it's really comforting to read this thread. i've been experiencing these symptoms since i was 16 (i'm now 23): the inability to take a satisfying breath, chest tightness/heaviness and so forth. i actually find that yawning helps me to "release" the tightness in my chest 50% of the time but the other 50% of the time it is just maddeningly difficult to yawn. i found this thread because last night i tossed and turned from 12-4am in bed, unable to breathe, and periodically dozing off to sleep and then waking up feeling as though i was suffocating from not getting enough air, like i wasn't breathing in my sleep. that was the worst it had ever been. scary stuff, and it's still going on today. it's so comforting to know that other people have these same feelings sometimes too and that i'm not alone (or crazy, for that matter)! thanks for the posts.

Hi

I just discovered this forum and I have been reading some very strong points to exactly what I am dealing with.

Tigerswede -- for example - you have some very simlar symptons to what I have. It is driving me crazy and stressing me out.

If you have any information or advice I would love to hear it -- Please.

I just don't know what to do anymore.

I have a 8 month old baby And he has abutral for the breathing machine he just took it and hes still weezing how long intill i can give him another treatment

i have the same thing now-- driving me insane. i see the doctor tomorrow. my bloodwork will include thyroid.

Hey guys you should google, VCD, Vocal Cord dysfuction mimics Asthma, it is panic induced and enviromentally induced. Basically it means that your vocal cords are not functioning properlly, u may notice more coughing and sore throat, spittle, choking or no symptoms at all. Many people in the world think that they have asthma when they have VCD, because of lack of knowledge. VCD is caused by Reflux. gerd heartburn, that we ignore and the reflux damages your vocal cords. You should see and ENT, to be assessed. Ear Nose and Throat doctor.
Panicing closing your airways so it feels like you can't breathe.. good thing is you don;t die from vcd, u may pass out but once you do your vocal cords relax and open up, with asthma and u pass out, u die.. I can not stress the importance of deep breathing, all sorts of ways, thru the nose little sniffs can help u with vcd.
If u take meds and they don;t work, it may be vcd, or an athelete's are affected by this dysfunction. God Bless, Happy New Year to All WW

Seek out treatment, check for triggers around the room and bed, keep clean enviornment, simple, no toys, smoking, perfume..he needs a clean room where he sleeps, so important god bless ww

I have been having the same symptoms for two years. I constantly feel the need to take a deep breath, but I do not get the satisfying feeling that you normally get. When my symptoms first started, I couldn't even string a sentence together without taking a deep breath, now I can go about 2 minutes between each breath, as a teacher, this makes life quite difficult!
My symptoms started just after a minor car accident I was involved in, which resulted in my car being written off. My doctor put it down to stress. I took two weeks off work, but my symptoms still persisted. I saw the doctor four times in six months and he always put it down to stress, even though towards the end of the six months I had nothing to be stressed about. I did not go to the doctor again (because they made me feel stupid) until a couple of months ago with a persistent cough. The doctor diagnosed me with asthma, but I have recently had a spirometry test which came back normal. The nurse probed my history, and I am finally getting the medical attention I needed two years ago. A chest x-ray is currently being considered, but if that comes back normal I will be referred to a chest physician. I'm just hoping that I can get an answer to my problems soon. Although it is not life-threatening (I think), it is an inconvenience!

Hello, what was your oxygen level? normal is 96 to 100%, they put a little meter on your fingar and it tells them you heart rate and your O2 levels. Its very good idea to get x-rays, yearly if you feel un-well with your lungs, stick to the same hospital, seek out an asthma specialist. Please don't feel dumb, its the doctor that should feel dumb, seek out another doctor, keep a diary of your synptoms, food, stress, weather, odditys within your body.. There are better ways to breathe than to suck in your breathe, u need to breathe thru your nose and push your belly out, its the way opera singers breathe, this allows you to breath deeper.. You need to have a spirometery test done, when you are feeling ill, and u may have an asthma attack after the test. Family doctors don;t know it all, as much as they think they do, demand to be sent to a specialist, google them in your area, go into the doctor and tell them you want to be referred to THIS doctor, (u should call and confirm that they are accepting new patients) as it does require the family doctor to forward a letter, and depending on where you are in the world you may have to pay for it.. Asthma is life threatening, if it truly is asthma your o2's will be down and your spiromertry will be down.. You may have triggers in your house that bothers you.. Do u smoke? so many things make asthma worse as u get older, so being proactive about your health is the responsible thing to do and no doctor should make u feel stupid. Do have shortness of breathe when you work out?
Stay strong seek out a pulminologist, respiratory doctors google those
Good luck god bless ww

Griffsgal -i have the same thing -it just came on me about a week ago. My doctor says lungs are clear -but I feel like you state. I've talked to others who have experienced similar and all seems to point to anxiety either realized or unrealized.

I do have asthma which has worsened this year so immediately I tagged that as the underlying cause -still not convinced otherwise because i'm not very good at taking medications as intended and doctors will warn you about this. I'm searching for answers too and stumbled here -very helpful comments and immediately related to your experience -
- have been trying not to yawn or think about it -which seems to help. Also diaphram breathing described at http://This link has been removed/forums/RespiratoryDisorders/messag es/1571.html
hope this helps -jeff62

Wow -I'm not really paying attention to who wrote what as I stroll through these posts -but I was surprised to see this -it is great information. Thanks for coming back and posting this -I'm still not convinced that my as-of-late increase in asthma attacks is not somehow connected to my new "cant breathe deep" experience -but hey at 46 the problems are lining up at the door -this could be a new one

[quote="jeff62"]

Wow -I'm not really paying attention to who wrote what as I stroll through these posts -but I was surprised to see this -it is great information. Thanks for coming back and posting this -I'm still not convinced that my as-of-late increase in asthma attacks is not somehow connected to my new "cant breathe deep" experience -but hey at 46 the problems are lining up at the door -this could be a new one [/quote

Welcome to the Breathless club!? only 46?! thats good! Gotta have a sense of humor about these things, but never trust a doctor with too many big words, so listen to your body and go on instinct and feel (to griffsgal), doctors are only human and to trust completely, is not good for ya, trust me "bin there and done that" , get second opinion, u must be in-distress to get a true asthma reading. good luck ww

[quote="wickedwanda"]

Thanks -I must admit however that I determined last night to restart my Advair treatments and this "new" other problem has slightly improved -still can't get a good yawn -but having gained a better understanding of how our lungs and bronchials work -i am hopeful.

I'm curious what griffsgal's doctor is doing for her hyperventilation?

Naughty man not taking your advair, i am very thank-ful for that drug, it has kept me from going in the hosptial on a monthly basis, but must be loyal to it.
hyperventelating - well speech therapists help in that they teach how to breathe and, the power of the mind. I have a sensation that comes over me, of panic, and i start having trouble breathing, so i gentally sniff through my nose, and open my vocal cords, and then i tell my self, "DON'T GO THERE BRAIN" AND i try and imediatly do something that requires thought, and it helps take my mind off it. But when the vocal cords close, man thats scary and you can't die from VCD, but it is truly one of the scariest things to go to. I thought going to see and ent or speech therapist would be a pain in the a--, but i went in with an open mind and wow, it really helped my self and all my specialists, to understand that not all breathing problems are asthma, but may be combinations of asthma, VCD, panic attacks and hyperventilation. I have worked hard to re-train my lazy vocal cords and learn to breathe deeply using abdomen.. It will be interesting to hear what griffsgal has to say! there is always hope.. I'll be here for u guys all the bestww

I am so releived to find out I am not in this alone!!! I have had this problem, off and on, for 15 years. The first "attack" was when i was pregnant with my now 14 year old daughter. I had to pull my car over and get out to be able to get a
deep cleansing breath. It lasted for a few weeks that time. Since then I have had bouts with it several times. And they last anywhere from a few days to a couple months. I actually went 4 years the last time without any symptoms, and I thought it was gone. I had asthma like symptoms when I was a kid, but it was never the liquidy, mucusy stuff, that asthmatics describe. My doctor has told me that its a return of my "asthma" and given me more inhalers and now a neb machine, all of which don't work.
I do think stress plays a role, because I have noticed when I get anxious about these attacks they get worse. Also....I found a thread on Chronic Hyperventilation that was intreging. I am going to try the breathing exercises that the site recommended and see if they work. If anyone else is interested, I simply typed in Chronic Hyperventilation and got all kinds of info. I am definitely also going to call my Doc about the Singular (he has recommended it anyway)
Talking about this is also really good therapy...I feel releived.

Hi everyone,

I have been reading the posts because I have been yawning non stop now for about a week. I feel this pressure build up in my chest like I need to get a big gulp of air. I open my mouth and try to get the big, satisfying intake of air but it won't come. Maybe after three or four attempts I finally get that great gulp giving me instant relief. But then the pressure builds up again in a minute or so. I have felt so fatigued by the end of the day from trying to get oxygen that I fall into bed by 9:00 AM as soon as I get my 4 year old daughter to bed. I finally went to the doctor today because I was so sick of feeling like this. She said she thinks I have an iron deficiency anemia. She drew the lab tests and I will have the results tomorrow. She said that the anemia is causing my body to crave oxogen but it just doesn't get what it needs because of the anemia. She put something on my finger to test my oxygen intake. She said I was normal, at 99 but my heart was pumping faster than normal. When I stood up to walk my heart rate jumped up quite a bit. She said this is because my heart is working extra hard because of the anemia. This would also explain why after I lay down for bed at night the problem goes away until I get up the next day. I sure hope it is anemia because there is a treatment for iron deficiency. If not, then I will look into anxiety but I am not having anything in my life different that I would be overly anxious about right now. My doctor said she doesn't think it is anxiety and feels that too many doctors just label problems like this anxiety instead of trying to find the REAL reason or cause. I will let you know tomorrow after I get my lab results if it is anemia or not. If not, then she said she would recommend a chest Xray next.

Hi everyone,

I have been reading the posts because I have been yawning non stop now for about a week. I feel this pressure build up in my chest like I need to get a big gulp of air. I open my mouth and try to get the big, satisfying intake of air but it won't come. Maybe after three or four attempts I finally get that great gulp giving me instant relief. But then the pressure builds up again in a minute or so. I have felt so fatigued by the end of the day from trying to get oxygen that I fall into bed by 9:00 AM as soon as I get my 4 year old daughter to bed. I finally went to the doctor today because I was so sick of feeling like this. She said she thinks I have an iron deficiency anemia. She drew the lab tests and I will have the results tomorrow. She said that the anemia is causing my body to crave oxogen but it just doesn't get what it needs because of the anemia. She put something on my finger to test my oxygen intake. She said I was normal, at 99 but my heart was pumping faster than normal. When I stood up to walk my heart rate jumped up quite a bit. She said this is because my heart is working extra hard because of the anemia. This would also explain why after I lay down for bed at night the problem goes away until I get up the next day. I sure hope it is anemia because there is a treatment for iron deficiency. If not, then I will look into anxiety but I am not having anything in my life different that I would be overly anxious about right now. My doctor said she doesn't think it is anxiety and feels that too many doctors just label problems like this anxiety instead of trying to find the REAL reason or cause. I will let you know tomorrow after I get my lab results if it is anemia or not. If not, then she said she would recommend a chest Xray next.

i have just started experiencing having problems taking a deep breath. i don't freak out or feel anxious, and repeatedly trying to yawn eventually helps. it gets bad when i read a story to my son or eat, or sometimes when i am just sitting there. just started going to doctor also for extreme fatigue (so tired out of nowhere i can fall asleep and it's like passing out) and just odd little changes. my throat hurts every morning when i wake up and i cannot seem to ever have a normal bowel movement--i get bad cramps before and also have a lot of gas all of a sudden. i have been wondering if i have an allergy to something. and it is weird because i feel like i have been eating healthier and i have dramatically cut back on smoking (maybe 3 to 5 cigarettes a day or even less) and my stress level is down, so i can't understand why this is happening now. i was diagnosed with fibromyalgia as a teen but didn't really take it seriously. i was "undiagnosed" by the first doc i went torecently who said i just need more sleep! my doc now has done tests and everything seems normal, except i was a little dehydrated or something by my co2 levels (?) one nurse i talked to thought it was thyroid problems (which my mom has) but i guess my thyroid is fine. i also have been starting to feel like the doc thinks i am nuts, it is so good to hear others with the same symptoms! my family keeps suggesting all kinds of things, like lyme disease, but i haven't gotten that far! i go for another visit soon...

I also can not breath. It has taken over my days. In early December I went to the ER and they did a CT scan, a chest Xray, and an EKG and said everything looked normal and told me I have anxiety.

I know my anxiety comes from these health problems, but I don't have any stressors that would have brought this anxiety on and I don't know what I can do for it.

It seems to get worse after I exercise, and even sometimes when I lay down, but I always sleep well and don't wake up gasping for air. I just feel this constant heaviness in my chest, and can not take a deep breath, even sometimes when I yawn I am unable to.

I'm so scared something is wrong and they're not finding it!

Read back over all of the posts on this site and you should feel better. These people have been through all kinds of tests and they find nothing. You are the same as all of us. Try not to stress so much it does make it worse!!!

I just joined this chat becuase I couldn't believe what I've been reading over the past few days. So many people have this problem and there seems to be no cure. My wife, 47 - very healthy has had this "thing" on and off for years. She can't get a deep satifying breath. It lasts for days and sometimes weeks at a time. We can't seem to pin point the cause. She has been to several doctors and has had all the tests. Of course she's been given all kinds of drugs and inahalers of various types but no help. I'm not sure where to turn. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.