Not able to fully exhale

[Brian920]

I am a 41 year old male who has actively exercised for the past 10+ years. Recently it seems that sometimes I cannot exhale completely when I am at rest. That is, I feel like I can't take a deep enough breath to remove all the carbon dioxide in my lungs. I can do it occasionally but it feels like my lungs fill up immediately and I need to dispel the carbon dioxide but am unable to. This seems odd to me and I am unable to find any information on this symptom. Sometimes this occurs at night and I just need to get up and walk around and then I am able to expel the carbon dioxide. Other times this has happened (both during the day and night) and I can't get rid of the carbon dioxide and start to feel anxious. I know that I will be fine but during those moments it's difficult to keep that thought in focus. If I better uderstood what was going on I may beable to deal with this better. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Brian920]

Thank you for the reply. I did think of the pursed lips technique but it didn't help. I did go to the doctor (2 actually) and they both believe it's anxiety related. I quess I wqill be trying the anti-depressent/anxiety medication route for awhile. Anyway, thanks again for responding.

[Sunny602]

Have you tried to exhale slowly through pursed lips whenever this happens? This technique is often used by those with emphysema to try and rid themselves of trapped air in the lungs. They can get air in, but cannot exhale all of the air out due to damaged air sacs that retain air.
Have you by any chance mentioned this problem to your doctor? I would...just to see what he or she has to say about it and give you a proper examination.
I hope this helps..Sunny