Is this a respiratory problem?

[Meassi]

Hi there :)

What a great community! Wish we had something like this in Denmark! I have taken the liberty to post this in 3 forums (Heart Disease, Respiratory Disorders and Neurology) as I have no clue to what is wrong – and neither does my doctor. Here’s a description of my situation:

Born in 1966. Grew up in a non-healthy environment with my mom chainsmoking and not doing a lot of cleaning. I had a lot of ”colds” in my childhood, which later was diagnosed as allergy to dustmites.

Also I had itchy blots in my face which broke out again and again. It was very tiresome and noone ever figured out what it was. It has dicreased over the years and today is gone.

Apart from the usual childhood diseases I haven’t been much sick. I discovered 10 years ago that I was allergic to some things, like certain perfume, cats and some tomates as well as shell fish.

In 2001 I stopped smoking after 20 years of smoking, (I smoked 7-10 cigarrettes a day) because I began to feel short of breath when climbing the stairs where I lived. (Copenhagen, capital of Denmark)

I didn’t take much notice of it as it wasn’t that bad.

In 2003 I met my husband and moved to Skagen (10.000 inhabitants in the northern part of Jutland, Denmark).
The last 5 years I feel like my ability to breathe has deteriorated. I went to the doctor and she said it might be stress and sent my to a psychologist who found out it wasn’t stressrelated. I left it at that.

6 months ago my hands started shaking – not much, just a little. But it got worse. Today my hands are never still. I don’t have any ticks. It gets worse if I am tired or stressed and then I can’t hold a cup in my hand.

No room for the rest of the story... =/

[National Jewish Health]

It is tempting to link your hands shaking to your breathing symptoms.  With the exception of a neuromuscular disorder that has resulted in respiratory muscle weakness, I don’t immediately see the linkage.  Your description of your “difficult breathing” as not “heavy breathing” but an impediment to deep breathing “my intake of air stops right below the breast and my lungs are shut off the rest of the way down.”, suggests a restrictive process.

You should have 2 separate evaluations, one by a neurologist and the other by a lung specialist, also know as a pulmonologist, with a special interest in lung mechanics and exercise.  If the neurologist can establish a specific cause of your tremor, it may then be possible to establish a relationship between the tremor and your respiratory symptoms.  This specialist could also render a second opinion on the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and give consideration to other diseases that are characterized by Chorea.

The lung specialist should look at complete pulmonary function tests (PFTs), to include inspiratory and expiratory flow volume loops, diffusion capacity (DLCO), inspiratory pressure, arterial blood gases (ABGs), maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) and ventilatory response to a maximum treadmill exercise test.  Together the 2 specialists may then be able to look to diseases that have neuromuscular and respiratory symptoms in common.

It might be necessary to give consideration to the realm of metabolic disorders, a number of which have a late onset in adulthood.

I hope this helps.

Good luck.

[Meassi]

Got the answer from the doctor, it was increased metabolism, so I started medicin today.

[Meassi]

Thanks Lauralee7 - are you a doctor?

[mno321]

check for enlarged heart/cause from virus--1% of population goes to heart and enlarges it--causing shortness of breath--

ie:  coxsackie virus

[Meassi]

Can a doctor please say if this is a respiratory problem or maybe move the post to another forum?

Thanks a lot :)

Mette

[Meassi]

There was no room in the other two forums, so it's just here. Let me know if I should try to post in the other forums please.

[Meassi]

The rest:

I have done a ”blowtest” and my lung function is 97% - ventoline for astma has a negative effect on me (I start shaking violently at max dose and my breathing gets worse, so my doctor has concluded it is not astma. He aslo concluded that it’s not KOL or Parkinsons (how I am not sure).

I had an xray of my lungs done 2 years ago and they were fine.
Next step is heart cardio and blood tests. I had the heart cardio today and the nurse said ”as far as she could tell, there was nothing wrong”.

I get the doctors input next Friday. But he is at a loss. And not knowing what this is, is terrible. I only know it gets worse.

I don’t have heavy breathing, it’s like my intake of air stops right below the breast and my lungs are shut off the rest of the way down.  Being around smokers makes it a lot worse, taking a warm bath makes it worse at first, then a tiny bit better. I have experimented with different foods, but without any results. (An alternative person told me it could be allergy to food)

What I want from you all is – a diagnosis of course, but I know it’s not possible from a distance. But input on what to ask my doctor, what to suggest he do, where to send me, what kind of specialist should I want – so I can help my doctor find out what this is, so we can maybe treat it.

The difficult breathing and the shaking is not keeping me from living my life – yet, but people around me (those whom I have not shared it with)has started to notice the symptoms. So it would be nice to have an answer when they ask what is going on

Thanks in advance
Yours sincerely
Mette