Aa
Feeling shortness of breath? 15 years old?
Right now it is 5 AM, I woke up because I feel like I'm dizzy and can not breathe well.
I feel as if I HAVE to breathe while thinking about it. It's like I'm lacking my involuntary muscle that helps me breathe automatically.
It started that as if I couldn't breathe for one second - which ALERTED ME! Never happened to me before considering I'm only 15 years old....
I started to fall back asleep when my body felt numb and as if I stopped breathing....so scary ...so I woke my mom up and she's still half asleep ... she's comforting me right now and praying, making me some oatmeal
I have drank a bottle of water and gonna eat some oatmeal .... I'm still scared.
I'm literally panting and crying. Scared to go back to sleep.
Please help me?
And if it helps:
-For dinner I had Burger King (not healthy!!!!! I know. But I only had fries and a burger. still no good i guess?)
-I do eat fatty foods on occasion. I also like to eat my spinach, my fruits, veggies, fish, grains
-I'm on my menstrual period now (probably un-useful, but oh well)
- Never smoked. Not once.
Thank you so much
I feel as if I HAVE to breathe while thinking about it. It's like I'm lacking my involuntary muscle that helps me breathe automatically.
It started that as if I couldn't breathe for one second - which ALERTED ME! Never happened to me before considering I'm only 15 years old....
I started to fall back asleep when my body felt numb and as if I stopped breathing....so scary ...so I woke my mom up and she's still half asleep ... she's comforting me right now and praying, making me some oatmeal
I have drank a bottle of water and gonna eat some oatmeal .... I'm still scared.
I'm literally panting and crying. Scared to go back to sleep.
Please help me?
And if it helps:
-For dinner I had Burger King (not healthy!!!!! I know. But I only had fries and a burger. still no good i guess?)
-I do eat fatty foods on occasion. I also like to eat my spinach, my fruits, veggies, fish, grains
-I'm on my menstrual period now (probably un-useful, but oh well)
- Never smoked. Not once.
Thank you so much
The HMO I was with when I had a sleep apnea test done had me go to a class and sent me home with the monitor and wires to sleep for a night. I turned in the equipment later.
This could be a case of GERD (reflux). you don't necessarily have to feel heartburn to have GERD.
This possibility is even higher if you went to bed not long after eating your Burger King dinner (and may have even happened if you had eat a healthy fish and veggie dinner). When you lay down shortly after eating, it makes it much harder for your body to diget what you've eaten and puts you at a much great risk for reflux to happen (where some of the food or liquid comes back up into the esophagus).
Try the following and see if it helps at all:
a) Eat several smaller meals during the day rather than three larger meals
b) Do not eat within two hours of going to bed (also limit liquids because they too can cause reflux)
c) Eliminate, if at all possible, caffeine containing beverages and foods, especially closer to bedtime.
d) Limit "fizzy" drinks such as sodas, again, especially closer to bedtime. also eliminate, if at all possible, very spicy foods - especially near bedtime.
e) This is an aimportant one - Raise the head of your bed a couple of inches. You can buy a set of bed risers at places like Walmart. They come in a set of 4, but you will only be using two at the head of your bed only. This will put your body ina much better position to allow "gravity" to help with any reflux symptoms and allow the digestive process to work easier/better. You could try using extra pillows to prop your upper body up in bed, however, that usually doesn't work as well because a) the pillows move or get moved during the night and b) the angle that the pillows put your body at actually end up putting pressure on teh upper stomach/diaghram area, which could make breathing more difficult, as well as increase reflux. The bed riser sets are not expensive and well worth it if this is what your problem is.
Sometimes, also, trapped gas in the diaghram area can definitely make it feel like you can't get a deep breath and sometimes feel like you're not breathing at all. Maybe try something like GasX to see if it helps any (check with your doctor or phamacist if you are taking any other meds to make sure there won't be any interactions)
And finally, to calm yourself down if this happens again and you have trouble getting back to sleep, try drinking some water (avoid eating though because again, you don't want to lay down just after eating, no matter how healthy your snack is) - listen to some quiet, soothing music, maybe read a book or watch tv until you start getting drowsy again.
Keep track of when/if this happens again - as to what you've had to eat that day, what your activities were, how long after eating you had gone to bed, whether you also experienced any nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, heartburn, etc. By doing this you may be able to pinpoint it to a certain food or type of food (i.e., Italian or Mexican)
Was this the first time this has happened or has it happened in the past? If it's happened in the past, did it wake you up like it did this time or was it at a different time of day that it happened?
I would agree that if it continues and is only at night when you are trying to sleep (or wakes you up from a sleep), getting a sleep study done is probbly a good idea. Your primary care doctor can probably set up an appointment for you, although you'll need to go to special sleep clinic or study spot to have it done. What they'll do is hook you up to a bunch of wires and stuff (nothing that will hurt you or zap you) so that they can monitor your heartrate, breathing, level of sleep, eye movement, limb movement, etc., while you sleep in their "lab". This way they would be able to determine if the problem is more related to sleep apnea or other sleep disorder rather than reflux.
I wish you the best of luck - please keep us posted on how you're doing and what you find out.
This possibility is even higher if you went to bed not long after eating your Burger King dinner (and may have even happened if you had eat a healthy fish and veggie dinner). When you lay down shortly after eating, it makes it much harder for your body to diget what you've eaten and puts you at a much great risk for reflux to happen (where some of the food or liquid comes back up into the esophagus).
Try the following and see if it helps at all:
a) Eat several smaller meals during the day rather than three larger meals
b) Do not eat within two hours of going to bed (also limit liquids because they too can cause reflux)
c) Eliminate, if at all possible, caffeine containing beverages and foods, especially closer to bedtime.
d) Limit "fizzy" drinks such as sodas, again, especially closer to bedtime. also eliminate, if at all possible, very spicy foods - especially near bedtime.
e) This is an aimportant one - Raise the head of your bed a couple of inches. You can buy a set of bed risers at places like Walmart. They come in a set of 4, but you will only be using two at the head of your bed only. This will put your body ina much better position to allow "gravity" to help with any reflux symptoms and allow the digestive process to work easier/better. You could try using extra pillows to prop your upper body up in bed, however, that usually doesn't work as well because a) the pillows move or get moved during the night and b) the angle that the pillows put your body at actually end up putting pressure on teh upper stomach/diaghram area, which could make breathing more difficult, as well as increase reflux. The bed riser sets are not expensive and well worth it if this is what your problem is.
Sometimes, also, trapped gas in the diaghram area can definitely make it feel like you can't get a deep breath and sometimes feel like you're not breathing at all. Maybe try something like GasX to see if it helps any (check with your doctor or phamacist if you are taking any other meds to make sure there won't be any interactions)
And finally, to calm yourself down if this happens again and you have trouble getting back to sleep, try drinking some water (avoid eating though because again, you don't want to lay down just after eating, no matter how healthy your snack is) - listen to some quiet, soothing music, maybe read a book or watch tv until you start getting drowsy again.
Keep track of when/if this happens again - as to what you've had to eat that day, what your activities were, how long after eating you had gone to bed, whether you also experienced any nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, heartburn, etc. By doing this you may be able to pinpoint it to a certain food or type of food (i.e., Italian or Mexican)
Was this the first time this has happened or has it happened in the past? If it's happened in the past, did it wake you up like it did this time or was it at a different time of day that it happened?
I would agree that if it continues and is only at night when you are trying to sleep (or wakes you up from a sleep), getting a sleep study done is probbly a good idea. Your primary care doctor can probably set up an appointment for you, although you'll need to go to special sleep clinic or study spot to have it done. What they'll do is hook you up to a bunch of wires and stuff (nothing that will hurt you or zap you) so that they can monitor your heartrate, breathing, level of sleep, eye movement, limb movement, etc., while you sleep in their "lab". This way they would be able to determine if the problem is more related to sleep apnea or other sleep disorder rather than reflux.
I wish you the best of luck - please keep us posted on how you're doing and what you find out.
In Psalm 42 and 43 in the Bible, the psalmist talks to his soul. So often when we awaken, our mind can start talking to us and fear or depression can rob joy and even our ability to reason well. The psalmist sets an example by responding to his disturbed soul by re-directing his focus to God, his Saviour.
But if you were calmed down enough to be falling asleep and hadn't been hyperventilating for a period of time prior to when you felt your body starting to go numb.... then even though you were so scared afterward and were perhaps even having a panic attack in reaction to the numbness that came on when you started to go to sleep, there may be something here that needs to be checked out medically, just to be sure your body's okay and to help ease your mind as well.
But if you were calmed down enough to be falling asleep and hadn't been hyperventilating for a period of time prior to when you felt your body starting to go numb.... then even though you were so scared afterward and were perhaps even having a panic attack in reaction to the numbness that came on when you started to go to sleep, there may be something here that needs to be checked out medically, just to be sure your body's okay and to help ease your mind as well.
hi, first of all; u can not stop breathing, sorry but that is in your mind;
what to do; BREATH ONLY THRU NOSE as hyperventilating (breathing very fast) actually decreases the oxygen to your brain.
try some TM transandental meditation; u can look it up free online,
try yoga
AND TRY THIS; go into your private place and have a conversation with your inner self, your sub conscience and speak out loud and talk of ALL the things that bother u, but that u tend to ignore or tuff-it-out. SOUNDS SILLY but your sub conscience can send u into excruciating pain and 1000 other things so what u r doing is setting ground rules u want your very powerful sub conscience to use in your behalf.
good luck
what to do; BREATH ONLY THRU NOSE as hyperventilating (breathing very fast) actually decreases the oxygen to your brain.
try some TM transandental meditation; u can look it up free online,
try yoga
AND TRY THIS; go into your private place and have a conversation with your inner self, your sub conscience and speak out loud and talk of ALL the things that bother u, but that u tend to ignore or tuff-it-out. SOUNDS SILLY but your sub conscience can send u into excruciating pain and 1000 other things so what u r doing is setting ground rules u want your very powerful sub conscience to use in your behalf.
good luck
Hi- it could be significant that you are on your mense. Has the doctor ever tested your iron and ferritin (iron stores)? Many menstruating females become iron deficient and this can cause shortness of breath and dizziness. Please ask the doctor to check these things, as well as your hemoglobin and hematocrit. I had symptoms before when my iron was low, even when my complete blood count (CBC) didn't show any abnormality. But my iron level was tested and found to be low.
Also, I'm so glad you have a mother that prays with you, if you know the Great Physician, Who knows exactly what the trouble is. It sounds like you are scared and even a panic attack can cause you to have trouble with your breathing & getting your focus on God is a great thing! Distractions from thinking about breathing can be very helpful. Sometimes, when a sibling of mine is having trouble with breathing, they step out and get some fresh air (you may want to ask your mom to step out for a moment and take a few deep breaths).
Another thing to explore, particularly if you are carrying some extra pounds or are someone who snores at night, and that is, asking your doctor if you could get a sleep apnea test. There are a lot of people who have short periods of time while they sleep where they stop breathing (diagnosed as sleep apnea if you have at least a certain number of episodes during the night). They wake up feeling tired and may get headaches. But if they are found to have this problem, the doctor may prescribe a C-PAP machine, which helps them to get air when for the times they stop breathing.
Since you are concerned about the fatty foods you are eating, you may want to ask your doctor if he would do a lipid panel on you to see how your cholesterol level is.
And if you discover you start having this trouble with your lungs at other times when you haven't been asleep and you aren't feeling panicky at the time, you may want to ask the doctor about pulmonary function testing also so they can see how well your lungs are working.
Also, I'm so glad you have a mother that prays with you, if you know the Great Physician, Who knows exactly what the trouble is. It sounds like you are scared and even a panic attack can cause you to have trouble with your breathing & getting your focus on God is a great thing! Distractions from thinking about breathing can be very helpful. Sometimes, when a sibling of mine is having trouble with breathing, they step out and get some fresh air (you may want to ask your mom to step out for a moment and take a few deep breaths).
Another thing to explore, particularly if you are carrying some extra pounds or are someone who snores at night, and that is, asking your doctor if you could get a sleep apnea test. There are a lot of people who have short periods of time while they sleep where they stop breathing (diagnosed as sleep apnea if you have at least a certain number of episodes during the night). They wake up feeling tired and may get headaches. But if they are found to have this problem, the doctor may prescribe a C-PAP machine, which helps them to get air when for the times they stop breathing.
Since you are concerned about the fatty foods you are eating, you may want to ask your doctor if he would do a lipid panel on you to see how your cholesterol level is.
And if you discover you start having this trouble with your lungs at other times when you haven't been asleep and you aren't feeling panicky at the time, you may want to ask the doctor about pulmonary function testing also so they can see how well your lungs are working.
Okay, first off, I suffer from the same thing you do, I'm 18 now but it all started when I was 15. One day I just randomly felt like I couldn't get a deep breath in, and when I did take a deep breath in i just felt like I was suffocating. To this day I still have it, and it's a lot worse now than it was when it first started. It's got to the point now where even just walking around makes my chest feel tight and horrible. I get really dizzy and disorientated sometimes I feel like I'm not even really alive. And sometimes I wake up feeling short of breath. Or I wonder if while I was just drifting to sleep whether I actually was breathing at all. I usually put the fan on, drink some water and read a book or look at photos to distract myself
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