shortness of breath/chest tightness with no other symptoms

[babymonkey]

I am a perfectly healthy, athletic 30-yr. old female who for the past week has been experiencing difficulty breathing with a tightness in my left upper chest.  I struggle to get a deep breath and sometimes have to yawn to do so.  If I thought about it enough and panicked, I could hypervetalate trying to catch my breath.  The only relief I get is when laying down to sleep or rest.  This started out of nowhere.  At first I suspected allergies--don't have a problem, but had spent the weekend outdoors and had kicked around some hay (literally) which I felt may have irritated my throat/chest.  Two days ago had a chest x-ray and EKG.  Doc sent me away like I was crazy telling me that it was probably stress or anxiety (even though I told him I didn't feel stressed or anxious) and to take a xanax and I would be better in a couple of days.  Any thoughts?  If it's nothing, great!  But I have tried to 'think my way out of it' and have ahd plenty of rest humoring the idea that it is stress.  Could a chest x-ray miss something like pleurisy or something else that might not show-up on an x-ray?

[ciceromd9]

Helpful discussion.. read through the whole thing. I've been suffering from this for the past 6 months. However, I'm having additional symptoms that are really concerning me. I've had chest x rays, ekg, blood work and just like all of you, everything was "normal". My symptoms include:
Numbness in my left lung when breathing.
Cramps in neck and shoulder where my neck literally freezes in position.
Random heart murmors or sharp pain when trying to breath.
Popping sensation directly behind my left lung (like I'm popping my back).
Yawning constantly to catch breath.
Skin irritation on shoulders.

I've smoked for 7 years, but I am a very healthy and active 26 year old male. I quit smoking for the past 3 months and no improvement. I find that the only time I feel relief is while doing heavy cardio exercise or sleeping. I've had random chest pain since I was young and the doctors always told me to take deep breaths to get rid of the feeling and although painful, it worked. I do believe I know the cause of my particular problem which may help someone else to figure out why it has happened to them. I don't know how to fix this but I just felt the urge to post my experience.
I used to be a huge pot head until I settled down and started a family 3 years ago. I gave it up but have always missed the sensation of being high. This summer I was introduced to "spice". It is supposedly a synthetic substitute for marijuana. I was exited because it was legal and it wouldn't show up on a **** test, so I tried it, and liked it although I felt extreme paranoia from it. I would say in total I probably smoked a total of 2 grams over the course of the summer before I stopped.(which wasn't a lot compared to my friends) the very last time I smoked one hit of it and almost immediately felt like I was going to suffocate, because my left lung went completely numb. I haven't felt right ever since, and I fear that whatever it is will bring me to my demise. If anyone knows of what could have been the culprit ingredient in "spice" that could have caused this please help! Thankyou

[HelgaBy]

A related discussion, Tight in Chest was started.

[Teacherkane]

I think everyone with shortness of breath ( especially at night) should have a sleep study done by a doctor because it could possibly be sleep apnea which means u don't breathe correctly at night and can really effect so many oher things.

[Anna32982]

I'm sorry to tell you this but it does sound like anxiety. I've had the same problems and went thru all the tests. The only thing that helps for me is Ativan or Xanax. I still get it and it usually gets worse if I sit there and try to make myself take a deep breath. Try some meditation/visualization and breathing techniques.

[Jsang]

I'm a 15 year old male who has had similar symptoms. I have never smoked before an I'm relativly healthy for my age. In the last week or so I have experienced a slight pain in my chest along with my chest muscles tightening right before I'm able to complete a full breath. I often yawn or just keep attempting to take a deep breath until it finally " works" . It is somewhat painfully and at times rather scary. I really would like if this problem could be resolved. Any suggestions? Thank you.

[africanhead]

A related discussion, struggle for breath on exertion was started.