First off, I have been on the drug Accutane for severe cystic acne from the beginning of February to the beginning of June. During this time, I had been hospitalized after about a month of taking the drug because I could not catch my breath, basically I felt like I was not breathing properly. I suffer from asthma and this did not feel like an asthma attack. In the hospital, I had an x-ray conducted on my heart and lungs, an ECG done on my heart, an ultrasound, and a CT scan conducted on me to see if I had a blood clot on my lungs. These tests came out fine and the doctor said I was fine and couldn't see a problem.
He gave me ventolin and an orange inhaler (I forgot the name of this but it was a stronger medication for asthma). My breathing then gradually improved for about a month then it hit me again after I smoked marijuana twice in April.
This is when the breathing problem started to persist and never go away. I have had this breathing problem for almost 6 months now and it has worried me ever since. I have had a physical exam because of this in July, and also another x-ray, all the tests showed that I was perfectly healthy (I had a stress test on a treadmill, another x-ray on my heart and lungs, basically checked up my whole body). I also had a lung function test and the doctor said it was above average which confused me a great deal.
I then moved to Calgary (Canada) in August and have experienced a bit of a difference in my breathing issues. This includes running out of breath more easily e.g. when I run up the stairs I run out of breath when I usually don't an when I crouch down or kneel over to clean my car or whatnot. I also have had aching, tingling and pressure on the left side of my chest and on my left arm, this comes and goes and it frightens me. I know that the altitude in Calgary is above 3000 ft, which is high, and that people need to adjust to the altitude. But I have a hard time linking my out-of-breath-ness with the altitude because I have been having it for about 2 months. Does it usually take that long to adjust to high altitudes? I have seen a doctor here about it and he ran through my physical exam as I showed him the booklet containing all my results, he also said there shouldn't be any problem with me and that I seemed perfectly healthy.
I'm now worried I might have heart failure. If I had it, would the stress test be able to detect it? Are the symptoms I described an indication of heart failure or anything else? Is accutane the cause of what I'm experiencing? Is it the marijuana? I need help and a second opinion, there's a lack of doctors accepting new patients here in Calgary and it takes awhile to get an appointment with a specialist... thank you so much for your help.