UNABLE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH

Hello and thanks for posting to our site.  There could be many reasons why you feel you are having trouble taking a deep breath.  It is very important that you seek medical advice as soon as you can.  Reaching out to your own doctor if one way for you to get started in determining what might be happening.  If you at all feel like you need emergency help - call 911 or get yourself to an ER.

 

I hope htis helps.  All the best, sue (moderator)

 

Learn more about heart issues in Understanding Heart Conditions

 

I remember experiencing this condition when I was in my twenties, which my doctor put down to anxiety. This made sense to me as the symptoms did occur while I was having personal problems. When one of my very young granddaughters experienced similar symptoms, I was able to reassure her by explaining it away while distracting her till she relaxed and breathed easier. In no time at all she was fine. This particular child is a bit more 'highly strung' than her siblings!   

Go see your doctor right away. My brother-in-law had this symptom and was found to have stage 4 lung cancer. That's not to say YOU have lung cancer, it might just be anxiety as another writer suggested. But your anxiety level will be lessened when you know for sure what you do or don't have.

First do you have a medical condition causing this?  If it is asthma, you must get it under control in order to breath easier.  Next, you have to lay down, look at your stomach, and try to fill up it with as much air as you can.   That is the way baby's breath.  As we get older, we forget how to deep breath the natural way.  You have to practice it all the time until you are doing it on your own.  If it is a anxiety problem, muscle relaxers may help, but it still is a temporary fix, you still need to pactice deep breathing.  Use deep breathing tapes to practice.  Good luck!  Deb

I know exactly how you feel, I have been experiencing this for about a month now and my doctors have no solid evidence as to what is wrong.  I have even been to a chiropractor thinking my ribs were out.  My doctor took chest x-rays and did blood work.  He put me on Singulair, an Albuterol inhaler and under-active thyroid medication.  After two weeks I still wasn't any better so I called and a different doctor put me on Prilosec and some anxiety/panic disorder medication, so far it's not working, but I've only been on it for three days.  The only problem with the anxiety meds is that they turn me into a zombie and make me so tired I can't even fuction.  If I'm not feeling better by the 21st, I will be taking another trip to the doctor because I'm starting to feel like a guinea pig and I can't afford it!!

I too have been suffering this misterious condition for about 15 years now. I'm 33 yrs. old and it's comes and goes throughout the year. I never know when it will happen. I thought is was allergies, so I went to an allergist and got tested, I was positive for many allergies but have been getting shots and the breathing issue is still there. No changes whatsoever. So, that obviously wasn't it. I have a cardiologist friend that wanted to take me "through all of the ropes" to eliminate any heart issues. Nothing there. Now, after another breathing spell (it's been about 6 months since my last one) I called my allergist (because the breathing issue DRIVES ME CRAZY) and said, get me in and try something else. Wat else could it be? So, I did the Methacholine Challenge test. My lung function is fabulous! Above what is normal even. Darn. Now what? So, I got home after my appointment with him and tried to Google the "negative with asthma but can't get a deep breath) and here you were. Actually, there are millions of people with the same thing!!! I am so relieved!!! Ahhh.... finally, I can say to my doctor, "see, I'm not creating this issue on my own and I'm not the only one with this. I can't attribute it to stress or anxiety or anything else that I've read about so far. Have you found any other way to treat it or any additional information about this? I'm just diving into it now so I am interested in what I might find. Thank you so much for writing about this! I feel so much better that I'm not alone in this.

I have to say, I feel TONS better having read some of this! I started having this constricted feeling in my upper chest, like I get this need to take a full breath, but when I try it gets stuck right at the top of my rib cage. I have learned to relish those elusive full breaths haha. I was initially concerned because I have asthma, I use my inhaler and a nebuilzer with albuteral, but it didn't do anything to alleviate the symptoms. The constriction is accompanying a few other symptoms, so I really thought it was just an infection or something. Now, a course of Azithromycin, a pack of Methylprednisone steriods, and half a course of ciprofloxacin later, I'm starting to understand why it hasn't gone away! I am in my sophomore year in college, and I just began taking Adderall for my diagnosed ADD, which has been causing a bit of sleeplessness, as well as all the other wonderful things that go with amphetamines, which makes sense that my body and mind would be more tense and stressed. I just got a chest x-ray done last friday, haha now I'm just waiting to get the call to say it looked normal ^_^

I just turned 41 and since August, I started having a problem with getting a deep breath.  I realized when it started that I had changed my diet, pure cane sugar for coffee, drinking 3 cups of it, drinking diet cokes, drinking milk w/ DHA and taking multi-vitamins with DHA.  I was so bloated and gassey, I cut all these out of my diet, I'm down to one cup of coffee.  I visited a GP and he put me on Nasonex and over the counter Clairtin, didn't work.  Another GP put me on Pepcid 40 MG didn't work for two weeks.  Another GP put me on Omeprozale for 6 weeks I'm in my 5 week and it's back.  I just went to a GI Doctor first thing he said was it was stress but he still will run tests. Upper Abdomen Ultrasound, Blood work and Endiscopy.  I'm going on vacation for 4 days though let's see if I can unstress and if my breathing gets back to normal.  It's heartbreaking to see that others are suffering the same and have been for awhile with no cure.   This is crazy!!  At least I can see that others live with it, then I guess so can I.