Difficulty breathing and unable to complete a yawn

[momsblessings]

I have been having a hard time getting a full breath and am unable to complete a full yawn at times, however, I yawn excessively even if not complete.  This inability to get a Breath results in chest pain, throat/jaw tightness, and headache, where my head feels woozy.  I was diagnosed with a mild case of vocal cord dysfunction and went through speech therapy.  I am continuing to have problems and I am unsure if the VCD is what is causing it or something else.  I also have a lump area between my 2nd-3rd ribs (or so) on the right side that is unknown, and I have had a history of neuroma's in the rib area on my posterior side in the past.  My past medical history is that I have complicated migraines, mitral valve prolapse, and was anemic but now I am not.  I had been on Topamax which put me into metabolic acidosis so I am still recuperating from that.  Most recent labs said I was WNL on my metabolic panel, but I still feel horrible and cannot breath well, nor do I have any energy/stamina to do things like I normally do. I just turned 42 yrs. old and have 3 kids, so I have a busy lifestyle typically, but I am having a very hard time doing anything with the difficulty breathing and chest pain issues.  No one can figure out why I cannot YAWN normally and the pulmonologist just feels it is only VCD, but it is not improved since going through therapy.  Any suggestions?
Thank you.

[nateclaflin]

I too have had this issue. Both several years ago when i was going through a 'bad-phase' in my life and it kinda just went away, and in just the past few days, along with the shortness of breath i've had a minor tension-headache and constant yawning, i agree with the person above that mentions deep-belly-breathing though as i have been doing such for about an hour now and it does seem to be working

now for the embarrasing part....
i feel like i've been modifying my breathing habits recently cause i've put on some weight and have been embarrased by it so i have been doing some more upper chest breathing that i think did sparked the problem. I've also been under a bit of stress (full-time university and part time work) so i think the combo added together re-ignited this problem. if you can control your breath i'm nearly positive this issue will go away, hope this helps someone and i hope my issue continues to alleviate till it's gone

thanks

[Hperalta]

Hey everyone that has the unexplained unusual never ending yawning that's not always satisfying and complete. Well I used to work at a natural food store and come across a solution that just makes sense. Chloraphylle (check the spelling on that for me), it's kina $$ I mean 12-30$ but it worked for me. Its a heavy concentrated natural medicine for your body. Google and read the specifics, but I tell you that it helps build red blood cells in your body which carry oxygen and really that's why we're yawning, I really noticed a difference in my energy, and all around yawning ordeal. I hope this is refreshing and helps you.

[jeffhawaii]

I'm SO relieved to have found this thread.  I quit smoking (switched to e-cigs from half-a-pack a day for 20 years) about 4 months ago and every night since then when I get into bed I have trouble getting a satisfying breath or yawn.  It's almost become a habit - I get into bed, start reading and suddenly remember I have trouble breathing.  It's even worse when I try to sleep because I have nothing else to think about aside from finally getting full, satisfying deep breath.  I've read other places that quitting smoking has brought this on, but in addition to that I've been drinking more (both alcohol and caffeine).  I've never had trouble with anxiety, but do realize that the alcohol & caffeine are definitely giving my body more stress than before - in any case, I'm sure it's not helping.  I'll try to cut down on both and will come back to this thread in a week or so.  Again, I'm really happy to find others with similar situations and, of course, some possible solutions.  Thank you so much.

[MsAttitude1219]

Thank you EVERYONE
In March I noticed this "incomplete yawn" being an ex smoker and losing my mom a yer before to lung cancer I was a wreck, being uninsured I had nowhere to turn.
In April I woke from a dead sleep to difficulty breathing, my significant other called 911,
I had no fever, no congestion but chest xray and white blood count showed I had pneumonia.
Dr didn't do many tests, but I left thinking my incomplete yawn problem is now resolved.
WRONG
after antibiotics were completed I was back to problem again.
it really has been driving me crazy,
I am going to try to kick caffeine because I did limit that after hospital admission.

How come the Drs look at you like you have three heads when you tell them you can not complete a breath.
Thank you ALL for understanding!

[Jenachan]

It happens to me a lot!  cant take a full breath, constant insufficient yawning, waking up in the middle of sleep feeling like dying and out of breath. I did lots of tests and couldnt find the source of the problem. I started to watch what I eat/drink and kinda agree with girl who mentioned the caffaine allergy. I noticed whenever I drink coffee(even decafed coffee), I start to get the symptoms, but still not sure 100% about it. To everyone who has the same problem, please consider this reason and share your experience.

[lindangreg]

ive had the same thing for almost 16 years and been to so many differnet doctors in my life  i get to a point in life where i just cant take it any more .  ive had heart tests , asthma tests , breathing tests , chest xrays , head scans , whole body scans to show my nerves and veins .. they put it down to panic attacks and anxiety !!! i get it sometimes for days and days on sudden attacks . i try to yawn get to a deep breathe it can work for a min or so , but trying to do this after a few days my chest really feels like its caving in and my throat and im scared to sleep but sometimes i dont care if i dont wake up as i cant handle it any more .. what really scares me is waking up in middle of night gasping for my breath .. from reading more n more on the internet i think its hyperventilating .   im going back to the dr tomorrow to see how i can finally get some help