-apnea-basics/upper-airway-resistance-syndrome   http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2014/01/a-missing-link-dr-barry-krakow-s-research-on-insomnia-and-sdb/

[trusaiyan]

Hi everyone, I can confirm after having posted here in 2013 that two years on I have unfortunately experienced NO difference in symptoms and doctors/medical institutions still have ZERO understanding of the issue. I have the exact same condition as when I contracted it in Jan 2012.

My feeling, just as it was when I first experienced it, is that this is a type of anxiety/panic disorder which specifically affects the respiratory system by preventing proper breathing when the person is voluntarily breathing (the individual is otherwise unaffected when breathing is done involuntarily such as when asleep or occupied in deep thought etc). What most people typically  report is that it physically does not allow the lungs to 'open' fully, thus preventing the person from having a full satisfying deep breath. It generally 'turns on' in the persons life and is present indefinitely (it does not 'come and go').

To say this condition is the closest thing to a living nightmare is a massive understatement. I really cannot stress how much it destroys my life. I am convinced that it will one day be recognised as a type of anxiety disorder, unique and separate from the ones currently known. There are thousands of people across the net who report the EXACT same symptoms and go through all kinds of tests yet ultimately doctors/medical authorities remain clueless and have no real understanding of what is going on.

As I stated two years ago, this is NOT hyperventilation, not related to diet and not related to any other disease. It's a real (not just perceived) breathing restriction brought on because of a type of panic disorder which causes the constant dysfunction of the respiratory system. Even if the person does not 'feel' anxious or panicky, subconsciously a stress has been there to cause it to 'switch on' in the brain.

For anyone who's interested, I will soon be posting a youtube video and suggest everyone on this thread to watch it to discuss and share thoughts further.

[technine3582]

It's parasites. Find a cleanse. They cause major mental problems, anxiety, ect. As well. I have the same problem.

[Nath89]

Having been passed from doctor to doctor, I was diagnosed with hyperventilation syndrome after a year and a half of symptoms which started after a bad chest infection.

I do believe it's anxiety based, whether that be the cause or a result of change in breathing pattern. I try to distract myself, but it is a very difficult thing to live with (SOB, chest/ back pain/ tiredness) and to describe to others who don't understand how you "can't take a full breath".  

I will continue with breathing exercises and Buteyko, although they have not helped to date.

Good luck everyone, we will all get over this? :D

[M4roses]

Can you please tell me where you signed up for buteyko class? I have breathing problems and asthma since I was 5 years old I am now 66. I have seen some of the buteyko classes on you tube. I live in USA Most classes seem to be in Australia. Thank you for any help.

[css5280]

Hi All

I'm a 39 yr old female who has had difficulty breathing since I was 7 yrs old. I had an initial incident, like most of you. I was on a houseboat on a lake, and awoke in the middle of the night unable to breathe. After a few hours of trying everything to get my breathing back, my father rushed me to the emergency clinic which was across the lake, and by the time I got there, the cool air seemed to cure the problem. That night...

When I returned home, my general practitioner prescribed me a bee sting kit and an inhaler. I never had to use the bee sting kit, and the inhaler never worked. The breathing problem has occurred every summer since. I have been diagnosed as having anxiety, asthma, allergies to certain pollens, and insect allergies. I feel fairly certain that none are the true cause because I have lived in a wide range of locations, do not have anxiety, and have been bitten by a number of insects, none of which have caused a reaction. Oh, and no inhaler has ever made a difference in any way.

My blood work is very good - no thyroid issues, no cholesterol issues, etc. I have low blood pressure, but not too low. I am about 10 lbs overweight now, but was not overweight as a child when this started. I do know that my breathing is worse when I lay down, that caffeine makes it worse, and that exercise does not affect it at all.  Also, I had no symptoms at all when I was pregnant, which as an awesome year for that reason!

I read a thread somewhere that someone suggested a 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt in a glass of water. I've tried this twice now, and it may make a difference, but I can't tell for sure. I generally eat low sugar, low carb, but that does not seem to make a difference in the breathing issue, though I feel better in other areas. Meat or no meat makes no difference for me. No anxiety medicine I've been prescribed has made an iota of difference. And no doctor will pay any attention to this. Its incredibly frustrating.

Anyone have any new theories? New successes? I'm all ears!

[hava]

Join your thumb and index finger at the tips, on both hands, place the palms on your knees, eyes closed, do deep breathing through the nose 11 times.  

Then Join your thumb and index finger at the tips, on both hands, place the wrists on your knees,upside down(thumb and index finger pointing down),  eyes closed, do deep breathing through the nose for 5 to 10 minutes daily 3 times a day.