Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has experienced shortness of breath. It started in July and is pretty much chronic now. I'm 43 and have a 17 mo old and a 32 mo old so I'm very familiar with stress. I went through hell to have my first child and dealt with lots of stress with IF treament and miscarriage but, as my internist said, that was then and this is now. The Dr. first thought it might be reflux so he put me on meds for that. It didn't clear up after 6 wks so now we're thinking stress. I had an EKG in the office as well as a spirometry test to check my breathing and they were both normal. My bloodwork came back fine too (autoimmune, anemia, thyroid, etc).

My breathing gets better later in the day (when my husband is due home and the kids are soon to go to bed). What a surprise! It's worse when I wake after a lousy night of sleep, have my coffee and get ready to start my day. I've had physical anxiety symptoms before but nothing that chronically affects my breathing. It's like someone is sitting on my chest. I don't seem to be hyperventilating either. I don't get it.

I have a "stress" EKG on a treadmill in a couple of weeks but the Dr. doesn't think it will show anything because I look fine clinically. My sleep is horrible. Not refreshing at all and I'm troubled by insomnia. I've never been a great sleeper but I need my rest to keep up with two toddlers! The Dr. gave me Ambien which didn't help and last night I tried Lunesta (1 mg) and it did nothing. I can fall asleep but staying asleep is the problem. Also, I can't sleep on an empty stomach but all the pills say to take them on an empty stomach and not after a high fat meal. If I wait 2 hrs after eating, is that OK?

I am basically an anxious worrier. That I know, but is that enough to cause these symptoms because I'm so tired? TIA!