Lungs

4 years ago I had this problem,  my lungs feel as if they are not expanding and I literally hold my breath for some reason,  not because of pain or any other reason,  I also have a itch sometimes in my lungs.  This went on for a year,  talked to doctor about it with no help.  I then had surgery and was not able to come out of it then had to be on oxygen for several days.  No one could figure out what was wrong with me,  one Dr said I had a infection on my scan.  The pulmonolgist did not agree but offered no better reason,  Was given lung treatments several days and antibiodics with improvement with in a month or so.  Now it is coming back for the first time,  what can it be?? I also had blood oxygen levels of around 84 when I was in  hospital.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

What you describe having experienced 4 years ago, “my lungs feel as if they are not expanding and I literally hold my breath for some reason,  not because of pain or any other reason,  I also have a itch sometimes in my lungs,”  is sometimes seen with anxiety, an inappropriate focus on one’s breathing for whatever reason, or with  Hyperventilation Syndrome, in which a person develops  heightened awareness of his  breathing; that is to say, a person begins to focus excessively on his breathing and then finds that he is not able to take a deep breath or begins to feel shortness of breath at rest or with exertion.
Now, everything I have said so far does not explain low blood oxygen saturations.  It is not rare for persons, even those with normal or near normal lungs to have abnormally low oxygen levels in the blood and  require oxygen for a couple days after surgery, especially with surgery of the abdomen or chest, and so I would not worry about that.  So, you should not worry about the hospital experience but, just be sure to mention it to your doctors, including the anesthesiologist, should you have more surgery in the future.

Finally when you feel that your lungs are “not expanding and literally hold my breath for some reason”, don’t worry about it.  If the pulmonologist has not found any disease of your lungs or chest, you can safely ignore these feelings as best you can.  One way to do this is to find something to distract you so that you can stop thinking about your breathing; for example, read the newspaper, go for a walk, spend time playing with your dog, watch something interesting or exciting on television and, above all, be assured that the feeling of your lungs not expanding is not something to worry about.

Trust your doctors, especially the lung specialist it is he/she who can best give you insight on your experience.

Good luck.