Feeling of lump in throat and shortness of breath

[EP30]

I started having panic attacks in December of last year, it started with one big one but I didn't have another one until about a month later, I had rapid heartbeat and feelings of fainting with shortness of breath but recently I have been having them almost everyday just with different symptoms, still having shortness of breath  dry mouth and a hard time swallowing . I spoke to my Dr. on two different occasions and she even prescribed an inhaler thinking that it may be asthma along with the attacks. My mother had sarcoidosis and didn't know that she had it but she suffered from anxiety also. I'm just worried of what it could be and that seems to be causing the attacks but sometimes I can just be sitting there not really thinking about anything and it'll happen.

[Ratnakar Kini, MD]

Hi,
The gastrointestinal cause for shortness of breath, feeling of lump in the throat and difficult to swallow is GERD. This can be confirmed with upper GI endoscopy and 24 hours pH monitoring.

Since you have panic attacks also, I feel all your symptoms could be functional and an anxiolytic may be beneficial.

Consult your doctor for complete evaluation before it could be called functional.
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The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D.