Aa
shortness of breath/frequent yawning
I am a 41 year old female with a 2 year old, in good health other than being about 10 pounds overweight. Two months ago I began experiencing shortness of breath. I yawn constantly in an attempt to get air. The doctor thought asthma, especially given my family history of lung problems, so though my lungs sounded clear I tried advair/albuterol. No change in condition.
I had a ct scan to check for a pulmonary embolism and everything looked good. I have been taking previcid for 2 weeks to treat possible acid reflux, but there has been no change in my condition. I feel better when I sleep and wake up feeling great, only to have the sob return within a few hours.
A possibly relevant fact: the day before this started I was at yoga doing a twist when I felt a very, very sharp pain in my right side under my rib, along with a feeling as if a rubber band had been snapped in the same place. The pain was excruciating and traveled through my breast and shoulder, but was gone in a few minutes and I was able to continue class. Also, I was in the desert for a few days and it went away but returned about a week later. I fairly certain it isn't stress/anxiety as the trip out of town was not relaxing. The breathing seems better when I stand/worsens sitting down, and I may have been standing more than usual on the trip. I am feeling so frustrated, scared, and depressed.
I had a ct scan to check for a pulmonary embolism and everything looked good. I have been taking previcid for 2 weeks to treat possible acid reflux, but there has been no change in my condition. I feel better when I sleep and wake up feeling great, only to have the sob return within a few hours.
A possibly relevant fact: the day before this started I was at yoga doing a twist when I felt a very, very sharp pain in my right side under my rib, along with a feeling as if a rubber band had been snapped in the same place. The pain was excruciating and traveled through my breast and shoulder, but was gone in a few minutes and I was able to continue class. Also, I was in the desert for a few days and it went away but returned about a week later. I fairly certain it isn't stress/anxiety as the trip out of town was not relaxing. The breathing seems better when I stand/worsens sitting down, and I may have been standing more than usual on the trip. I am feeling so frustrated, scared, and depressed.
I have been having this SOB for more than 2 years. I didn't take it very seriously because at some point, for about 3 months, it actually stopped, and I was aware of it. But then it started again. During a quick consultation with doctor, without any tests done, she said that it is common especially when your stomach is full of gas. It pushes the lungs so you have this feeling of SOB. But the SOB stays even after I took some antacid.
Only until last month I went to see the doctor to do proper test, after one of friend noticed my SOB. I never thought that it was that obvious. I got diagnosed (by an internist) with emphysema even though the spirometry test does not confirm it. I wasn't happy and went to see pulmonologist to get second opinion. Looking at the same test (X-ray and spiro, and even blood test and ECG), he said I was fine. Especially with the fact that I do sports (running and soccer) quite in a frequent manner without any difficulties to breath (exercise does indeed make me feel better!). The doctor said it was only in my head. It was more stress-related. I was relieved but at the same time not satisfied. I don't easily get stressed and I don't find myself stressed.
I will go to see a pulmonologist again and will probably get some tests done. Only a couple of days ago I came across this forum, which symptoms describe exactly what I have been feeling! Frequent urge to take deep breath, sighing, failed yawning. I was actually content to finally figure out the reason (if not exactly, at least it is the closest) of this SOB. I have been doing this Buteyko method this past 2-3 days (unfortunately you can't really find a comprehensive exercise in youtube), and trying to breath only through my nose. It does actually help! I have been able to resist the need to gasp for more air. It was difficult on day 1. I feel like I was getting ill (feels like I got mild fever). But it gets better actually. I will even try to do some exercise (maybe running, fast-walking or going up the stairs) with my mouth closed, as suggested by a video. I wonder if anyone knows if there's any side effect to this Buteyko method. I mean what I should be cautious about when doing the exercise. I really don't want to do it wrongly so that it cancels out the benefits.
Only until last month I went to see the doctor to do proper test, after one of friend noticed my SOB. I never thought that it was that obvious. I got diagnosed (by an internist) with emphysema even though the spirometry test does not confirm it. I wasn't happy and went to see pulmonologist to get second opinion. Looking at the same test (X-ray and spiro, and even blood test and ECG), he said I was fine. Especially with the fact that I do sports (running and soccer) quite in a frequent manner without any difficulties to breath (exercise does indeed make me feel better!). The doctor said it was only in my head. It was more stress-related. I was relieved but at the same time not satisfied. I don't easily get stressed and I don't find myself stressed.
I will go to see a pulmonologist again and will probably get some tests done. Only a couple of days ago I came across this forum, which symptoms describe exactly what I have been feeling! Frequent urge to take deep breath, sighing, failed yawning. I was actually content to finally figure out the reason (if not exactly, at least it is the closest) of this SOB. I have been doing this Buteyko method this past 2-3 days (unfortunately you can't really find a comprehensive exercise in youtube), and trying to breath only through my nose. It does actually help! I have been able to resist the need to gasp for more air. It was difficult on day 1. I feel like I was getting ill (feels like I got mild fever). But it gets better actually. I will even try to do some exercise (maybe running, fast-walking or going up the stairs) with my mouth closed, as suggested by a video. I wonder if anyone knows if there's any side effect to this Buteyko method. I mean what I should be cautious about when doing the exercise. I really don't want to do it wrongly so that it cancels out the benefits.
I want to post that not only did I stop the Bystolic (heart meds) for one week, but also have not taken any Buspar (anxiety) for 2 days and laying in bed just realized I haven't thought of this issue ALL DAY... came across this page to write I traveled to eat Texas to get my 18 mth old grandson yesterday, drove back Houston area last night and just NOW had a breathing 'issue) while writing this!!! And yawning for goodness sakes! Mind over matter my friends! Keep breathing they yr noses and involve yourself in something you do not normally do to obsess over... I am grateful for the day I didn't realize I want gasping even if tomorrow is all returned, I have hope! Prayers to you all! Also created FB page, come on over!
i would like to hear more about the recommended breathing that i have heard so much about. I cannot find your earlier post.I have been experiencing the yawning and shortness of breath for over a year now. I have had multiple tests done ranging from stress tests and having actual pictures of my heart to CT scans. Nobody has a clue. It was also recommended to start taking antidepressants . I refuse to do that as this happens periodically and most often when i have too much time on my hands.
Thanks in advance Hava.
Thanks in advance Hava.
therockhound
Nov 15, 2011
To: worked for me
I was having the same SOB, chest pain, fatigue...generally just a feeling of not being able to get a breath in. I had a PFT test (came back fine), went to an allergy doctor who ruled out asthma (because I was not having problems exhaling, I was only having problems on inhalation and my lungs were clear as a bell/no cough). My simple answer was GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), heartburn. The ironic part was I didn't get any "burn". So, simply put I had heartburn, with NO burn. I would get the other symptoms (chest pain, difficulty swallowing and shortness of breath). I was put on dexilant which worked awesome, but my insurance company will not pay for it anymore due to the expense. I had to switch to Protonix which seems to be working just as good.. My doctor told me the OTC heart burn meds were not strong enough to take care of this and a stronger Rx was required. After just 5 days on this medicine, I'm as good as gold. NO symptoms left :) Might be worth checking into for some people, I would of never thought in a million years I had heartburn...but like I said ALL my symptoms are now gone
Nov 15, 2011
To: worked for me
I was having the same SOB, chest pain, fatigue...generally just a feeling of not being able to get a breath in. I had a PFT test (came back fine), went to an allergy doctor who ruled out asthma (because I was not having problems exhaling, I was only having problems on inhalation and my lungs were clear as a bell/no cough). My simple answer was GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease), heartburn. The ironic part was I didn't get any "burn". So, simply put I had heartburn, with NO burn. I would get the other symptoms (chest pain, difficulty swallowing and shortness of breath). I was put on dexilant which worked awesome, but my insurance company will not pay for it anymore due to the expense. I had to switch to Protonix which seems to be working just as good.. My doctor told me the OTC heart burn meds were not strong enough to take care of this and a stronger Rx was required. After just 5 days on this medicine, I'm as good as gold. NO symptoms left :) Might be worth checking into for some people, I would of never thought in a million years I had heartburn...but like I said ALL my symptoms are now gone
I will comment to myself the posts I've come across where a specific diagnosis was found & the posters info & date as I find most relative as this thread is SO LONG & I screenshot about a dozen pertinent posts. ..
WE ALL KNOW OUR BODIES BEST DON'T WE?
I totally agree! Please read ALL as I have *Honest to God* read EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR POSTS! Just searching for similarities, answers AND RESOLUTION as I also JUST WANT TO BREATH!
I am 47yr old white female, 3 children, 29, 26 & 22.
Dogs, cats, no known allergies & not a panicky person.
Constant stressers & actually work best under duress as I do event planning & was single mother till '03.
That all said:
120lbs, 5', below 'average' low blood pressure all my life, do not smoke anything, occasionally drink, fairly healthy diet, typical housewife activity- occasional grandchild in the house & run after my Yorkies now & again, only medical conditions NOT contributing to below is MVP (mital valve prolapse- a heart valve issue that I take 5mg of Bystolic for- 5yrs now) & also SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder I'll take 3mg Buspar for (Its an anxiety med that you take AS NEEDED but taking more for below DOES NOTHING to lessen symptoms fyi) and I've taken Buspar on & off since my oldest son went to college in '02)
*** SOB - Just two weeks in to (trying to) yawning to get full breath & HEAVY *sighing*. No true chest tightening although worry & concern definitely causes anxiety. TRUE CONNECTION between having ate & episode of yawning till DEEP yawn/breath relieves feeling of suffocation. Realized was more than likely oxygen deficiency on my own but didn't account for CO2 / Oxygen balance. Breathing thru nose; breath in, totally exhale, hold as long as you can, breath in, totally exhale, hold as long as you can & CONTINUE until you aren't focusing on it relieves yawning... Sighing remains & started breathing when I noticed. If light-headed/dizzy feeling occurs, stop & start again a few minutes later. Yes it keeps me awake, yes I wake up with it happening but I think I breath fine while sleeping but when/if I wake up, I bring it on because its never far from my mind now. The longer/more I do the breathing exercises I described or the Hava in the post throughout described the LESS I YAWN and in time TRULY believe my CO2/Oxygen balance is working towards resetting. Seems to be common sense medically. The Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome would be its medical diagnosis; most of us can understand the anxiety diagnosis but my belief is that the CHS LEADS to our anxiety BECAUSE WE CAN'T get a breath of air. Heading to a doctor and simply having your CO2/Oxygen checked regularly if possible to get SEE AND INFORMING THEM OF YOUR DIRE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS AND YOUR FINDINGS may work... if yr doctor is arrogant & prideful & thinks he is God and you SURELY can not 'self-diagnose' then calmly say, "I'm not over-thinking or reaching, I CAN NOT BREATH RIGHT, and I've researched it for weeks, lost work hours, missed family commitments & invested time more than this 10 minutes with you sir/ma'm & I believe my symptoms are not allergies, asthma, anxiety and in the post I've found which is 6yrs long of 98% similar descriptions encompasses every other search & diagnosis after a total waste of time & resources doing extensive medical testing, even holistic remedies of which ALL seem not to 100% fix or cure. Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome sounds TOO SIMPLE to be IT but ALL OF US HAVE SAME/98% SIMILAR SYMPTOMES!! So PLEASE doctor, before starting to rule out thousands of medical procedures & tests spending thousands of dollars, can YOU invest YOUR TIME THAT I AM PAYING FOR & can we PLEASE start here because I need your help!" I am sure ya'll can negotiate with your own doctor but if your doctor is an arrogant butt then FIND ANOTHER...even if its an urgent care & explain about yr doctor because it IS hard to get into a new doctor, specially with insurance network guidelines and such. I go by MyMichelet on the most popular social network n also internet mail sites with google I will create a page on the social network called Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome SOB / Yawning today so look for it. START YOUR BREATHING TREATMENTS ASAP and RESIST yawning by swallowing...you KNOW you CAN breath so change up HOW you have been breathing as it seems we are breathing TOO MUCH and that has offset our CO2/Oxygen balance!!! It DOES seem TOO SIMPLE but unfortunately it is NOT simple to fix, it will take TIME, CONSISTENCY & BEING DILIGENT to even out the imbalance...the time it takes seems longer based on how long you have experienced the symptoms...DO NOT BE ALARMED if you have dealt with this for a long time and now actually DO have anxiety issues. Believe! Mind over matter and allow one to elevate the other!!! This takes TIME! DEDICATE YOURSELF TO THE TIME IT TAKES!
Respectfully yawning & gasping with you,
MyMichelet
Professionally undiagnosed sufferer of Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome :)
I totally agree! Please read ALL as I have *Honest to God* read EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR POSTS! Just searching for similarities, answers AND RESOLUTION as I also JUST WANT TO BREATH!
I am 47yr old white female, 3 children, 29, 26 & 22.
Dogs, cats, no known allergies & not a panicky person.
Constant stressers & actually work best under duress as I do event planning & was single mother till '03.
That all said:
120lbs, 5', below 'average' low blood pressure all my life, do not smoke anything, occasionally drink, fairly healthy diet, typical housewife activity- occasional grandchild in the house & run after my Yorkies now & again, only medical conditions NOT contributing to below is MVP (mital valve prolapse- a heart valve issue that I take 5mg of Bystolic for- 5yrs now) & also SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder I'll take 3mg Buspar for (Its an anxiety med that you take AS NEEDED but taking more for below DOES NOTHING to lessen symptoms fyi) and I've taken Buspar on & off since my oldest son went to college in '02)
*** SOB - Just two weeks in to (trying to) yawning to get full breath & HEAVY *sighing*. No true chest tightening although worry & concern definitely causes anxiety. TRUE CONNECTION between having ate & episode of yawning till DEEP yawn/breath relieves feeling of suffocation. Realized was more than likely oxygen deficiency on my own but didn't account for CO2 / Oxygen balance. Breathing thru nose; breath in, totally exhale, hold as long as you can, breath in, totally exhale, hold as long as you can & CONTINUE until you aren't focusing on it relieves yawning... Sighing remains & started breathing when I noticed. If light-headed/dizzy feeling occurs, stop & start again a few minutes later. Yes it keeps me awake, yes I wake up with it happening but I think I breath fine while sleeping but when/if I wake up, I bring it on because its never far from my mind now. The longer/more I do the breathing exercises I described or the Hava in the post throughout described the LESS I YAWN and in time TRULY believe my CO2/Oxygen balance is working towards resetting. Seems to be common sense medically. The Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome would be its medical diagnosis; most of us can understand the anxiety diagnosis but my belief is that the CHS LEADS to our anxiety BECAUSE WE CAN'T get a breath of air. Heading to a doctor and simply having your CO2/Oxygen checked regularly if possible to get SEE AND INFORMING THEM OF YOUR DIRE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS AND YOUR FINDINGS may work... if yr doctor is arrogant & prideful & thinks he is God and you SURELY can not 'self-diagnose' then calmly say, "I'm not over-thinking or reaching, I CAN NOT BREATH RIGHT, and I've researched it for weeks, lost work hours, missed family commitments & invested time more than this 10 minutes with you sir/ma'm & I believe my symptoms are not allergies, asthma, anxiety and in the post I've found which is 6yrs long of 98% similar descriptions encompasses every other search & diagnosis after a total waste of time & resources doing extensive medical testing, even holistic remedies of which ALL seem not to 100% fix or cure. Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome sounds TOO SIMPLE to be IT but ALL OF US HAVE SAME/98% SIMILAR SYMPTOMES!! So PLEASE doctor, before starting to rule out thousands of medical procedures & tests spending thousands of dollars, can YOU invest YOUR TIME THAT I AM PAYING FOR & can we PLEASE start here because I need your help!" I am sure ya'll can negotiate with your own doctor but if your doctor is an arrogant butt then FIND ANOTHER...even if its an urgent care & explain about yr doctor because it IS hard to get into a new doctor, specially with insurance network guidelines and such. I go by MyMichelet on the most popular social network n also internet mail sites with google I will create a page on the social network called Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome SOB / Yawning today so look for it. START YOUR BREATHING TREATMENTS ASAP and RESIST yawning by swallowing...you KNOW you CAN breath so change up HOW you have been breathing as it seems we are breathing TOO MUCH and that has offset our CO2/Oxygen balance!!! It DOES seem TOO SIMPLE but unfortunately it is NOT simple to fix, it will take TIME, CONSISTENCY & BEING DILIGENT to even out the imbalance...the time it takes seems longer based on how long you have experienced the symptoms...DO NOT BE ALARMED if you have dealt with this for a long time and now actually DO have anxiety issues. Believe! Mind over matter and allow one to elevate the other!!! This takes TIME! DEDICATE YOURSELF TO THE TIME IT TAKES!
Respectfully yawning & gasping with you,
MyMichelet
Professionally undiagnosed sufferer of Chronic Hyperventilating Syndrome :)
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