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Straining to complete yawn, yawning all day, feel i just need a deep breath.

I have had this problem for a long time, but in the last year it has gotten worse and I cant stand it.  I regularly go through periods where I feel the need to yawn or get a deep breath and I just cant. I try and try over and over to yawn (causing me to get head aches), and finally accomplish it just to need  to yawn again. I am a sleepy person all the time,  but  the  straining  to yawn thing  makes me  crazy! I also have increasingly bad short term memory problems (at only 25), could this be connected to the yawning, and lack of oxygen to the  brain? could I  have asthma?  thank you so much for any help you can give me.
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Avatar universal
I've had this problem on and off for years--having to yawn and waiting for that extra burst of air that relieves the problem. It feels like there's a ceiling to my yawn, until eventually i am able to "break" that ceiling and get a satisfactory breath from that peak. Usually I am able to get that burst of air within a minute or so of trying. I may or may not have to get another deep yawn soon after.  I don't cough or have wheezing or a raspy voice. Yesterday I wasn't able to get that deep yawn. Frustration turned into concern until I eventually spiraled down into a panic attack. My whole body was tingly, I felt weak, i couldn't walk normal, I thought I was going to faint. Even my vision seemed "tingly". The back of my neck felt cold up to the back of my head. I had chills.I would describe this feeling like a moment you get a fright and your hair stands on end, except that it lasted almost an hour, on top of feeling like you're not getting enough oxygen. I know now I experienced a panic attack, and the symptoms were those of hyperventilation, but the initial symptoms that caused the panic were something else. Just having to yawn, and not being able to!!

I cannot think of a dietary trigger. I had avoided sugar in the past 2 weeks and ate a bunch of sweets the day of my "attack" (no guilt). Don't remember any correlation in the past. I eat extremely healthy, I avoid additives in food but get a good balance of fat, protein, etc.. I am otherwise very healthy and rarely even come down with a  cold. I take no medications at all, never have, i don't smoke, very rarely drink, and don't do drugs. No known allergies, asthma, anything. I do not feel depressed, though sometimes I do get hard on myself when I'm disorganized. I have been depressed (untreated) as a teenager and in my easy 20's, so I know what it's like. Not there now. I am 33, fit.  I am a singer and have great lung capacity.I have had this yawning problem for years on and off and no prior experience with anxiety attacks. I noticed the yawning happens more when I am upset, but it also happens when I am at ease (I think). Sometimes hiking I would have to stop and yawn (clean, unpolluted air). I am generally happy throughout the day, though I think when I'm under stress, i sometimes have horrible nightmares, with occasional "sleep paralysis" (when you wake up and can't move and get terrified). No anxiety throughout the day, not in denial about it.. My skin is sensitive to chemicals, I use all natural beauty care products and mostly natural cleaning products.

Mapping out what happened prior to onset, in case anyone else has similar correlations.

Friday I felt like I was getting sick with the flu. I fought it off over the weekend. Tues all day I had a pain in the upper left side of my back like a localized muscle strain, and it hurt a little to breath all day at work. I guess I was maybe not taking full deep breaths, but no "can't fully yawn" issue. At home I felt mildly sad after a comment my boyfriend made. My mind recalled similar attitude from a guy in my past relationship which ended badly and was a traumatic experience for me. I did not feel super angry or depressed about yesterday's comment, but I felt a little worried that my boyfriend is acting dismissively towards me like my ex did, and wondered if we are at a similar downturn. I guess my mind slowly blew it out of proportion. I confronted my bf and we resolved the issue and we were close, watching tv. 10-30 minutes later (don't remember) I had this yawn frustration. I tried several times to get that yawn in. I started to get a little scared, then more scared, and it compounded with my previous feeling of sadness, and I started to cry with bad thoughts about everything in general. I thought maybe I was having an asthma attack because of the breath problems, but I wasn't sure what that's like. I didn't believe it was an anxiety attack because i had such a physical symptom that was beyond my control, even when I tried to breath steadily with much honest effort I still felt like I was not getting enough oxygen. I never go to the doctor, but I finally declared I wanted to go to the ER. My boyfriend said he thinks it's just an anxiety attack because he knew people who've had them. I entertained the idea but had a hard time believing it. I was afraid to go to sleep, that I may die in my sleep if I don't check in at the ER to be sure I'm safe. I felt helpless and defeated. It helped to talk to someone on the phone that I'd be too embarrassed to be panicky around/and or cry (I called someone I knew with asthma). I eventually calmed down for real after forcing it while on the phone. I was able to sleep but kept waking up at night not being able to get that deep breath. I'd fall asleep and it would happen again numerous times throughout the night. I felt guilt that I was disturbing my partner's sleep. This physical has never woken me up in the past, only nightmares followed by sleep paralysis, or stressful events that were on my mind.

After reading all these posts, as much as I'm a believer that I have no psychological disorders, I think it IS mostly mental. All day at work I was fine. I got home and my boyfriend seemed upset with me about bringing something home. I had a yawn issue or two. I got on this post. Reading these posts I had to yawn constantly and now the back of my head hurts and I'm a little worried again if I will be able to sleep at night. Writing this is exacerbating the symptoms. I am worried I will always have this problem and that it can get worse. Worrying is probably making it worse. If it was purely physical, why did I not have this problem all day? Why does thinking about it make it so much worse? I think I become too aware of my breathing. Sometimes when I think I'm not breathing deeply enough and then it becomes conscious. THis is just awful. It's like torture right now. I need some relief and it's too bad that hundreds of people have posted and there doesn't seem to be an actual condition with known triggers.

Anyone who's found relief... what did you do? Anyone been able to get rid of this completely?

Last night while wiped out and desperate to sleep i had to somehow make an effort not to be effortful with my breathing... and it worked eventually when I got tired enough that this was possible. this *****!!!!

Anyone notice a correlation between mild stress/discontent and an onset of this? Anyone else have sleep paralysis on occasion? Anyone else notice a correlation with sugar? Anyone ever get this when they are obviously happy? I just can't remember the specifics of my past incidents.


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Avatar universal
Wow, I thought I was alone in this! This has been has been happening on and off for years but right now it is horribly bad. I feel like I can't catch my breath and always need to yawn, and I my heart feels racey. I also have the sharp pain in my lower back on the left side. It feels like someone tore my muscle in two. I also can't sleep! It started three days ago and in three days I've had five hours of sleep. I'm a hairstylist and it is NOT going to be good for my clients if I don't get some sleep soon.  I also have Fibromyalgia. I wonder if if it's connected somehow. It really is assuring to know I'm not alone though:). Thanks to all who posted and I will be praying for al of you:)
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Avatar universal
      Hi all, I just kind of wanted to share my experience with everyone to assure them and myself that this isn't something that will kill us (Well it will if we continually let the stress build up and overtake our lives, it will cause many problems).

    Like many of you it just came on quickly for seemingly no reason at all recently, I was sitting in my new house eating and then I was having trouble breathing and swallowing. It helps that I currently have a nurse at my disposal to bombard with questions whenever I feel I have questions (which is almost every day). Like many others in this post she is not familiar with what's going on. The first time it presented I went to the emergency room, after chest X-rays and blood tests they found nothing. The attacks continue even today which are exacerbated by stress like working and class.

        I have always been a deep breather, my normal BPM is about 6-8 which is very low, but living with panic/anxiety disorder we are taught or teach ourselves to breathe effectively to stave off an attack. I was thinking deep and hard about this and the further I recollect the more I do, and I recall it all starting with the inability to take a satisfying yawn or mid-yawn I have to stop because I don't have enough air to finish. Also when taking deep breaths I feel as though sometimes I don't get the full breath, like it's not hitting the lower lobe of my left lung. However, X-rays and spirometry readings contradict me so I am to believe that yes, this is mostly in my head and maybe a little bit of everything else. So let me share with you all the advice I recently got from my nurse about some issues.

    CHANGE YOUR DIET!! We should all be living a gluten free lifestyle, it's really hard but the current saying in the medical field (at least where I live) is "Gluten is a Pollutant". Gluten isn't good for us in the first place, it does cause health problems and that's no secret; Also we should all be taking in foods rich in iron (unless of course you are to be on an iron free diet per your doctor's orders), this helps with lots of things like blood circulation, O2 levels, and builds hemoglobin which carries our oxygen to cells and tissues.

    Deep breathing exercises! She also told me there is a movement in the medical field to stay away from shallow breathing. With shallow breathing you do not use your lower lobes in your lungs, or at least use them properly. Like all things, if not used it tends to... be less effective. She never heard of the one nostril breathing but I tried it this morning and it does feel kind of zen.

    Increase activity level only as you can tolerate. If you feel like you need to sit down... SIT DOWN. Like another person in this thread my Panic/Anxiety did NOT cause this, it was the other way around, this problem CAUSED my panic. If you're like me your mind races with millions of things that can go wrong during this attack and usually it's in a place where I can't just sit and focus on breathing. Talk to your boss/teacher or whoever and let them know your problems. They should understand and allow you to sit and focus on your breath.

Over the course of the next few weeks I will try all of this and see how effective it is for me, maybe this can help some people and I hope it does. Just know you are not alone, and although scary you cannot die from this directly.

Please know that I am a NOT a Doctor nor a Nurse myself. As for a gluten free diet, you should not avoid foods that are good for you but have gluten (unless of course you are on a gluten free diet per your doctor's orders) just avoid taking in unnecessary gluten like ice creams, sodas and other high in fat/unneeded gluten and sugar.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
read the whole thread there are some possible solutions
i know its frustrating i have it too its frustrating when you get blown off by the people that should know...but they dont
breathe!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
read the whole thread there are some possible solutions
i know its frustrating i have it too its frustrating when you get blown off by the people that should know...but they dont
breathe!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have this exact problem. I try to get a "full breath" (a breath that feels like it hits the back of my throat, if that makes sense) and often can't. I want to yawn often to open up the back of my throat and get a fuller breath. I don't believe this is anything to do with the actual lungs.

For me, there is sometimes burping associated with the feeling. If the feeling is intermittant, the burping relieves it. If the feeling is very strong and ongoing, it does not relieve it. I believe somehow there is gas trapped that is causing a sensation in the throat.

I don't know much about the physiology of the throat, esophagus, and windpipe, but I think somehow the trapped gas causes the sensation of pressure or inability to breathe. Yoga can be effective at relieving trapped gas and relaxing muscles so I am going to try to do it.

This does happen more for me when I am anxious because I feel overpowered by someone else or like I don't have enough space. I believe this is strongly psychological, but that's not to say there isn't a physical thing that could be happening.
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