Air hunger-breathless feeling-labored breathing

[laura1967]

I would like to hear from other members if they have ever experienced the feeling of not being able to get enough air in. It is called air hunger......or a feeling of breathlessness, etc.
I seem to only experience this when my levels drop too low.....especially my T3 levels.

Your thyroid levels regulate your respiratory system and includes: lung function, diaphragm function, and even brain communication for breathing function is regulated by hormone levels.

Just some food for thought for you all! Thyroid 101!

[cbread]

I don't get that bad, but I do sound like I am winded whenever I talk on the phone.  It's such a drag and people think I am nervous or something.

[cbas]

I have had this problem since I had my TT. My Dr. has not suggested it has anything to do with my thyroid problems. He has diagnosed me with hyperventilation syndrome mainly because of my complaint of tingling in the arms and legs and face. When he did an oxygen test I was higher than normal despite feeling like I was not getting enough air.  A couple days ago my armour was increased from 90 to 120 mg. It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the sensation of not getting enough air.

[skeeterknitwit]

I had that when I was T3 toxic.  It felt like my lungs were constricted and I could not get a full breath.  I was out of breath and had to rest from walking DOWN a flight of stairs.
Now I feel like I can breathe to my toes, but have other hypo complaints.

[redheadaussie]

Only when I am really tired do I get it, but then I tend to be a shallow breather all my life and have to remember to breathe deeply. Only when I had the enlarged thyroid did I have true breathlessness...my airway was crushed!

[Liz94]

I had a similar feeling right after my dosage was increased. I would be sitting there at work and notice that I was exhaling very hard.  It was like I could breathe in okay but exhaling was an effort.  I called and had blood work and my tsh had gone WAY low.  He moved me from 150 to 137 and I felt better.  I felt better for 4 months and now I'm starting to feel it again. Along with achiness in my arms.  I quit! I'm just never gonna be nromal.

[mtkst13]

since i was 14 i've had episodes lasting weeks/months of trouble getting enough air in.  my doctor at the time told me it was anxiety, which was very upsetting/insulting to me.  i was constantly telling my mom so that she'd take me seriously, and around the same time, i remember taking my pulse...it was only 40 beats a minute.  she told me that was impossible and figured that i didn't take my pulse properly.

i'm almost 31 now and over the years the breathing issues would come and go.  sometimes it would get so bad that my ribs, back, and chest would be achy and sore because i was gasping so hard to get the air that i needed.  i knew it was more than anxiety, but after being dismissed, i was embarassed to get checked again.  i would google breathing problems to see if anything fit.  it seemed like my diaphram wasn't contracting properly, meaning i was chest breathing instead of belly breathing.  

last year i accidently discovered i had hyperthyroidism through a yearly blood test.  i lost weight, had lots of energy, had a lot of anxiety, my leg hairs were growing very quickly.  i followed up with an endocrine doc who discovered i had silent thyroiditis.  i was told that the hyper phase would be coming to an end and that i'd become hypo soon.  the hypo phase came about a month later, and an all too familiar symptom appeared as well...the breathing issues.  i was gasping for air.  at the time my tsh was 55.86,  ft4 was .53, and ft3 was 1.6.

the experience was validation for me.  i was happy because i knew what was wrong with me and that it wasn't just anxiety.  i feel that i've been having episodes of thyroiditis since my early teens.

it's a shame that the symptom wasn't investigated when i was 14.  pediatricians need to become familiar with typical and atypical presentations of thyroid (and other) issues in children...especially when the alternative is labeling a child as having anxiety!

[Applesan]

Just saw a great article on air hunger and hypothyroidism:

http://www.drlowe.com/jcl/comentry/breathingproblems.htm

I have had shortness of breath for over a year since RAI therapy and based on this article and what my next blood test shows I will see how my T3 level is doing and possibly ask for Cytomel as a supplement.