prettyfish13

Sorry, this is rather long. Hopefully someone can give me some insight on this, as I’m really not sure what’s been going on with me the past month and a half. So, here goes:

I am 20 weeks pregnant. I also have some problems with anxiety. About a month a half ago, I was suddenly overcome with the sensation that I can not get enough oxygen. I call it my “breathing problem”. I find myself signing and yawning all day long, from when I wake up to when I go to bed. Sometimes I feel like I just can’t get a full breath. It doesn’t really change when I am just sitting or walking around. I found I can go on the treadmill without much of a problem – the deep breaths continue at pretty much the same rate! Sometimes, my lungs just feel very, very tired. They don’t exactly hurt, they just feel sore, and rather tight. Some days, my chin, neck, and even chest (around my sternum) will feel strange: sort of itchy. I’ll also feel dizzy at times, but I know this is a normal symptom of pregnancy, so I really don’t know if it’s related.

I have spoken to my OB and my primary care doc about my symptoms. My OB doesn’t seem concerned at all, and said it’s just a pregnancy thing. I’m just having a really hard time believing this, because I’ve never heard of anyone else having these problems when pregnant. I mean, I know feeling more short of breath with activity is totally normal, but this is ALL THE TIME. I’m starting to lose my mind. I started Zoloft 3 weeks ago for anxiety, and haven’t noticed any difference yet (as I know anxiety can cause breathing issues).

My primary care ran some blood tests, and I am every so slightly anemic, but nothing out of the ordinary for someone pregnant. They do not think that is causing my SOB. They did a d-dimer, and that came back elevated, but I had a lung scan to see if there was as clot, and that test was normal. I’ve had an EKG to check my heart, and that was normal. I also did a spirometry test for asthma, and apparently that was normal. They gave me an abuterol inhaler, but I’ve never noticed any difference from using it.

So…I have no idea what’s wrong with me. Does any of this sound like asthma? If my spirometry test came back normal, does that definitely mean I don’t have asthma? The reason I keep thinking maybe it IS asthma is because of the strange itchy sensation in my chin and neck, the soreness/tightness in my chest, and the fact that pregnancy can often cause women to suddenly develop asthma. Except, the inhaler doesn’t help at all. Oh, and I’ve had a cough, but my nose has also been rather congested. Whenever I’ve had colds in the past, they are very bad, and I will have a bad cough for weeks afterwards (don’t know if that could relate to asthma).

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I’m at my wits end here, and really just want to enjoy my pregnancy .