Swollen turbinate

Blake,

Your story might as well be mine. There are a couple things you may want to examine. Do you have a deviated septum and have you been to an allergist? A deviated septum causes drainage issues which can lead to swollen turbinates. Allergies can also cause problems for breathing because they can inflame your airways. You may be experiencing apnea. Many people associate apnea with sleep apnea but apnea means a suspension of breathing which can occur at any time. This leads me to my next point - You may have exercise induced asthma. This can be caused by allergies or/and obstruction of your nasal cavities due to swollen turbinates.

The reason you may be having mini panic attacks is if any of the three things cause a decreased oxygen intake, your body automatically jumps into a panic mode because you're not getting enough oxygen. This reaction is your bodies "flight or fight" response kicking into overdrive try to find out why you have depleted oxygen levels. It isn't life threatening unless you are a severe asthmatic or encounter an allergen that causes anaphylactic shock; this doesn't sound like the case for you .The more frequently this happens the more sensitive you become to them psychologically which can cause these panic attacks to happen more frequently. Consult with an allergist, an ENT and possible a psychologist. I believe that this is where your problem lies. I had these problems for so long that I eventually developed health anxiety. Dizziness could because by both anxiety and turbinate swelling so don't think this is abnormal. Talk to a professional. If they aren't being responsive go to a different doctor or assert that you want to be more aggressive with other treatments.