Shortness of Breath, Chest Pressure, Some Numbness

[wbelhaven]

Hi,

Ever since spending a week lodging at 9300ft, and skiing at 10k and 11k ft, I've had periodic episodes of some or all of the following symptoms: shortness of breath, pressure in the chest area (I'd stop short of calling it "pain"), and some numbness that will radiate out of the chest area, sometimes going as far as my forearms. These episodes are short-lived, on the order of 2-5 seconds at most. The first such episode was on the plane ride home, just before starting our descent into my home town which is roughly at sea level.

One day after returning, I went to the ER where they did O2, BP, Pulse, EKG, Chest Xray, and Blood Tests, all of which were negative, and the ER Dr. postulated I was feeling the effects of mild altitude sickness. Roughly a week later, my Primary Care Dr. listened to my lungs et. al., and said I was fine, especially because these episodes aren't correlated with increased activity (i.e., they happen at rest). Finally, an allergist (DO) did a lung capacity measurement, and I have the lungs of a 34 year old, despite being 41.

Fast forward 2 weeks (total, since returning) and I'm still having these symptoms. They happen maybe a dozen times a day, sometimes more intense than others. Any idea what this might be? Could MS or something equally serious cause these symptoms? Could the effects of mild Altitude Sickness linger this long? Could this be a GI problem of some sort? -- Acid Reflux or worse? My Primary Care Dr. has scheduled me for an ECG. Assuming this is clean, and the symptoms persist, what should I do next?

Thanks,
WB

[Carlyfan]

Hi...

I too have a thyroid disorder, (hypothyroid-Hashimoto's disease) and I am exactly like you, in that my levels can be even slightly off and I have trouble taking a deep breath...feel short of breath....it sometimes feels like my chest muscles [or diaphragm] are not working properly. At one time when my levels were very bad, (when I was trying for 2 years to get regulated) I was VERY SOB....downright scary. I have seen many people on thyroid boards say they suffer SOB when they are hypo, (and hyper too, sometimes)  Just about 2 weeks ago, I went to have my levels tested as I was feeling that way again, and sure enough, my TSH was up to 3.8, which is HIGH FOR ME. (I need it to be right around a 1 in order to breath normal and feel normal too) My Dr. did increase my dose, and I'm already feeling better.

To the other poster [with the acid reflux], I also had/still have that, but it is now under control....and let me tell you, at it's worst, I couldn't breath well, it was horrible. I too was taking only 1 (PPI) a day, and it just wasn't enough to help me. There's just some of us with acid reflux so severe that we must take 2 x a day, in order to get it under control.

I have tried to quit taking them, after feeling so good for a while, but there's no way I can....within a day or two, it was back with a vengence. After I started taking it again, I was feeling better in a few days or so. I still continue to take them every 12 hours, and I must be on time, or close to it... Good luck!

CarlyFan

[leslieannwill]

Hi, I experience all the systoms of many that post on this site.  Shortness of Breath, excessive yawning to get a deep breath.  I have had all the same test as these people, nuclear stress test, CT scan of lungs, Pulminary function test, EKG, chest x-ray,  have had ALL the blood work done along with Thyroid.  Doctors can't find anything wrong except there was a minimal obstruction on my PFT's which I was told could be the result of smoking, I used to smoke, smoke on occasion now every once in a while.  Basically quit when I started having this problem in December 2005.  I am as frustrated as everyone else as to why no one know what is wrong with me.  I also have sleep apnea but don't use the CPAP like I am supposed to, my doctor thinks that is the problem along with Anxiety.  I know what anxiety and panic attacks are.  I have had them for many years and this is NOT anxiety I am having on a daily basis.  I also take aciphex for acid reflux.  It has decreased some in the last couple of weeks but not gone.  Hopefully one of these days I will read on here what this is and how we can be treated.

[superbravo]

I wanted to post this in another forums, but it was closed.
Any way, this is my story and i hope it can help many people that have the same condition i have. It all started in 1980. i was 18 years old. i got this condition in which  i had  Difficulty yawning and taking deep breaths. My sibling used to tell me that while sleeping, i used to make lots of noises(i guess i was grasping for air).
The condition continue until 1982 when i was hospitalized with a thyroid dissorder(hyperactive). I was treated with radioactivated iodine and then it became hypothyroidism(under active).  I have been in medication ever since.
For many years, i have noticed that when my thyroid is not functioning well,  and i am not getting the correct amount of hormones in my body, it triggers difficulty in yawning/deep breathing. I have read so many cases of people on this forums complaining about this condition and no one has mentioned a possible thyroid problem. If any of you is having difficulty yawning and taking deep breath, have a blood test done and request a thyroid profile done.  The thyroid is a very powerfull gland in your body; it controls the chemistry in your body and if it's not fine tuned, you will have problems.  As for me, i know when my Syntroid medication has to be adjusted even without a blood test.  I will start feeling the yawning and breathing problems.
Hope this post will help some of you.
If you need more information about my personal experience, email me at ***@****
Good luck.

[National Jewish]

It is hard to put all of this together from an email.  If this is altitude sickness, there is a good chance this will go away in the next week or so.  It can take a while for this to go away because it is due to fluid accumulation on the lungs.  If the skiing was only a precipitant of another problem, it will take more evaluation. I would continue with the ECG and if this is normal, perhaps a CT of the lungs.  This is not a common presentation of MS.