Yawning and Shortness of Breath

[Richaz]

I occassionally get bouts of excessive yawning and shortness of breath.  I have found that adding salt to my diet cures this condition.  This started three months ago.  I was wondering what condition would cause the yawning with shortness of breath and then for it to be cured with increased salt in my diet.  Fortunately my blood pressure is low to normal so even with the added salt my blood pressure is still ok.  I have been to several doctors and none of them have an answer except to say that salt deprivation during exercise can cause symptoms, but that is not the case with me.  I have been told it could be a cardiac, endocrine or neurological problem.  I have been to all those doctors with no help.  Some others here with good blood pressure and the same problem may want to try the salt.  Start with a 1/4 table spoonful.  1/2 usually does it for me.  Ask your doctor first.

[Renru]

I too have suffered this shortness of breath and feeling like I have to yawn to get a satisfying breath.  It doesn't seem to be asthma or stress induced, although stress can make it worse.  I've recently been tested for allergies to mold, cats, everything, and I had a very light reaction.  Has anyone else noticed a link to sinus infections?  I seem to have chronic sinusitus and I'm wondering if that is a link.  I also notice that certain positions make the symptoms worse (driving is awful), and I notice it alot at night when I'm trying to go to sleep.  I haven't noticed weight being a factor; I had this problem when I was thin, and I have it now that I'm about 20 pounds heavier.

[leslieannwill]

JBAR I finally went to the doctor and talked with her about this thread, printed it out and asked her to read and just see if she could help. Had lab work done again, everything came back fine.  SO I am still clueless as to what the problem is.  I do feel that the last couple of weeks have been worse, FYS or SOB is pretty constant although some days are better than others.  It is interesting that some people think it may be from Mold or something they have been exposed too, because I thought the same thing.  Just recently moved from a house that I believed to have mold in the walls.  My doctor still suggests that it is either anxiety or sleep apnea.  I will continue to research and if I find anything out will let ya'll know

[jbar]

Hi, its me again!  Just wondering how many of you are ex smokers.  The last poster just made me a little curious because I am also in my late thirties (38) and had smoked for about 15 years and quite when this yawning/sob started about 3 years ago.  The yawning/sob continued on and off over the last 3 years and I have been put on Advair, had EKG, stress test, etc. etc. and everything came out ok (thank god).  But still no explanation for this yawning/sob.  I just recently came across this website Breathing.com and on the website it said you can get the frequent yawning and sob from not breathing correctly.  I am just wondering if because of being a smoker  all those years and then not smoking if maybe we just have to learn how to breath again. They said that we take breathing for granted that our bodies will just do it naturally and that is not the case and you can relearn how to breath correctly from the abdomen and not the chest.  Did you ever watch a baby sleep and you see their bellies go up and down.  Anyhow I did buy their dvd/cd combo (#176 program kit) so I will let you know how it works out.  Wouldn't it be nice if it was that easy!  Check out the website and let me know what y'all think of it.  From what I remember you can type in frequent yawning or shortness of breath and it kind of talks about what we have been experiencing.  Good luck!

[ZachMan24]

maybe someone can help me. i am only 19 years old and a few days ago i began to have a difficult time taking deep breathes. it seemed like only every now and then i could get in a good deep breath. i have also been having trouble yawning. i keep getting this feeling that i have to yawn, but it just wont come out. and today, the 4th day, i began to get a sore throat. i dont know if the soar throat is related to the rest. i have a severe case of tmj, and an extremely stressful job in the military. i dont know if tmj or being under constant stress all the time are a factor, but any advice or information somebody has, i would very much appreciate hearing it. thanks.

[National Jewish]

I agree that certainly you should check with your doctor.  Yawning is normal.  Shortness of breath is not.  It might be important to determine whether the two symptoms are really related temporally.

[daniellej2010]

This is crazy, I thought I was the only one.. I too have had shortness of breath and extremely excessive yawning. I am only 19 years old, no other significant health problems, and no other symptoms that accompany this. I've been to the emergency room many times to no avail. I've seen my doctor about this and she has no idea. I've also had friends, family and doctors try to tell me this is anxiety. But I am not convinced, I am at a place in my life right now where I feel the least anxious and stressed than I ever have, and these symptoms appear seemingly out of nowhere (not when I am stressed or anxious and last for weeks!) I do plan however on going to my doctor and getting my thyroid investigated.. These are symptoms of thyroid problems, and my mother has graves disease which is a thyroid disease. If this doesn't pan out then I am completely out of ideas. - don't consume large amounts of caffeine, I don't drink coffee at all so any caffeine I consume is naturally in foods.. I have been otherwise healthy my whole life, never overweight, very active.. But these breathing problems have left me feeling afraid to go to sleep at night let alone go and exercise. I hyperventilated so bad one time because of this that my lips turned blue and numb I couldn't feel my hands and eventually couldn't see.  And it does seem like all of us are women.

[Beck33]

Wow, so glad I found this thread i've had this sinse about 2002? I remember it started when I went to bed some nights like an anxiety attack, I thought I was dying which is scary when ur only 15, im now 24 and I almost have it every day. Mostly through out the day and most nights. Now someone mentioned dairy... I just had icecream and my lack of breath and yawning has come on sooo strong. Im a dairy addict.... Icecream most nights before bed, tea or coffe in morning, milky breaky. Im not over weight, ive never smoked, I don't get headaches and ive been on the pill sinse 07. Im going to go on a dairy free cull and ill get back to this post and see if anything changes. We were never meant to eat this much dairy as  humans. Im soo sick of being embarressed about my yawning, getting a sore throat from it, feeling like I wont wake up in the morning and being kept awake cos of it. I also just noticed ARE WE ALL GIRLS?
Ps I just took a pinch of salt and my yawning calmed down a bit....weird

[MSjrsygirl]

A related discussion, Help for constant yawning/ deep breaths/ not panic attack? was started.

[Whitbywitchuk]

A related discussion, Yawning Shortness of breath was started.

[ladibarnes]

I am a 22 year old college student and I have been experiencing the same symptoms for as long as I can remember. When I was a child they thought I had asthtma, then realized that wasn't it at all. Everyone says its anxiety, but it doesnt always onset when I am stressed out or anxious. I think that we realize it more while we are lying down to go to sleep because we have more time to focus on it. For weeks at a time I just can't get a deep breath and try to yawn all the time. Yoga doesn't help much becuse I can't stop trying to yawn the whole time. I also get panicked sometimes and I'm sure then I get anxiety. I also went to a therapist for my "anxiety" but she didn't think I needed much therapy.

I haven't tried eating more salt, but it's interesting that salt might be connected, because I already eat a much larger amount of salt than anyone I know. I salt everything, even cookies. Seems weird that the two are related. Also, I noticed that someone posted that they couldn't burp. I didn't used to be able to burp either, and I did that weird gurgly thing, too. I hated it! But a few years ago all of the sudden I could burp and I've been a happy burper every since. I don't know if they're related but it seems odd that it affected both of us. Just so you know, there's hope that someday you will be able to burp, too!

If no one minds, I am interested in knowing a few specific things about your lives, in order to maybe better pin-down what could be causing our problems. If you don't mind answering just a few questions...

How much caffeine intake do you have?
What products (coffee, tea, chocolate etc) do you get caffeine from?
Do you have chronic headaches?
Do any of you take ibuprofen daily?
Are any of you aware of any food allergies that you may have?
Would you describe yourself as type A personalities?
Do any of you have noticeably bad circulation?
Does exercise seem to helpful or detrimental?
Do any of you get headaches from perfumes?

Thank you so much, sorry if some of those questions seem kinda random. I hope we can get down to the bottom of this all.

[LadyAftermath]

Finally there are people who feel my pain!

I have had this shortness of breath problem since the summer of 2004.  I have no idea why it started.  I am a 24 year old female, with not really any significant health problems.  I don't smoke.  The SOB thing just started happening one day and I don't know why, and it hasn't gone away.  

I've gone to doctors, they have ALL told me it's anxiety, and I think that's just their way of saying they don't know what else it is.  It might be anxiety, but I don't really think I have too much anxiety.  And usually I have the breathing problem when I'm relaxing or watching TV or something.  Plus, I have tried anxiety pills and they just make me relaxed, but don't help the breathing.

I have heard it could be acid reflux.  However, I never have any symptoms of acid reflux.  I don't ever get heartburn.  The problem worsens when I am lying down though, and it definitely worsens when I am eating.  I also don't ever eat spicy foods, and even foods like tomatoes (which cause acid reflux), I eat only every now and then.

The problem just feels like I'm not getting enough air, and I constantly have to yawn or breathe really deeply to feel normal.  Sometimes it is hard to get that deep breath, and it can be really annoying.  Plus, it is ongoing.  It will last for hours sometimes.  Nothing seems to help.

I really don't know what it is, and it's driving me insane.  No doctor seems to know.  I don't have any symptoms of anything else.  I don't have any pain whatsoever, just problems breathing.  Exercise doesn't seem to make it worse, usually just sitting/lying down or eating.  Sometimes nothing at all.  

I also never ever burp.  I don't know if that's related to it somehow, but I get like a weird gurgling in my chest all the time after I eat.  Maybe that's part of it, I have no idea.

If someone has these same symptoms, and has found out what it is or what can help it, PLEASE let me know.  It is ruining my life.

[Beth01]

I, too, experience occasional bouts of yawning associated with shortness of breath.  It's something that no doctor I've spoken to (general practitioner or allergist) seems to understand at all.  And you feel sometimes that you're dizzy and going to have a heart attack, and some of you, as I, may even have gone to the emergency room.  These emergency trips never yield a thing.  My stats are always perfect.  I have low blood pressure, by the way, and wonder whether it has something to do with that.

I have also hyperventilated in the past, and very much associate hyperventilating with this problem.  Whenever I have excessive yawning, etc., I do breathe into a paper bag for a while (sometimes, three times or more with a small break in between).  But I'm having this breathing problem today, and I don't know that the paper bag thing is working for me.

I've never heard of the salt thing.  Sounds very strange, but I'll try it anyway.  I will say that this problem can very easily feed on itself and make you panic, and then you can exacerbate the problem entirely.  When I've had these problems, I've never felt as if something overly worrying caused me to panic, but I can say that I do get panicked sometimes when I can't stop this yawning/shortness of breath thing.  It really scares me.

[Merri22]

I'm glad i found this site and many of the comments here I can totally relate with.  I have had, off and on for a few years now, the feeling that I need to yawn to get a full breath.  And most of the time I can't get the full yawn in and so I will try to just breath deep and stretch my body out as if that will help.  It ends up hurting my lungs after i've tried to ywan a couple times, it feels as though I'm inhailing enough oxygen, but my lungs don't expand enough for all the air.  I don't know, I'm sure thats not whats happening, but that's the best way to describe it. I told my OB about it and was sent to a specialist, who like many of you have been told was probably stress.  I COMPLETELY DISAGREE.  It is so frustrating, especially some nights when I get it in bed and can't breath, I almost start freaking out and want to call the hospital!  Its that bad sometimes!  Well, the only place I have ever seen a symptom like this for a condition is when I was looking up information on thyroid problems.  One of the syptoms was "have to yawn to get a complete breath"-or something along those lines.  I am planning on talking to my doctor next month about getting my thyroid tested-I don't remember if it was a symptom for an underactive or overactive thyroid.  ( I also have other syptoms of thyroid problems).  Anyways, hope this helps in some way.

[jbar]

I can't believe I found other people with this problem.  I too have the shortness of breath and feel the need to yawn to get a good breath.  I have allergies and am also on Advair and Singular which helps with my allergies but doesn't do anything for the shortness of breath and cronic yawning.  Is anyone else on Singular and Advair, could that be causing this?  I am going to also try the salt thing but if anyone has any input as to why this is happening I would love to know!

[Richaz]

I take the salt directly with a little water.

I am still looking into why the salt helps.

Yawning may be a sign of acidosis or other medical problems.  I was hoping to get an answer here but no luck so far.

I also have some autonomic nerve disorders so that may make my electrolytes behave poorly.

Even if salt works for you I'd still keep looking for the root cause.

[kandk7330]

I've had the shortness of breath difficulty for about 5 years now.  It started out as only bothering me at night, but eventually began bothering me during the day.  I was told it was asthma or allergies-but I disagree.
After several years, I began feeling extremely weird.  I was waking up with sore chest muscles and/or a burning sensation in my chest. And on 3 different nights(within a 7 day period), I didn't feel comfortable going to sleep for concerns that I may not wake up.  Shortly after the third day I admitted myself into the hospital.
When I got there, my BP was at 183/103 with a high pulse rate. After $13000 of medical expenses and 3 days in the hospital (thank god for insurance)I was told lungs, heart, oxygen level, and everything was fine, I just had high blood pressure.
Maybe the excessive yawning is an early sign of high blood pressure.  Mine was only borderline or under when the SOB first began, but now it is dangerously high.  Hopefully the meds will help! Don't know if this is the answer you were looking for, or even if it's the correct answer, but so far it's the only conclusion that I have came to.

[rabid_hamster]

you mean ingest it directly?
ive also been having the same problems but my doctor have thought it was to do with anxiety. ill make sure to give it a go.

[Lovesam11]

I am 22 and every night i am short of breath and ant get a deep breath in  i am really worried incase iv got lung cancer i am a smoker but iv stopped smokin after 8 at night anyone no what it could be thanks

[laquinca]

Wow I really thought I was losing my mind I too am suffering from the shortness of breathe and the yawning. I didn't really bother me at first but now its happening everynight when I'm laying down or standing.I am not stressed nor do I feel its anxiety. But I have been placed on a betta blocker for rapid heart beat I can't help but wonder if that has anything to do with my condition. I get so scared at night sometimes I wonder if I'm going to wake up. Somebody any body HELP!! This is no FUN

[LauraMendz]

I'm devastated! I been having shortness of breath for two weeks straight.same symptoms.Yawning and all that bad stuff.! I been told its my anxiety ..its taking over my life I can't enjoy myself and the worst part is the fact that I have a baby girl.and all I keep thinking about when this shortness of breath gets the best of me its how I feel like I'm going to die....please help.

[Mj_23]

I thought I was the only one that experiences shortness of breath and excessive yawning. When I read this post people have the same symptoms I have. I feel I have to yawn a couple times to get a good breaths and it's been happening for more than a year. In the hospital they tell me it could be anxiety and all tests come out fine too. I have a little of high blood pressure. When I feel shortness of breath I get dizzy and get nervous that something might happen to me. I'm 18 and I want to know if anyone from the older posts have found a cause or solution to this?

[Tiredchica]

I am 22 years old and have had an issue with the yawning and shortness of breath for about the past year.  I have had asthma for as long as I could remember, but never really had any issues until last fall. I had come down with a case of pneumonia, my breathing was not good, and i had some pains in my chest.  After taking medicine for the pnuemonia I felt way better but discovered after many dr visits and a hospital  stay that I had right middle lobe syndrome.  This is the inflammation of a lobe in your chest that makes it hard to get air through to the proper places.  After many tests, a bronchoscopy, breathing treatments, and prednisone, I felt like I was back on track.  Shortly after I fell back into feeling tired easily, shortness of breath, excessive yawning, and feeling dizzy/light  headed.  I had gone through a period of stress but everything is back to normal and the problems still exist. I'm told that it is stress or just weather/allergies.  I also do not believe this because it seems to be constant.  I eat a good amount of salt (so that theory is out), but have been taking asthmanex, singular, allergy medicine, and my albuterol and I feel no different.  Sometimes I almost feel as though my albueterol does not help, but makes it worse.  I am healthy and don't/have not smoked.  My mother has celiacs disease (an allergy to gluten).  I tested for it and was negative, however, my mom recently read an article of a woman having difficult breathing and having tested negative as well.  She believes that she simply has an intolerance.  Once she eliminated gluten from her diet her breathing became normal and all signs of trouble left.  I am in the middle of moving, but do plan to test this theory to see if it could be helpful at all.

[bre23]

It could very well be a hiatal hernia also called hiatus hernia. They recommend weight loss and quit smoking as getting rid of this. I have all these same problems as you. It's very exhausting on the body to fight for breathe. And on on a low sodium diet because of my diuretic pill. I think ill try some salt to help breathe for now!

[panjipriambudi]

Oh finally find this thread..
I'm having it too..
Is it possible because of atrial septal defect?
My echo is fine..
Tell me more about the salt thing please..