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Constant need to take deep Breath, Constant yawning and sighing

Hi,im a 24 year old male and i've been dealing with this constant shortness of breath for over 8 years now. . Its hard to say but doctors have no idea what's wrong with me.I see so mnay people dealing with this problem and it seems like theres no diagnosis. It just strated outta the blue I went to take a deep breath and i couldnt get that last bit of hair to satisfy the breath and this whole vicious cycle started. After that for about 2 years i was constantly taking deep breaths and not able to get a satisfied breath. I WAS CONSTANTLY YAWNING>SIGNING AND TAKIN UNSATISFIED DEEP BREATH ALL DAY LONG. I had reached the point when i was staying home in my bed just hoping i would die so it would stop.  After 2 years or so it seemed to just go away. It then came back right after i smoked a cigarette . Ever since then its been an ongoing struggle. I feel as if i have no control of my life, and im constantly thinking of my breathing. I feel hopeless and feel as if no one understands what im going through or that i have this disease that doctors cant detect. My doctor has put me on xanax for anxiety and it seemed to cut the edge off a lil but its still there. Its not as bad as when i first got it but it still disrupts my life. I cant work, goto school  and i don't have much of a happy life .I've gone to cardiologist, ent's, gi's, pulmonary doctors. I've gone through xrays, PFT, EKG, stress tests, endoscopy . Only thing i have is GERD/LPR with sinsation of lump in throat and a very small irregular heart beat. I also am constantly clearing my throat.I heard that can be because of the Gerd/LPR. I just took a new PFT test and my breathing is normal. i did have a deviated septum but got that fixed..My lung specialist says its just all in my head and that i have this because ive become aware of my breathing pattern. i've used advair, singular and breathing pumps for asthma with no results. when im sitting or laying down its seems to be fine but when i stand up or move it kicks in more. I'm losing hope on what's going on with me. Does anyone have this?If so can anyone recommend anything else i should look for?nyone heard of chronic hyperventilation syndrome? anyone can be of help please email me or post a message
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Avatar universal
I suffer this as well. However, i have found a way to treat it.  I don't begin to understand why this works, but it does.  I have three levels of treatment.  First is that i take a healthy amount of wide spectrum digestive enzymes.  I have often felt that gut issues, stress, anxiety are extremely related.  Meaning one can set the other off and then. All are happening.  Stage two; drink aloe vera juice (from natural pharmacy).  Stage three;  fast and let my guts empty out and have time to work out their issues.  

Almost all the time the digestive enzymes work.  I just take a couple of them before each meal for a couple of days.  
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Omg!!! I totally understand how you feel and have had the same issues and notice that it's worse when I attempt to eat or especially when I'm drinking!! I too have been on Advair and Spiriva and I have a rescue inhaler and have no relief! I know it isn't anxiety. I'm constantly short of breath and have ended up in anxiety attacks because of it. I hope that since this post you have found relief and answers! If so...could you please let me know what you have found out!!! I'm  lol
Avatar universal
Hi i just had to say thank you so much for this amazing tip!I have been suffering for years with panic attacks and i have been reading a self help book which has helped me in some ways,but it also discusses a whole lot of other issues and problems i never knew of and never experienced.But since reading about them i have actually began to wonder if they will affect me too.and one of them is regarding breathing.Well i never had shortness of breath with panic attacks but i thought i'd learn more about breathing techniques to calm me down.I began focusing more on my breathing(never a good idea) and since then i have developed the need to sigh a lot and every few seconds.But your tip has worked wonders.
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Avatar universal
2010!
Hi.
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Avatar universal
Hey,

I have the same problem, it started a few months ago during a meditation retreat where I was focusing on my breath really intensely for long periods of time. I have a history of depression and after 6 days of focusing on my breath, I had my first panic attack. Since then I've had exactly what you are describing: I feel overly conscious of my breath, unable to take a full satisfying breath or yawn, and general heaviness in my chest which makes it feel hard to breathe. I haven't found a solution yet but I did find something which has helped me a lot called 'alternate nostril breathing':

1. close your left nostril with your thumb, and inhale slowly with your right nostril (try not to worry about getting a full breath, just try to breath slow)
2. close your right nostril with your index finger, and exhale through your left nostril slowly and completely till there's nothing left in your lungs
3. inhale slowly through your left nostril
4. close your left nostril with your thumb, and exhale slowly through your right nostril
5. repeat, alternating nostrils.

Hope this helps. :)
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Avatar universal
I have had those same symptoms since I was a kid. They are usually most prevalent when I am going through times of anxiety. I also struggle with acid reflux- GERD. Whenever I drink carbonated beverages or eat Mexican food I feel like my lungs are full of gas and I can't take a full deep breath, or If I am stressed out I can't take a full deep breath. This also triggers my yawning mechanism so I yawn a lot. Very uncomfortable, but my doctors can't find anything wrong. When I do smoke a cigarette (not often!) it actually makes it easier for me to breath for a while and then I go back to being anxious. For this reason, I am trying to quit. It has not impaired my life too much, but it would be nice to find a way to cope with this in a better way. I am always concerned that it might get worse
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Avatar universal
people that pay attention to their breath to much because of anxiety will think they have shortness of breath sometimes when they dont, breathing when your scared get like that because of the shallow breaths your taking
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1092880 tn?1273975025
Hey zam!  I have experienced these symptoms myself.  But,  with mine I also had this catch in my breath.  The only way I can describe it is,  like a hiccup with no hiccup.  It's strange.  Mine was anxiety and acid reflux related.  If you had all those tests done and everything turned out fine,  then it probably is fine.  Stress and anxiety can make you feel horrible and you can experience some terrifying symptoms.  

=(

It sounds to me that you are just making yourself stress out and become even more anxious.  Just like I do with myself.  Though,  if you're still worried,  try going to the doctor one more time.  Have the tests you are worried about run again and let us know what's going on.  Good luck!!

=)
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