Chest Tightness worse at Night

[zinet]

every now & then (now being one of those times) i a tight feeling in my chest (upper chest mainly) and even sometimes feels like it's in my throat/neck.

i'm not short of breath but i do find it very difficult to catch a full breath and there is a constant need to do this.

when i lie down it gets much worse which in turn is giving me sleep problems as well. i get so tired then drag myself up to bed only to get a suffocating feeling almost immediately.

a chest x-ray, lung function test & sputam test showed nothing & my peak flow is fine.

doctors keep going back to anxiety but i really don't think it is.
has anyone ever had these symtoms? if so i'd really love some light shed on this as it'd ruining my life at the moment.

[National Jewish]

You have certainly had a thorough evaluation of your lungs, so it is doubtful that this is the source of your symptoms.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the back flow of stomach contents, including digestive juices, into the esophagus or food tube.  This is most commonly called acid reflux or heartburn.  Your symptoms could be caused by esophageal spasm from heartburn.  Please check with your doctor about this possibility.

[starion]

Have you been evaluated for gastric reflux and/or vocal chord dysfunction?  Both of those can cause some troublesome symptoms that MAY interfere with your sleep.  
Aloha,
Starion

[zinet]

starion,

no i haven't been tested for those.

are any of the symptoms similiar to what i mentioned above?

what are a other symptoms?

thanks for your reply. i'll look into it.

zinet

[abdullah]

possibilities to your condition would include:
nocturnal asthma-type of asthma mainly during the night.
GERD-this is acid reflux disease
heart problem if you are at risk
Obstructive Sleep Apnea- this is quit common disease and affect up to 5-8% of any population and patients symptoms include snore, partner usually notice a pause in breathing or change in the snore like some one who snore's then stop snoring and so, they feel unrefreshed on awakenings because of unexplained awakenings during the night, or they wake up with chocking sensation, during the day they feel sleepy. this is tested by level 1 sleep study.

[NelsonAAA]

I have a similar breathing problem...at times I can't catch the top of my breath. Usually when my stomach is bloated. I put the lung tightness and stomach bloating down to anxiety. One aggravates the other. I feel as though I have asthma-like symptoms, but like you, have a good peak flow and my X-Ray was fine.

[Humphrey896]

A related discussion, shortness of breath was started.

[marco74]

A related discussion, Nocturnal Asthma was started.