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.

[theyuw]

I think because there are so many variables it is difficult to find a clear solution to this issue. For instance, some of these breathing episodes for me, seemed to  be onset from reflux. As soon as I was able to get that under control symptoms got better however, they did not clear up completely. From my experience online it seems as if many people were cured in different ways meaning unfortunately, there may be multiple factors or one specific factor coming into play here. Our cases are not one in the same. Here are some that I know contribute, if you really can't pinpoint a specific cause you will need to basically try methods of treatment for each specific case. If you find yourself feeling better after one method, you might have unlocked one part of the puzzle or the whole thing. All of the below have been known to cause what we would all coin as shortness of breath or not being able to take a full breath. I would recommend looking up strategies to deal with each case and then going through one by one. I left out some of the more extreme and rare cases as probability would dictate you have one or several of these below. You can then google "how to treat..." and start with process of elimination. You will find the answer eventually but unfortunately its just not as clear cut. Think of it like a scavenger hunt :)

-Acid reflux or digestive issues
-Ashma (most of the time it is not this)
-Bronchitis
-Stress/Anxiety
-Liver Issues
-Allergies/mold
-Heart Issues
-COPD
-Hiatial Hernia
-Viral, fungal, or bacterial infection
-Anemia
-Broken rib
-Bad posture
-Vitamin/nutrient deficiency

[songlines]

Thank you for the list, it does make good sense to go through an eliminate each one and possible find a cause.

[NowVegan]

Hi to everybody,

I haven't been on this site for months.., I found MY CURE and MY LIFE AGAIN and have to share..  I'm able to run fast and inhale deep at the same time and as much as I want.  All anxiety about my breathing and not enough air is gone.  I feel I get more air then anybody else around me.  I take my deep breaths as much as I want now and any second I want.  All the tiredness is gone-high energy ONLY!
I'm vegan for 10 months now, no animal products..0%-0%-0%-0%-0%!!!!  In a matter of week vegan I felt better on HIGH CARBS LOW FAT vegan nutrients.  My key nutrients come from A-A-A L-O-O-O-O-O-T-SSS of fruits and veges.  Just few nuts a month.  
Breathing problems come from fat, meats and animal products.  They paralize our cells and cell membranes, poison them with byproducts of metabolism, everything becomes sluggish and organs become not happy.  "Normal" food with animal products *****!  It leads and escalates all kind of health problems.  I've never felt or looked better in my life then ON VEGAN.  Every second of how I feel and look keeps me going with vegan.
Now I get nausea from the site or smell of meats or animal products.  I can't stand them.  
All our cells need is healthy sugars and minerals.  Here are fruits and veges with all the components you need from Mother-Nature.  Do not need to kill or cause anybody to suffer.
I've learned from these websites:  30 bananas a day, Frelee The Banana Girl, The 811 diet, The 80/10/10 diet.

GOOD LUCK!

[Wildhorse1970]

Yay! You are smart and figured it out. Now let’s hope everyone else does. Without dairy farms the planets heals and so do our bodies. All our ills go away: disease from inflammation, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol...it all magically disappears. Dairy farming is the single most greatest source of pollution in the world. Greater than airplanes, boats and cars combined (Cowspiracy, YouTube it!) On the downside, how will this affect population control and Big Pharma and agribusiness? We are in for some huge changes. Every other commercial on TV would not be for a prescription drug anymore. These dairy farmers better start growing hemp and organic plants for people, red meat is over as soon as people figure out why they are always sick.

[mryan27]

Would love to hear if anyone has found a solution to this,sppeats to be a silent epidemic!

[Exxon]

I too experienced this difficulty and my physician prescribed all sorts of inhalers including ventolin and isobutamol. While these symptoms declined for a while, they would return and sometimes intensify to a frighteningly suffocated level. There is always a lot of phlegm in my upper airways during these episodes. The physician started suggesting COPD which is like an idiopathic cause (unexplained in most cases).
Folks, I finally discovered what was triggering it. My pet tabby cat. When Mum visited, she banished the cat fom indoors for three months and I did not notice it but my symptoms disappeared completely - so slowly that I was unaware.  When Mum left, I reintroduced the cat into the house and she spent the night snuggling up to me. I awoke with the worst episode ever. Literally could not breathe. Thinking it was dust mite allergens, I got up removed all my  clothing and ad a hot shower. Then removed all the bedding covers and put them in the laundry. As the symptoms subsided, it clicked or me that it was the cat. The coincidence of the symptoms with th cat's reappearance was too striking. I tested this out over several months and eventually realised that this was indeed the case. Cat now sleeps in the garage and I have been totally symptom-free.
These symptoms are definitely related to allergens of some description be it something in food, the air, pets or dust mites or just plain dust. Have an immunological alllergy screening test is a start to try and identify the source. Thin carefully about where you are or what you are doing when the symptoms worsen. That will provide some clues. Good luck

[songlines]

You may well have a good point here.  I, who am also a sufferer of restricted breathing am also quite allergic to cats, dogs, goat and sheepskins, any fluffy wool garments, and others.  Although I think my problem is just muscular as well.  You made a good decision to keep the cat out of the house.  Take care.

[JD95]

Hello all,

I, like some have posted above, believe that anxiety isn't causing most of our problems, but the problems are causing the anxiety, and rightfully so! Of course, anxious people will have panic attacks, which will affect their breathing, but that is NOT what we are (for the most part) experiencing.

I will list some health issues I had leading up to this as anything could be a clue. I am a 37 year old male.

-I had sinus problems most of my life. Nothing too bad, just a clogged nose often. This is what I initially thought was causing this "air hunger".

-For the last year or so I have had some reflux issues.

-I have gotten dry mouth during the night. I often wake multiple times a night with a very dry mouth. This might be a clue that I am mouth-breathing too much at night maybe and drying out the mouth and perhaps not getting enough oxygen, which may be lead to this breathing issue. I don't know.

-A month and a half ago I came down with a bad sore throat. It wouldn't go away. I do not have health insurance, so I waited and waited. I finally went to a Doc to get some anitbiotics. Soon the throat was better, and then a week later this breathing issue started.

-I am overweight by about 60 lbs or so. I plan on losing that and have begun dieting. I fear I might be diabetic, so if there's any connection there...

Here are a couple of theories I am going with that may have started this:

-We have had a massive heat wave lately tha. I normally sweat a lot and overheat easily, so when I would visit my parents' house I would stand right in front of the AC to cool off. I noticed that when it was directly blowing on my face it would be difficult to breathe. I don't remember that ever happening before, but then again it was a newer AC that was powerful. But when standing in front of the AC I noticed a breathing issue and that seems like too strong a clue to ignore. Plus, just being in a AC'd room could be part of as well.

-I read that some artificial flavors might cause this. Recently, I started drinking a new diet soda "sparkling ice" A LOT! I drank many of these every day for a couple of weeks. Since I didn't really think they caused this after I stopped for a couple of days and felt a little better (breathing a little easier) I had about 1/3 of one. Immediately after I had issues again. Admittingly, this could be totally psychosomatic, but perhaps a clue nevertheless.

And for those of us suffering, I know it's hard but he is a slight bit of advice to handle this just a little better. When we do finally get that good breath and experience that beautiful "airgasm" we tend to take it in even more than we normally would just to get that feeling a bit more and a bit longer. But what we are really doing over and over again is hurting our chests, which doesn't help our condition. Breathe in that nice breath normally and know that another one will come soon. No, not soon enough, but it will come. The more we try to force this the worse it is for us.

Thanks for reading, and if anyone knows a way we can get the medical community to recognize this more please let us do it!

[handlewithcare3]

I have experienced the same identical symptoms and I wish you luck in finding a cure.  Please keep me posted on any ideas that help your situation.