Anxiety And Breathing Disorders

stimi3ak · 03-17-2008, 01:37 PM

Hello Everyone,

Recently I have been through every possible specialists for the following problem(s): tight chest, inability to breathe which includes feeling like some days I can not breathe in and then others I can not breathe out.which over the course of the day will cause hyperventilation and just an overall feeling of suffocation 24/7. It does not stop and over the past year it has become worse and worse. I have had a lot of health scares and overall I am just an anxious person in general. After some blood work was done they discovered my sympathetic nervous system was in overdrive and the chemical that releases into my body can cause my current symptoms.

The problem for me is I really do think I have a breathing disorder. However the Pulmonologists, Cardiologist, ENT & Gastroenterologist see no reason for this to be occurring. I do have Vocal Chord Dysfunction but this does not cause 24/7 symptoms. They feel that my anxiety due to the VCD will.

Has anyone else ever experienced this with extreme anxiety? I worry that there really is a breathing problem and all my doctor's are fed up with me. They say it is extreme anxiety and I am breathing from my chest all the time. They also say that being in a constant state of stress/anxiety causes you to tense your muscles but I find it weird that it is only my chest muscles which are tight. I also find that I wake up during the middle of the night and immediately have the same issues flood back to me where I am short of breath and the chest is tight.

Does anyone know anything about this? I'm so worried I will not beat this and spend the rest of my time here on earth believing I have a breathing disorder which is damaging my quality of life greatly.

deenie · 03-17-2008, 03:02 PM

I've felt shortness of breath for years - like I could never take a deep, cleansing breath. Now that I've gone on meds (first Buspirone, now Lovox), I have days when my breathing is normal. I'm a very high anxiety person and feel this mostly when I'm stressed. The more I thought about it, the less I could breathe. My Dr. did a pulmonology test on me, I've had stress tests, echocardiograms of my heart, etc. and all is fine. I did notice that my breathing was fine when I was getting a massage or relaxing (which doesn't happen very often). Still, my Dr. said that he doubted any serious was wrong since it would come and go. As I've tried a couple of different meds and gotten the anxiety somewhat under control, the breathing issue is gone more than not so I'm happy. I'll be happier when I can control the anxiety naturally instead of relying on pills but I'll get around to that.

Hang in there. It's frustrating but I'm pretty sure there's nothing seriously wrong.

mandi77 · 03-18-2008, 02:32 AM

well your doctors are right.i remember being twelve, going to the nurse and telling her it was hard to breathe sometimes. she told me i was thinking about it too much and breathing with my chest instead of my stomach.here i sit 15 years later with the same problem.it is very common with anxiety.i wouldnt worry about it.i know exactly what you are saying.trust in your doctors...and relax.

stimi3ak · 03-18-2008, 02:39 PM

I hate this and wish it would stop! It all started about a year ago when a bunch of very stressful situations happened all at once. I didn't deal with them and continued going to work which was a mistake. I should have taken time off and grieved.

Have any of you seen a psychologist or psychiatrist? What medications do they have you on now? They started me on 12.5 Paxil because Effexor did not work for me at all. I was on Zoloft for two years but I was feeling so good I stopped taking it which was a mistake. For some reason it didn't work as well for me the 2nd time around.

Just a little background my doctors have discovered my sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive so they are using Paxil because it will sit on my receptors which cause the chemical to release which in turn causes my symptoms.

It is just so frustrating to have all doctors look at me like I'm crazy. They have been thorough as far as running CT scans, MRI's, blood tests, pulmonology exercises, heart tests and various other forms of testing. My symptoms feel so real I can't imagine it is just in my head. I have to think some of it is actually stemming from a physical problem.

stimi3ak · 03-18-2008, 02:49 PM

Do you have the shortness of breath all the time now or just when you are stressed? For me it is ALL the time. What did you finally do to get it all under control? THANKS!