Late last May, I had a sudden onset of breathing difficulties. I had had a cold/flu which produced a persistent cough for 3 weeks. The cough produced very sore ribs. Suddenly, I had a moment where I leaned forward in my chair and felt like I couldn't take a deep breath. It was as if something was just "closed" and I had to fight to force it open.
I went to ER 4 days later. Battery of tests showed up normal, including chest X-Ray, chest CT (no embolism) and echocardiogram. I was sent home with Ativan and told to take Aleve. Rib cage pain disappeared, but breathing problem lingered. And lingered. I kept being told it was anxiety, and told to take more Ativan. The Ativan never made a difference.
After several months, I went to pulmonologist. Took PFT, all normal. Took methacholine challenge test, results equivocal (I had 19% drop on 5th and highest dose of methacholine). Pulmonologist put me on Asmanex. It made very slight difference (slightly easier to take deep breath) but I am still in misery.
Every breath I take feels restricted, unsatisfying. I feel constant urge to take deep breath, but can only do so "successfully" every 3-5 minutes. I also yawn constantly and have difficulty yawning "successfully." This persists every minute of every day. The only slight alleviation I get is when I lie down on my back or side.
I also developed muscle spasms (permanently in calves, transitory in rest of body) and extreme muscle tension. My chest often feels like it's locked into place. I have tremendous belching and liquid gets trapped in my stomach for hours after I drink anything.
The only diagnosis I have gotten is anxiety. But the Ativan makes no difference, even at large dose. My life is hell b/c of this. I have recently switched doctors to an osteopath who thinks it may be a structural/myofascial problem or maybe GERD (though he thinks that's less likely, and that hasn't been checked yet).
Any help?