constant yawning

[rachpurcell]

hi, i was wondering if anyone can help me..... im a fit 29 year old woman and i have no health problems other then i have a problem with constant yawning and its driving me nuts! my first memory of it was when i was a young teen about to start a running race i would get the urge to yawn and i would just get it out before the race started (thankgod) so i would put that down to nerves but as an adult i have been getting the constant yawning problem back alot more freqeunt and i could yawn 50 times a day and it usually takes me 3 or 4 go's to get a propper yawn out that i feel satisfied. it comes on randomly and not in nervous situations just everyday at home etc and always when im in a areobics class and its not that im short of breath at all its just the urge to yawn!!!!! i class myself as being a very fit,active, happy and not anxious or nervous person  i am at an ideal weight and im healthy! i would love to get to the bottom of this CAN ANYONE HELP???????????????


This discussion is related to Yawning and Shortness of Breath.

[amtlmn]

this happened to me for a couple of years before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It started as an occasional episode and increased to the point where it seemed like I was spending my whole day yawning. It was so scarey and embarrassing too. I'd have to try different yawning positions with my head and it would take several attempted yawns before I could fill up. I'd even wake up several times in the middle of the night and have to stand up to try to fill up. After i was finally diagnosed, and shortly after I started treatment, the problem resolved itself just like that!

I think this yawning business can be triggered by any hormonal imbalance and I am sooooo happy I can breathe easier now. BYW, I saw three doctors about this and they all said it was stress and sent me home with scripts for anti anxiety drugs. When they did that, I fired them and moved on to the next one...

[rachpurcell]

hi thank you so much for your comments can you please tell me a little more about hypothyroidism????

[J_ca]

Here was another thread that I found that is now closed but had lots of people with similiar symptoms.  I am going to print this out next time I go to the doctor.  I have had this problem for nearly 3 years now.  The first time I went to the GP, the symptoms of excessive yawning had gone away by the time I could get an appointment.  They gave me a chest xray, took blood and did a lung function test.  All were fine.  I suffered through a few more bouts (about 2x per year) and then last year I went to another FNP who said I had anxiety, possibly a sleeping problem, and mild depression.  After taking Ambien and Effexor for 2 months with no change, I stopped both of them and the problem went away after about 6 weeks.  Towards the end of the 6th week I decided to see another FNP who told me she did not think I needed to be on a daily anxiety medicine but possibly something just when the problem comes on. The problem is, most don't like to prescribe narcotics and I didn't want something I had to take everyday since I only have the problem about 2-3 times a year for about 4-6 weeks each time.  She put me on a mild blood pressure medicine called Inderol that I could take when sypmtoms came back.  The symptoms are back now and after doing some research, I am taking allergy medications (last year the allergy specialist told me I was allergic to practically everything and put me on several medications....Allegra in the AM, Singulair at night, Advair and Flonase as needed), the blood pressure medication, OTC medication for acid reflux (read that this might could cause it though I only have it maybe once a month), and taking the Ambien again at night.  So far, none of this seeems to be working.  I know that I don't have anxiety otherwise but this problem does give me some anxiety because it is frustrating not being able to figure out, or doctors rather, what is causing it.  Other posts say to adding more salt to the diet so I may try to do that.  One thing that might be of interest is that I had a TB test right when it started up again and had a local allergic reaction to the protein but no positive test.  My job has required testing for TB for the last two years but I didn't document when I had sypmtoms last year so its hard to pinpoint whether or not the TB test aggrevates the problem, but certainly a thought.  I have the most problems when driving and at night.  I find that when I am trying to yawn (often several unsuccessful attempts before feeling "satisfied"), I have to focus on something and I seem to have more trouble getting successful yawns if anyone is talking to me or looking at me.  It is very annoying during conversation (especially on the phone or when someone can not see you talking) to have to try to finish your yawn before responding to questions, etc.  I think this is where the problem leads me to anxiety in that I think the person talking to me may think I am annoying them, can't hear them, etc.  After reading so many posts, I am certain that there has to be a common thread between everyone with symptoms.  I am hopeful that in the future, new med. students coming out of school will have more training in this an not automatically assume that it is anxiety. I agree with others that it seems that doctors are so misinformed and jump to the quickest and easiest conclusion.  It is aggrevating to have to purchase medications, schedule appts (for a time in the future when I may not even have symptoms), and to take off work just to have another doctor scratch their head and propose possible "anxiety."  I consider myself a person who deals with stress well, too.  There doesn't seem to be any common anxiety thread to each outbreak, either.  My next steps are to check into hypothyroidism, salt, etc. and even print off the posts from the forum below.  Any other ideas, suggestions, stories would be helpful.
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/RespiratoryDisorders/messages/2820.html

[Mia2917]

hi everybody, as you, i suffer from sob and yawnign. my experience started like 2 years ago, when i hurried into an emergency room for using cocaine all night long, i was not a heavy user, but after spending a whole night using it, i drank cuban coffee and a redbull, along with everything else, i got tachycardia, i thougt i was having a heart attack, i panic and thought i would die, so i called 911. I also used marihuana, and i still use it, but not cocaine.
i am ok now, but after having that episode, i suffered for several months of panic attacks, with a lot of sob and yawning, and i went to the doctor, they could not say anything but give me sanax, which i did not took for it made me worst without helping at all... so I thought the best way was to FORGET ABOUT IT, forget about thinking about it and that was the solution, i slowly forgot about it all, i forced myself not to think about it, but FEEL what i was actually doing, like we can do something and at the same time we can think, and i used to think about breathing and sob and yawning and panic attack, i changed all that for new thoughts of 'feeling'. like feeling the air i was breathing, the smells, the good things of life, being alive myself... i believe this is some kind of mental disease, like if you think about it, it comes, but if you never do, IT GOES AWAY and that happened to me... last week i drunk too much beer, and next morning i had to get up really early so i was tired, i started having sob and yawning and suddenly, out of nowhere i started repeating the sequence, and i have it again, so i have to foget it again... i am saying this for all of you to try it... has it ever happened to you, that you get really busy with something different and you do not yawn or have a problem breathing at all????? TRY IT and let me know please, you all take care and relax, try to do what you really like instead of boring yourself with what you should do

[Baltmaa]

Hi there - I am in exactly the same boat.  I posted a thread on here as well last night (no responses yet), but your symptoms (and lifestyle) are exactly like mine.  I am constatly yawning and usually have to do it several times before getting a good breath in.  You're not alone, but it is frustrating that we have to deal with this at all.  

[dyncon]

I have been on anti-depressant for approx 15 years, off and on.  I have been on Effexor continuously for 3 years now. A pill a day (150 mg). I yawn constantly for a number of hours in the day. Also, less energy/ tiredness which may be related to Effexor.

While I don't like the yawning, I will take yawning any day over continuous anxiety with bouts of depression any day. If there is a way of eliminating the yawning while remaining on Effexor, I would like to know.

Paul

[velvetpurl]

i am constantly yawning too and i keep wondering why

[Bre80]

...I dont know much about all this but dont we yawn because the body is lacking oxygen?  if anyone who is smoking anything is having these issues I would Imagine....Lack of Oxygen?????

I would at the very least try breathing exercises everyday, most people dont breath properly to begin with.....You could look on yogajournal.com   They should have some breath exercises on there.

Just a thought

[ldoyle]

I started to have the same breathing problems as everyone else. I never had any problems until I started using the diet drug phentermine. I was wandering if anyone else's symptoms started after using a diet medication? When I went to the doctor, he said nothing was wrong with me. The second time I went to the doctor for the same problem, he prescribed anxiety meds. I don't have anxiety until it feels like I can't breathe. It would be nice to know what is wrong with me.

[AimD]

Me too.  I am a metal health social worker.  I don't take any meds.  I am not very anxious.  I believe I breath fine. My oxygen levels are really good.   And yet, I yawn...a lot.  
If I am listening, I yawn.  
If I think of yawning, I yawn.  
If I exercise, I yawn.  
If I sing, I yawn.  
If I focus on breathing, I yawn.  
I have asked many doctors and even a holistic professional about it and I have not gotten any answers.  The only thing I think it could possibly be is some sort of a tick- like some people twitch their eye.  I have learned if I carry a drink around with me, I can take a sip and that keeps it somewhat under control and hidden.  Good Morning America had some leading doctor in Yawning on about two years ago, and he said that yawning was a way that animals cool down their brains.  Not so sure about that one- but maybe.  Wish I had more info.