Difficulty breathing...any thoughts? - Lung & Respiratory Disorders / COPD Message Board

Tattooall · 06-10-2006, 12:11 PM

I am 22 and have had asthma since I was in the 2nd grade. My asthma has been under great control for a long time now, alteast 8 years. I only have the salbutamol inhaler and I only need to use it when I get really sick.

Since around the end of March I have been experiencing a fluttery heart beat. I can sometimes feel my pulse in my throat and it feels like my heart skips a beat or has extra beats. Along with that I have difficulty breathing.

The last week or so I started having a dull ache in my ribcage (left side) that sometimes goes around the side to my back as well. The fluttering feeling comes and goes but my chest feel heavy, like I can't get enough air.

I went to my doctor 2 weeks ago. She put me on Symbacort (sp?) inhalers along with my salbutamol. I take 2 puffs 3 times a day of the symbacourt. I had my check up appointment for June 9th.

All was going well, I was starting to feel better but the last 4 or 5 days it all started to come back.

My doctor upped my symbacourt to 2 puffs 4 times a day and I went for a chest x-ray. I also have a pulmomary function test for August 2nd.

Has anyone experienced similar symptoms and know what was causing them? My wedding is 4 weeks away and I am getting pretty scared that I am going to get worse and have to postpone everything.

A part of me thinks something is wrong and another part this this is all stress. Why? Well, the past year has NOT been easy on me.

We moved into our first house a year ago this April.
I had a root canal done almost 1 year ago an the dentist ended up being the rudest person I have EVER met. He also managed to injure my jaw giving leaving me with TMJ disorder. I have (well, I had) a huge dental phobia and this dentist certainly did not help me get over that. My new dentist however is wonderful and has helped me a lot!

In September my finace started his first year of teaching and his class is full of little hell children. Also in Sept. my headaches started and turned chronic making me think I had a brain tumor.

In February I saw an oral surgeon and he told me I have TMJ (from the root canal) So I have had endless dental work (fillings, etc) and just now was fitted with a night splint for my jaw. I take Advil & Tylenol 1 (they have 8mg of codeine) 2 pills of each every 4 hours for all the pain. I saw the OMS because I thought my 4 impacted wisdom teeth were the issue but he said no, he thinks it is TMJ. My teeth are not in a position to be worried about and I have never had pain from them.

Wedding planning....I think that says it all. It has been a year and a half of planning.

My grandfather passed away in March as well.

I only sleep 5 or 6 hours a night as well and I work in homecare.

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. If anyone has any ideas/thoughts/ etc I would love to hear them.

Lutheran122 · 06-10-2006, 02:31 PM

Good luck on your wedding and yes I think its definitely stress. Trust me added stress is a killer , I lost 25 lbs this winter worried about certain health issues I thought I might have and I too wasn't sleeping more then 5 or 6 hours a night , had more trouble breathing , heart flutters , pains in my chest etc...keep going to the doctor and maybe even a cardiologist so they can check out those heart flutters but I think you will be fine after your wedding is done and you get into a routine. The breathing tests will tell a lot as well. Good luck and keep us posted.

Tattooall · 06-11-2006, 09:54 AM

Thanks for your reply.

I do think stress is playing a big part of this. I am calling my doctor tomorrow to see if she can get me in for a pulmonary test before August. There was a time open for this Friday so if I can still get in for that I am going to move my previous plans around to fit it in. The fluttery heart beat is kind of hard to figure out because the inhalers I'm on contain steroids which can cause a funky heart beat as well as the codeine I take for my TMJ. I tried stopping the codeine yesterday to see if it helped any but the pain in my jaw muscles becomes waaaay more intense without it. Unbearable actually.

My whole body aches today like I have the flu. I suggested the idea of arthritis/fybromialgia to my doctor and she just kind of laughed. I dont see why that couldn't be one of my problems. My mother, grandmother, 2 aunts, 2 uncles and 1 cousin all have either arthritis or fybro. My cousin has had rheumatoid arthritis since he was 23, he is now 28. I'm 22 and arth/fyrbo is totally family related. Fybro can cause inflamation in the rib tissues (Costocondritis) which cause chest pain and can cause abnormal heartbeats and breathing problems. I think I need to get more firm with my doctor. After all, I am in the end the one in charge of my health & health care.

Will keep you updated and thanks again for replying.

Mari526 · 06-11-2006, 11:55 AM

Tattogirl,
Do you realize that one of the side effects from your inhalers can be hypokalemia (low potassium)? It could very well be that low potassium is the cause of your irregular heartbeat. You need to make sure your diet is high in potassium, magnesium and calcium foods. These electrolytes all affect the contraction/relaxation of the heart.Your diet would be a good place to start along with following up with your MD.

DJBucs2005 · 06-12-2006, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TattooGirl

We moved into our first house a year ago this April.
I had a root canal done almost 1 year ago an the dentist ended up being the rudest person I have EVER met. He also managed to injure my jaw giving leaving me with TMJ disorder. I have (well, I had) a huge dental phobia and this dentist certainly did not help me get over that. My new dentist however is wonderful and has helped me a lot!

In September my finace started his first year of teaching and his class is full of little hell children. Also in Sept. my headaches started and turned chronic making me think I had a brain tumor.

In February I saw an oral surgeon and he told me I have TMJ (from the root canal) So I have had endless dental work (fillings, etc) and just now was fitted with a night splint for my jaw. I take Advil & Tylenol 1 (they have 8mg of codeine) 2 pills of each every 4 hours for all the pain. I saw the OMS because I thought my 4 impacted wisdom teeth were the issue but he said no, he thinks it is TMJ. My teeth are not in a position to be worried about and I have never had pain from them.

Wedding planning....I think that says it all. It has been a year and a half of planning.

My grandfather passed away in March as well.

I only sleep 5 or 6 hours a night as well and I work in homecare.

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. If anyone has any ideas/thoughts/ etc I would love to hear them.

I am sorry to hear all of this. I wish I could help you with your medical condition and give you some insight, but I can't offer much.

Not to disregard the rest of your post, I will say though, if you find yourself with a phobia or a condition like a phobia with another MD or any you see now, don't think you're alone.

I've sort of developed a little phobia with doctors. I just don't care much for the "Hi, how are ya, adios!" ways of doctors I've come across and who don't really seem to care about me all that much. It's like your mind is conditioned to believe that all doctors or dentists are that way. And if you have only seen ONE dentist over a long period of time, that will especially make you think that way and when you see that one dentist, it will only strengthen that belief more. I don't think one should be afraid to move on to a doctor or dentist who they believe will serve them in the best interest of their patients. Those doctors who don't care are the doctors who THRIVE off of the people who settle for less. Of course, you may not know going into an appt. what a doctor is like, but be sure not to give them the light of day again if you are not satisfied with he or she. Granted, there are a fair share who don't care that much, but there are also plenty who do.

I don't have much of a phobia with dentists, but the current dentist I see can be like that at times. It sort of makes me trust him a little less, but he seems to know what he's doing. I would appreciate if he spent more time with me though than two to four minutes. It just gives off the wrong impression such as $ > quality. Doctors make a TON of money. I had a miscomm. with my insurance company and ended up having to pay $137 for a basic visit to a doctor I didn't really want to see in the first place (I had to, in order to get a referral from him to an ENT I did not want to see).

Best of luck to you in your endeavors and may your journey for alleviation of these symptoms have a happy ending!

With kind regards,

David J.