Trouble getting a deep, refreshing breath

[ramamama]

I am 30 y.o and have had this problem on and off since I was a kid.  Back then, I remember having a hard time getting a real deep breath that I craved, and with deep inhalation, would sometimes get a real painful "pop" and then would get instant relief.  The relief didn't always last, but I remember always feeling so much better after it happened (usually in winter).  

Haven't had the painful popping upon deep breathing in many years, but still (comes and goes) have difficulty getting a deep, refreshing breath that I crave.  Then I will start yawning repeatedly, but those are shallow and superficial too, and usually do not give me the deep inhalation breath that I need.

I have had this as well as occasional heart palpations for years, and echo and breathing test (exhaling into tube forcefully) came back ok in the past. This has just recently come back again, and does not seem to correlate with stress or anxiety. I do have a heavy feeling and sometimes discomfort in chest.

I have experienced extreme fatigue for about 18 months, especially mornings, eases a little in afternoon and feel best at night. My doc thinks I may have some auto-immune disorder or just be anxious.  She said that it could be anxiety even though I don't feel like I'm anxious about anything.

I just want to be sure there is nothing else going on before she decides on anxiety or fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome or something like that.

Thank you!

[airmcnair09]

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[Dawn8373]

My daughter is 8 years old and off and on for about a year she complains about it being hard to take a deep breath. I seem to notice it with her  in the evenings when she slows done or in new situations. We went to see he new shrek movie at night and in the middle of the movie we had to leave and go to the ER because she was having a hard time breathing to the point where she had her upper body in a spasm. She says it often happens after she stops doing something  or at night. We are doing a diaphramtic breathing execisd and it seems to help. But I am concerned and frustrated for her. Any suggestions or thoughts? Thanks!

[irakitty]

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[Cantbreathe610]

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[Bean66]

I'm not a medical professional, but suffered from what sounds like the same thing for approx 8 years before I finally(!) found someone who could give it a name.  Chronic Hyperventilation - not sure if there's a medical term for it.  8 years and all I needed were some breathing exercises to fix me up.  About 6 years prior, a lung specialist told me it was "all in my head", "very common in women", etc., etc. which calmed my fears that I had some horrible disease, but did nothing to actually HELP the situation.

Find a counsellor specializing in anxiety, because that's part of it.  Basically you breathe very shallow (likely without realizing) which results in an increase in carbon dioxide.  Excess carbon dioxide in your blood causes all sorts of symptoms such as dizziness, frequent urination.  I can't remember them all, but there are a lot.  It's common in asthmatics.  Yawning is your body's natural attempt to get more oxygen.  I smoked at the time and found that having a cigarette helped, oddly enough.  It helped because when I inhaled, I inhaled deeply; probably the only times I inhaled deeply.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there.  If you breathe shallowly for years, it becomes very ingrained.  Good luck.

[National Jewish]

Feeling the need to take a deep breath is common and often brought on by anxiety.  The painful

[ozark]

have you been tested for sleep apnea

[ADH]

WOW this sounds a lot like me.  I've been told I have asthma, but asthma meds don't do much for me.  I have the trouble getting a deep breath and have had a racing heart beat along with it.  I just got discharged after seeing a cardiologist for 2 months, only to be told after numerous monitors and tests that I have a healthy heart and it must be anxiety.  I do notice that it seems to wax and wane with my cycle though.  The week before and week of my period have notably been the worst.  This month I started using a hormone balancing cream (because my symptoms all go hand in hand with estrogen dominance) and it's 4 days into one of my bad weeks and no palpitations....still mild breathing discomfort though.  I must admit I don't have the popping you describe though.