Shortness of Breath for Several Days

[SuperAnxious]

Hi all. I am new here. I am just sharing my experience since reading all these posts did make me feel better. Hopefully somebody can also relate to my problem and perhaps we can help each other.

I have always been anxious. When I was a child I would panic if my dad would come home a bit later from work. I would cry and think he would never come back. My mother used to go crazy and as a result I was even more scared.

After my grandma died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 61 it got worse. I was 15 at the time and panic attacks were constant as well as super bad/horrible/terrible sticky intrusive thoughts. I am now 37 years old, married and with 2 beautiful kids but Health Anxiety is getting out of control.

For the past 2 weeks I have had a weird shortness of breath that won't go away. It's not terrible but every now and then I feel that I am running out of air, especially if I am speaking or eating. I have already seen 3 doctors including a visit to the ER and tests all came back normal. I had an ECG, 02 chest X-Rays, countless blood tests and they all came back normal. No blood clot, no issues with the heart of lungs. Also just 2 months ago I had a abdominal ultrasound and it came back fairly normal, not to mention that my cholesterol is fine, as well as my blood pressure and oxygen levels.

However I can't stop thinking there's something wrong with me. My head now thinks that no doctor in the face of the earth will be able to find out what I have and that this shortness of breath will NEVER go away. My anxiety then spikes and I catch myself crying to my mom over the phone who lives in a different country and can do nothing about it.

I live in Canada and even though I LOVE this country the medical system is a bit solid/rigid. In my opinion I should see a cardiologist, lung specialist, ENT, gastro specialist, etc, but I can only see these professionals is my family doctor gives me a referral. Since he knows how anxious I am he won't do it and keeps blaming my shortness of breath due to my anxiety issues.

Other than my shortness of breath, the only other symptom I have is heartburn and bloating. I keep thinking I have sleep apnea or any other heart conditions. This is killing me inside and now affecting my family and work performance.

Does anybody relate to that or had a similar situation in the past ?

Thanks and sorry for the super long post...

 

[Bobnnat]

I live in Canada as well for what it's worth. Feeling short of breath is one of the major symptoms of anxiety. I wouldn't just write off your doctor's comments. You've had enough tests to rule out anything that would require a specialist visit. The simple fact that your O2 level is normal specifically rules out an organic problem regarding your symptom.

While it's true what you say about the health care system, and the GP is the so called gatekeeper, he is not going to risk your health and his reputation by refusing to send you to a specialist if he felt you needed it.

Bob

 

[SuperAnxious]

I live in Canada as well for what it's worth. Feeling short of breath is one of the major symptoms of anxiety. I wouldn't just write off your doctor's comments. You've had enough tests to rule out anything that would require a specialist visit. The simple fact that your O2 level is normal specifically rules out an organic problem regarding your symptom.

While it's true what you say about the health care system, and the GP is the so called gatekeeper, he is not going to risk your health and his reputation by refusing to send you to a specialist if he felt you needed it.

Bob

Hi Bob. Thanks for your message. I agree that my family doctor would not risk his reputation or "play around" with anybody else's health. Hopefully this will go away on its own. Regards

 

[matisworried]

sorry you're so anxious right now.

as @Bobnnat said, shortness of breath or the sensation that you're starved for air is a very common symptom of anxiety, which you know you have and which you know is at a heightened state right now. shortness of breath can also be caused by acid reflux which you also have. i have severe acid reflux and have chest tightness/air starvation/shortness of breath with it.

the fact of the matter is that you have been THOROUGHLY examined by multiple physicians. you've had an entire battery of tests done and everything has come back normal. the chances of something being missed are extremely, extremely unlikely.

In my opinion I should see a cardiologist, lung specialist, ENT, gastro specialist, etc...

and you think this why? because of your medical degree and your vast medical knowledge? or because of your anxiety and some scary stuff you've read while researching your symptoms?

...but I can only see these professionals is my family doctor gives me a referral.

this is for good reason. one the the biggest problems people like us face is trying to self-diagnose and self-treat. we demand tests and are paranoid our doctors are either incompetent or simply refuse to listen to us because we have anxiety. we're SURE all of these medical professionals (who have gone to school for years and went through exhaustive training) missed something and refuse to accept their opinion, thinking we know better, despite the fact that we really don't know what the heck we're talking about. this is dangerous territory to live in. if your doctor (or ANY of the other doctors you've seen) thought there was a CHANCE that ANYTHING was wrong, testing would be ordered.

Since he knows how anxious I am he won't do it and keeps blaming my shortness of breath due to my anxiety issues.

...or he's not referring you to specialists because there is no medical reason to based off of multiple physical exams and a multitude of tests that have all come back clear. have you even considered anxiety as the cause of this?

.

 

[hatboxghost]

I have been feeling the same thing recently too. I also believe that it could be the change of weather and I’m constantly surrounded by allergens. I get a tight feeling in my stomach, not my chest that kinda makes me feel like I need to sigh or sniff my nose to get air. It’s so weird.

 

[SuperAnxious]

sorry you're so anxious right now.

as @Bobnnat said, shortness of breath or the sensation that you're starved for air is a very common symptom of anxiety, which you know you have and which you know is at a heightened state right now. shortness of breath can also be caused by acid reflux which you also have. i have severe acid reflux and have chest tightness/air starvation/shortness of breath with it.

the fact of the matter is that you have been THOROUGHLY examined by multiple physicians. you've had an entire battery of tests done and everything has come back normal. the chances of something being missed are extremely, extremely unlikely.



and you think this why? because of your medical degree and your vast medical knowledge? or because of your anxiety and some scary stuff you've read while researching your symptoms?



this is for good reason. one the the biggest problems people like us face is trying to self-diagnose and self-treat. we demand tests and are paranoid our doctors are either incompetent or simply refuse to listen to us because we have anxiety. we're SURE all of these medical professionals (who have gone to school for years and went through exhaustive training) missed something and refuse to accept their opinion, thinking we know better, despite the fact that we really don't know what the heck we're talking about. this is dangerous territory to live in. if your doctor (or ANY of the other doctors you've seen) thought there was a CHANCE that ANYTHING was wrong, testing would be ordered.



...or he's not referring you to specialists because there is no medical reason to based off of multiple physical exams and a multitude of tests that have all come back clear. have you even considered anxiety as the cause of this?

.

Hi @matisworried . Thanks for your message and for reassurance that my family doctor is doing the right thing. My only concern is that the shortness of breath does not go away. Just now I started feeling again. I really cannot tell if it comes from moments of anxiety or if it's when I feel the "tennis ball" on my throat which is a symptom of reflux. At this point I just wish that I could relax a bit.

I have been feeling the same thing recently too. I also believe that it could be the change of weather and I’m constantly surrounded by allergens. I get a tight feeling in my stomach, not my chest that kinda makes me feel like I need to sigh or sniff my nose to get air. It’s so weird.

That is more or less what I am feeling. It feels as if I needed to pay attention to my breathing. Not a pleasant feeling at all.

 

[matisworried]

Hi @matisworried . Thanks for your message and for reassurance that my family doctor is doing the right thing. My only concern is that the shortness of breath does not go away. Just now I started feeling again. I really cannot tell if it comes from moments of anxiety or if it's when I feel the "tennis ball" on my throat which is a symptom of reflux. At this point I just wish that I could relax a bit.

That is more or less what I am feeling. It feels as if I needed to pay attention to my breathing. Not a pleasant feeling at all.

it could be caused by a combination of reflux and anxiety. that is what my situation is. if my reflux is bad, i get the "I'm not quite catching a deep enough breath" feeling. if i start to experience anxiety on top of that (or because of that) it gets much worse. sometimes i get shortness of breath JUST from anxiety. when that happens, i try to think of any recent triggers that might have brought it on. a reason can be found almost every time!

 

[Ageless50]

Hi all. I am new here. I am just sharing my experience since reading all these posts did make me feel better. Hopefully somebody can also relate to my problem and perhaps we can help each other.

I have always been anxious. When I was a child I would panic if my dad would come home a bit later from work. I would cry and think he would never come back. My mother used to go crazy and as a result I was even more scared.

After my grandma died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 61 it got worse. I was 15 at the time and panic attacks were constant as well as super bad/horrible/terrible sticky intrusive thoughts. I am now 37 years old, married and with 2 beautiful kids but Health Anxiety is getting out of control.

For the past 2 weeks I have had a weird shortness of breath that won't go away. It's not terrible but every now and then I feel that I am running out of air, especially if I am speaking or eating. I have already seen 3 doctors including a visit to the ER and tests all came back normal. I had an ECG, 02 chest X-Rays, countless blood tests and they all came back normal. No blood clot, no issues with the heart of lungs. Also just 2 months ago I had a abdominal ultrasound and it came back fairly normal, not to mention that my cholesterol is fine, as well as my blood pressure and oxygen levels.

However I can't stop thinking there's something wrong with me. My head now thinks that no doctor in the face of the earth will be able to find out what I have and that this shortness of breath will NEVER go away. My anxiety then spikes and I catch myself crying to my mom over the phone who lives in a different country and can do nothing about it.

I live in Canada and even though I LOVE this country the medical system is a bit solid/rigid. In my opinion I should see a cardiologist, lung specialist, ENT, gastro specialist, etc, but I can only see these professionals is my family doctor gives me a referral. Since he knows how anxious I am he won't do it and keeps blaming my shortness of breath due to my anxiety issues.

Other than my shortness of breath, the only other symptom I have is heartburn and bloating. I keep thinking I have sleep apnea or any other heart conditions. This is killing me inside and now affecting my family and work performance.

Does anybody relate to that or had a similar situation in the past ?

Thanks and sorry for the super long post...

Hello. I was wondering if you take medication for your heart burn? PPI'S ...aka acid reducing medications...can cause shortness of breath. Visit askpatient.com and put your PPI name into the search engine and read the reviews. Best of luck!

 

[SandraLee88]

I am feeling this way for a little while now I’m so scared of something wrong