I was diagnosed with Chronic fatigue in June. After getting a severe case on mono in January. Recently I've noticed that I've had a hard time breathing. Especially when I wake up. I'm really short of breath and it feels like i'm not getting enough air. It's uncomfortable to take a deep breath because my chest feels tight.

I've had EKG's, and a chest x-ray, they both came back normal.. is there something that could be going on that can't be detected by them? Does anyone else experience this also? Or have any idea what it could be? Any info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

This is a common problem w/CFIDS. It is sometimes called "air Hunger". I take a product called Respiratone (by NAP), which helps.

Peregrine

I have a few things in my life that contribute to the 'air hunger'. The first I ever noticed was a slight touch of what the doctor called asthma, but never any of the usual asthma symptoms. Another I have noticed was my nasal passages swelling. Also my throat seems to partially close. ENT feels it is nothing serious enough to warrant a major surgery. I use an Rx nose spray to help that. I use a bi-pap machine and as odd as it sounds, once I got used to it, I can tell I can actually breathe better.
One other thing that does not seem common is vascular spasming. If the vessels constrict for too long, the air becomes in short supply. There are probably a lot more I am not aware of.

peregrine - I have not heard of the med you mentioned. It sounds very interesting. How does it work in the body to help breathing?

-alice

Thanks for your help.. should i take this information to my specialist and ask him about it?

Alice,

Interesting. I have also developed Asthma since being diagnosed with CFIDS 10 years ago. It almost seems as if Asthma is a symptom that develops due to CFIDS. No?

Respiratone is not a med (I cannot take any meds because they all exacerbate my CFIDS symptoms) and I am not sure how exactly it works, but I believe that it brings more oxygen to the cells thus making breathing easier. I'm not sure if it could be called a vitamin or herb. The way it works is very gentle though.

Peregrine