Straining to complete yawn, yawning all day, feel i just need a deep breath.

[Cloefish]

I have had this problem for a long time, but in the last year it has gotten worse and I cant stand it.  I regularly go through periods where I feel the need to yawn or get a deep breath and I just cant. I try and try over and over to yawn (causing me to get head aches), and finally accomplish it just to need  to yawn again. I am a sleepy person all the time,  but  the  straining  to yawn thing  makes me  crazy! I also have increasingly bad short term memory problems (at only 25), could this be connected to the yawning, and lack of oxygen to the  brain? could I  have asthma?  thank you so much for any help you can give me.

[niffer31]

I have a severe yawning problem, which has worsened now that I am 31. I sleep more than usual, when 7-8 hours of sleep would be enough, now I sleep 11-12 hours at night. I yawn all day long and I have noticed increased headaches and short term memory loss. I also have no energy to do anything. I used to be entergetic and always getting up and doing athletic things, and now it takes everything I've got just to go to the store. I am on Lexapro, which is an anti-depressant, and I know that taking such medications have side effects and one of them is excessive yawning. I just want answers and to get my life back on track and my energy level where it used to be. Good luck to all and hope to find the answer to our unusual yawning problem.

[pregnant and breathless]

I have been taking Nexium for about 2 weeks now...there has been about a 40% relief with my breathing symptoms. I never get heartburn anymore though, which is great. I didn't realize how upset my stomach was until I started the Nexium; but I'm pregnant, so I just expect to not feel very well. I know it takes 4-8 weeks for the Nexium to actually heal the damage, so I will still give it a shot. I just read on another forum that several people feel like they have something stuck in their throat--I do too, and they said it was acid reflux too...even without severe heartburn. Hopefully this is the answer. I would love for it to be! I have a hard time not eating late at night because I always need to eat due to the baby, so maybe my symptoms will take a little longer to subside. For those of you who can, try to see a Gastroenterologist and have some tests done, or at least talk to the doctor about trying Nexium. It may just be the answer. I still don't have my test results back from the echocardiogram done on my heart--they also took pictures of my throat, so maybe that will reveal something; I will keep you all informed!

[pregnant and breathless]

I've been on Nexium for acid reflux for over 3 weeks now and I can breathe SO MUCH BETTER!! All my lung function test and heart scans came back perfectly fine. I guess the reason I couldn't breathe was acid reflux. Even without heartburn, acid reflux can cause shortness of breath, wheezing, and a feeling of not enough air in the lungs, which can make you feel like you need to yawn in order to get a good breath of air. I know sometimes the breathing difficulties come and go, so I am still a little bit weary that it may return even being on Nexium. But for now, I can breathe and I'm SO happy!!! Check into this!!!! You can do a search for "breathing difficulties + acid reflux" and you will find a lot of information on it. I understand this isn't the cause of everyone's breathing difficulties, but I bet it's a cause of many--it was for me! Too bad my lung doctor NEVER mentioned anything about that!

[StarryNight23]

So interesting! I'm so glad I found this thread because I too have been experiencing the same problem. I am 23 and a few weeks ago I went to the ER (2 different ER's actually in 2 days!) because I thought I was having a heart attack. A week or so before I went to the ER I woke up one morning with a pain in the upper left side of my back that felt sore or strained when I leaned or stretched a certain way and also felt a tightness and a dull ache when I inhaled deeply. That persisted and then about a week after I felt very short of breath and like I couldnt get a deep satifying breath in. It felt like instead of the air filling my lungs all the way, the air would go a little into my lungs and the rest would just sort of evaporate in my throat. I also noticed I was CONSTANTLY yawning, or trying to yawn. Once again, it was like my breath was just getting caught somewhere in my throat and wouldnt go all the way into my lungs. I was also dizzy, lightheaded, completely wiped out and weak. When I went to the ER they did bloodwork, an EKG, took chest xrays and gave me a full body catscan. They didnt see anything wrong with my heart, no collapsed lung, no pulmonary embolism. The doctor assumed it was axiety or stress and sent me home (same thing as the 2nd hospital I went to 2 days later who did their own tests)  Now about 3 weeks after my ER visits my symptoms have gone away for the most part however I still have the pain in my back and sometimes I get that same frequent urge to yawn, yet can't. What could be causing this?? Its so frustrating.

[Silent_Howl]

I've been having the same problem. I always have a "Need to yawn" as you put it, and usually it just doesn't seem to have filled my lungs. I also suffer from a memory loss, and perhaps this may account for deprived levels of Co2 or oxygen to my brain, as someone mentioned. I also began to notice a sharp pain on the right side of my ribs, every time I inhale deeply. It is quite reasurring that I am not the only one with these symptoms. It is strange however, because I am only 17 and this has been happening for a number of years now (and I have been ignorant in believing it would go away) and people think I'm sleep deprived when I am yawning constantly at school, even though it can be a bore. I exercise, I am a long-distance runner, and I also get sharp heart pain as well, which the doctors have no explanation for. I don't know what causes this, but I am not the type that indulges in activities that would cause lung problems (ie. smoking etc) I shall be going to a doctor to see what they say, but looking at this thread, it does not seem like a solid and concrete cure, or even an investigation will continue on. For all the people that suffer this in silence, and no one has really paid close attention to what is causing this, it is quiet concerning.

[Evie1963]

Yawning is a neural and muscular reflex mechanism that occurs from the brain stem. Is it possible that a virus could damage that mechanism? We've got so many new viruses from mutation and they've been know to affect every part of our body. Also, apparently yawning may be controlled by the hypothalamus, through neurotransmitters and hormones. Maybe it might be time to see a neurologist to see if you have any luck there..

Something interesting:
(Migraines)"Prior to the headache phase and at the very beginnings of the migraine attack, there is a drop in magnesium levels, which is believed to be a destabilizing factor causing the nerves in the brain to misfire17 (one theory behind types of visual aura). At the same time, increased dopamine activity is observed, which has been connected with such prodromal symptoms as mood change, yawning and drowsiness." (www.pamcurtis.com/What_is_Migraine-Pam_Curtis.doc) Pointing to the brain again.

There's another interesting article, especially paragraph 9:
http://www.baillement.com/askenazy-arousal.html

"Excessive yawning is also associated with opiate withdrawal and the consumption of a variety of drugs that affect neurotransmitters, such as drugs prescribed for Parkinson's disease or depression.
("http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C653304.html)
How many of us have been on medication for depression?

Good Luck, I hope you all find a cure soon. :)