Do you have some other symptoms along with shortness of breath?
Are you experiencing wheezing and/or coughing, too?
What kind of allergies you have?
Did the episodes of shortness of breath get worse over time?

Sorry for a belated response. Occasionally I'll have what feels like tightness in my abdomen/chest along with shortness of breath. I have started doing weight lifting recently after a prolonged period of only doing cardio/stretches. Sometimes I'll get anxious about it if I focus on it which tends to elevate my heart rate, which was what prompted me to get looked at by a doctor in the first place. All signs point away from my heart and lungs, which is why I'm looking into alternative things.

I don't wheeze or cough.

When I went to an asthma doctor a decade ago I passed the allergy test without anything standing out. If I do have allergies it is probably an indoor trigger? I'd hate to think it's my cats as I've had them for years with little to no problem.

Sometimes my shortness of breath will leave me alone for a few weeks, then come back for a few days. During those days that I get short of breath, the shortness of breath usually lasts for an hour or so, then it goes away for a while, then comes back. It comes and goes throughout the day. Sometimes it's worse than other times, but even when it's bad I have a normal peak flow.

Do you suffer from allergies?
Are you experiencing heartburn or acid reflux,especially at night?
Are you an anxious person?
Do you know if you have chronic lung inflammation, like bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis or tuberculosis?

I've suffered from shortness of breath for the past 7 years, which just came and went. However, it has been getting worse in the last 5 months or so and I suffer from a persistent shortness of breath, sometimes with slight palpitations. My lung function test, chest x ray, abdominal scan, echocardiogram and full blood countcame back normal. I also did a tuberculin test which showed a result of 12mm but which my doctor said we could ignore as I had been diagnosed with tuberculosis 20 years ago, took the necessary medication and was cleared of the disease. During my periods of shortness of breath, my stomach seems bloated a bit and I need to belch out air. I've seen a physician who said I probably have a hiatus hernia, however the medication did not help. I then saw a gastro enterologist who put me on a high fibre diet since he said my large intestine seemed to be having a lot of air in it. I've been on the diet a week, but no marked improvement. I used to sneeze a lot prior to developing this shortness of breath and probably had hay fever. However, none of the hay fever symptoms appear now, except when I smell strong perfumes or vehicle fumes, which make me slightly shot of breath. I'm 32 years. Could you please help?

When do you usually find yourself short of breath?
Is this every day issue?
Are you experiencing chronic belching?
Do you get short of breath after having heavy meal?
Do you have heartburns?

I have had exactly the same problems for a few years now - I am 26. This last year has been particularly bad as my shortness of breath sometimes wakes me up from sleep. I have had all sorts of tests done. ECG, echo, thyroid tests, xrays, complete blood count, mri, lung function, event monitors...
I have had heart palpitations picked up by two diagnosticians who then sent me to cardiologists, but the cardiologists never picked them up. They also told me that I was young and that the heart palpitations are nothing to worry about. Academically-speaking I've always found this a bit odd - how can you comment on something you've never picked up. However as these guys have studied and operated on hearts, and I never will, I guess I have to take their word for it...
The shortness of breath occurs
1. randomly during the day. (often when sitting eg. in a car journey)
2. sometimes after lifting particularly heavy weights - if I continue doing more sets it gets worse until its intolerable and I feel a rush in my chest.
3. For a couple of hours after a strenuous game of football.

The feeling is one of breathing at a normal pace and yet feeling out of breath. If it gets particularly bad I get a rush/tightening (???) in my chest - its an odd feeling to describe.

I am NOT an anxious person and I really do not believe this to be anxiety-related. A few doctors have suggested this due to the lack of any diagnoses and due to my young age. I've had it for quite a few years now and though it has most definitely been worse this last year I have learnt to ride it out.

The fact that it has got worse though has now made me decide to get some kind of diagnosis no matter what. I do not relish the idea of doing nothing and it being worse still a couple of years down the line.

I've noticed that people who post about the problems never seem to come up with an eventual diagnosis. I guess either their problem ends up subsiding, they never find an answer or they are diagnosed and don't bother posting what happened on a help forum because of course they don't need help anymore.

So, if anyone has any ideas PLEASE post them!!!

I have had these symptoms and problems also it all started back in 2007 when I got mono, then the doc said I had asthma. I was put on advair,inhaler, and a breathing treatment machine twice a day! I went to a specialist who ran tests on me and came to the conclusions I didn't have asthma I had bad lungs. That was my diagnosis I think it just might be where not all of us are blessed completely healthy.

I have asthma (allergic asthma) I get short of breath at night usually and it too wakes me up. Sometimes too, when I exercise. After all the drugs (to make this story much shorter than it really is) I went to a Naturopathic Doctor. Medical Doctors always need a label to define illnesses in individuls and use the name protocol for like individuals with the same symptoms. We are all different. I don't believe in labels as that can be worse than none. I am not a Doctor but I quit all dairy products (I am already a vegetarian so that was easy). I gave up sugars (in all things) and began eating healthy organic vegetables and quinoa and rices without preservatives. I got better almost miraculously. However I started to get short of breath again and asthma symptoms after we moved. I finally found an asthma medication that is natural, it is called Intal (cromolyn sodium). It was created by a Doctor who had allergic asthma from an herb called Khellen from Egypt. It is a Mast Cell Stabilizer and prevents the reaction to the allergens that one might have a problem with. It takes a few days to kick in but they also carry and over the counter nasal spray called Nasalcrom which I started to take and I got better almost immediately. Look up Cromolyn Sodium on the internet. The good news is it gives me no side effects. I do not want to take steroid anything. So far this is working for me.