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TROUBLE BREATHING-YAWNING

ALL-I HAVE BEEN SUFFERING FROM SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND THE ONLY WAY TO GET A BREATH OF AIR IS TO YAWN...?? So..i went to the ER because I thought something was seriously wrong only to find out I had a lung infection.  I was thrilled to know what was wrong with me, thinking that this disorder would go away....I was wrong. After the infection cleared, I still couldn't breath properly. Fed up...i searched deep for more answers and it turns out it was anxiety.  I didn't even know what it was, until I did more research and found out it affects so many things including breathing.  I have read "PANIC AWAY" by Joe Barry and it has really calmed me down, this book generally discussed anxiety but there is a chapter on breathing and this is what changed me.  I hope this helps as I know this condition is HELL and it still unbelievable to think Doctor's can't help!!


This discussion is related to Yawning and Shortness of Breath.
36 Responses
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Avatar universal
Go get your iron checked! I had this problem for 3 flippin years and it turned out I was iron deficient. If you Google the relationship between anxiety and iron deficiency you will find it. I was healed after 2 weeks on iron supplements! I can finally breathe hallelujah!! NO doctors figured this out for me. I figured it out on my own. I swear doctors are worthless sometimes.

But, don't just start taking iron. Get your levels checked first. You could jack yourself up if you take iron when you don't need it.

God Bless!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Trouble with breathing:

It could be muscle related, good physiotherapist who will unwind all the muscles and checks if your spine works the way it should from top to bottom can probably help you. I would recommend one who treats athletes and from my personal experience can say that there are quite a few who have no idea if your muscles and spine are really problem free so don't be too quick to believe if some of them say nothings wrong.
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1 Comments
I hate to say this but usually people that have trouble breathing it's either a few things asthma, or COPD. It just is what it is.
Avatar universal
if doctors can't help, drink urine. It treats all diseases. Including high BP. However, first stop taking any medication, then drink middle portion of urine odd number of sips (eat vegies then it will be tasteless). Drink 2-3 times per day starting at 3-4 am.


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1 Comments
I can't believe you just told people to drink urine. You are a complete moron. How about this drink your own ****.
Avatar universal
if doctors can't help, drink urine. It treats all diseases. Including high BP. However, first stop taking any medication, then drink middle portion of urine odd number of sips (eat vegies then it will be tasteless). Drink 2-3 times per day starting at 3-4 am.


Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi all,
I had this problem starting a few years ago and went to several physicians and they all said it was anxiety, they would prescibe anxiety medicine but none helped.It gort so bad that i could not even get a depp yawn. I finally went back and told them i wanted to have a chest and abdomine CT done with contrast. What come out of this was the most frighteningday. They found a tumor on my kidney which was ancer. I had my kidney removed and have not had the problem since. All of the physicians said that is was not a symtom of want I had but they cannot explain why I have not had a breating or yawning problem since. Just remember, you know your body better than anyone, ask for more help if you do not feel you are getting the right treatment.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
anxiety? really? wow...

i also cant breathe properly all the time i need to yawn or take deep breaths.. also i did a advanced scan on my lugns they didnt seem to find anything wrong yet still i have trouble breathe!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My 7 year old son had ongoing stomach pain which even with thousands of dollars worth of tests, doctors could not solve.  During testing I coincidently started buying my family unpasteurized goats milk from a reputable seller (as I had grown up drinking it).  My son's stomach issues immediately disappeared by replacing cow's milk with the unpastuerized goat's milk (I had tried pasteurized goat's milk to no effect).  This week we ran out of goat's milk and my son had regular  milk.  That's when he started this odd yawning and deep breaths telling me it was hard to catch his breath. He also had a bit of acid reflux.   I'm going to restock our goat's milk supply today.  I'm convinced of the milk/acid reflux link...at least in our case.  Now the test will be to see if his breathing symptoms go away when he goes back to drinking goats milk.
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Avatar universal
I am 33 and I am surprised that so many people have this issue. I have had it since when I was 13. My mother has always had it. I agree that major factors are stress, anxiety, over eating (or eating too fast). Generally the advice is to slowwwwwwwwwwwwwww dowwwwwn your life.

I am taking the recomendation to wath my chest muscles and try to relax my shoulders more often than I did in the past.

But the one thing that I am not sure anyone has mentioned is usage of caffeine products such as coffee, tea and chocolate products. Try to stay away from any caffeine product when you get your "attacks" for 1 week.

Having this breathing issue can be such a life changing experience and looking at other people you may think: "How would life be like when you don't have to worry about taking a good old deep breath?"

One advice is not to tell children around you about the type of problem that you have. I feel that is contagious, seriously!! Its almost a state of mind that while most people don't even think while they breath, some of us have that rhythm of life very messed up and are at times out of tune.

One last suggestion.  It does seem like the way you want to "satisfy" yourself is via a big yawn. But I am discovering that the opposite is true.

Instead of catching the big breath, take small, several breaths and try to imitate normal breathing, nice and slow. You may need to do that a dozen times or more and the trick is that after you do that a few times, your brain will shift attention to other stuff and you will forget your problem, at least for a while.

Anyway, good luck, slow down, pray more, eat less and don't pass it to your kids!!
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Avatar universal
Okay I feel like when I breath in I cant breath in all the way if you know what I mean it's been a week already i have no pain nothing just that then my throat kinda got like dry it's WIERD does anyone know what it can be or something by the way I'm just 13 so it ***** someone please answer if you know what it can be please??
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Avatar universal
I am almost 43 yrs old.  Believe it or not, when I was a young child, my mom took me to the Dr, because I was having this problem, and the dr's diagnosed me with being allergic to fertilizers....turns out, that is not the case...it is actually anxiety,and believe it or not, young children can suffer from it as well, depending on their surroundings.  I also found, as I am older, speaking to a therapist, that this is a LEARNED habbit.  My mom is a worry-wart...hense, I worry all the time about everything, which has brought this on again, and I am taking Lexapro for the anxiety.  Its only 10mg, which is a very low dose, but since it has creeped up on my again, and the meds are not working, I am going to have to up the dose, but in the mean time I am trying to see if anyone out there has any all natural/organic remedies, they know worked to help them calm their anxiety.  
Ladybug920, I would sit down and just casually talk to your son, about school..firends he plays with...look at his home situation, does he have siblings, do they get along well...all these things can trigger anxiety in a child, and we can be oblivious to it.  I hope your son will overcome this quickly.  Good Luck.
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Avatar universal
I am 33 years old and dealt with this a VERY long time, I don't know if I want to cry or laugh at knowing others are dealing with this! It is worse in the evening and at night for me and sometimes it is almost not noticeable. I have been like this for at least a week this time though and it drives me nuts. I feel like I can't get a deep enough breath so when I attempt one and it doesn't 'go through' (you guys know well what I am talking about!) I try again and then again and again.. by this time I have exhausted my attempts and  have to just sit and wait for the "good yawn" to come. I have done it alot in front of my doctors but it doesnt seem to concern them too much. But I do suffer from generalized anziety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. My OCD manifests itself in different ways, usually it is about health for me but it can also be religious, and that is scary too! Thoughts go over and over in my head, and I can't stop it no matter how hard I try. I HATE MEDICINE, so I do not want to take the Klonopin or Celexa that has recently been prescribed but I feel like I am going crazy sometimes. I am a Christian and I know that God is with me always and to be perfectly honest, that is the only thing I can hold onto at times where I feel like just screaming at the top of my lungs. I have two young sons and I dont want them to pick up on my anxiety and hopefully up to this point they havent but my oldest son (almost 9) takes the same deep breaths just like I do and tells me sometimes he feels like he cant breathe good. Also, if you sit anything on his chest (anything, even like a remote or something that isn't heavy at all) he starts feeling like he can't breathe or if I hold him tightly when I hug him, he gets that breathless feeling. I believe him because I am the same way but is it because he has seen me do it or because he is legitimately breathless? We have both been checked by docs, but all they told my son was that he had reactive airway, and I feel that was only because he was in the E.R. and they felt like they had to say something! I dont know, I just know that I am feeling frustrated..oh, and does anyone else feel even more breathless if they watch something on T.V. or hear a story about someone not being able to breathe? My son and I both do this, I was just wondering if anyone else does it? Anyway, my thoughts and prayers are with you all and I hope you guys can get relief in the very near future..God Bless...
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Avatar universal
Like everyone else I have having the same problems. I am a 25 year old male, not overweight, never smoked, no drugs, very regular exercise. Mine started about 6 months ago lasting only a few hours, then came back about once a month for a few hours for the next few months. Then randomly it came back and stayed for days leading to a panic attack and a trip to the ER. All of this was definitely due to anxiety as I do suffer from anxiety and this definitely contributed to the breathing trouble. After a week of anxiety meds I was back to normal. Unfortunately after 2 months it came back and has stayed for a month now :/.

Although I have not got this to go away this time I have found ways to make it very manageable. First off was retraining myself to breath, slow deep breaths through the stomach not the chest. This helped tremendously and got rid of all my chest pain and lessened the urge to gasp for air. Adding breathing exercises has also helped. I do have moderately low TSH but not low enough to take synthetic hormone replacement. Instead I am taking a 'natural' supplement aimed at supporting thyroid function. This has also seemed to help tremendously.

At this point, I think this could very well be a 'tic' that my body likes to feel satisfied since I have been doing it for over a month now. I'm fairly sure I can overcome this 'tic' but will require hard work and perseverance, as any habit takes to break. I find I can go a good while without having the urges if I am very focused on other things taking my mind off of it and changing my attitude toward the situation in general.

I am going to start a gluten-free diet as it certainly can't hurt and will lead to a healthier lifestyle anyway. I eat pretty clean but all the processed crap we are exposed to cannot be good anyway.

It's very comforting to know I'm not the only one and there are other people working toward a cure. I'll check back with status updates and good luck to everyone else and God bless!
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180749 tn?1443595232
Get fresh air into the lungs by this method, by first expelling the stale air in the lungs. Do it and then take some deep breaths.Let me know your progress.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Kapalbhati pranayam -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 5 to 15 minutes twice a day. Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.
May 17, 2011
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Avatar universal
This has been an occasional problem for me for about 10 years. I take Claritin-D for dust and pollen allergies but am otherwise healthy. I'm a 38-year-old male, I exercise almost daily, eat well, don't smoke. After thinking for years the shortness of breath and yawning was a by product of my allergies, I've had second thoughts. The episodes where I am short of breath and constantly yawning seem to correlate to stressful periods. I've also noticed it can crop up in poorly ventilated areas or windowless rooms - weird, huh? One particularly bad episode came during a business interview in a windowless, poorly ventilated office. I'm surprised I didn't faint.

Laying on my stomach, quiet time, reading and stretching all seem to help, but none are surefire. I will try the salt trick next time I have an episode.

Good luck to everyone!
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Avatar universal
Hey I have this problem too and it gets scary sometimes. I am tending to think it is diet as well. I had done a juice fast last year, 10 days, My back and neck stopped hurting and my breathing was beautiful free and easy.
One thing that especially worked I noticed was apple & ginger, a little pungent for some, but worth the temporary unpleasantness. The other thing is that a week ago my wife used cracked wheat in a recipe (like a handfull) and 2 days later I had blistered hands and feet. Telltale signs of a gluten alergy...Today my breathing was horrible. So I remembered the Ginger and apple and broke out the juicer ...I know it will help., Try a couple glasses a day for 2 or 3 days and I think you will notice a remarkable difference. Also WHAT IS UP us like 1/2 the population allergictic the food we have been eating? Maybe its time to start banding together people?
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180749 tn?1443595232
To help with your breathing problem, look at my post of Mar 13, 2010 and do the kapalbhati for about 30 times, then anulom vilom a few times. Come back to say how you feel after trying pranayam. You can do all the pranayam and feel the difference.
As you are active, you will have instant benefit of pranayam.
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Avatar universal
I cannot believe what I have read and I am so relieved.  I have been having the same symptoms for a few months; I am fit, exercise often and actually have no problem getting through a high impact class, but on a daily basis I feel like someone is sitting on my chest and my throat feels tight and I constantly have to actively take deep breaths or force yawns to get enough air into my lungs and I often feel like i have a constant stitch in my chest.  It has got to a point where I have considered going to the doctors, which for me is unheard of, as I beginning to suspect there may be something really wrong, but from what I have read seems rather pointless as the doctors don't seem to know, I may make an appointment and see they can throw any light on it and I shall let everyone know what answers I get if anything different from what already posted.
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Avatar universal
i just took diary out of my diet and it has helped 100% although I still get it a little when I have a bit of chocolate or milky drink. If I want the food I just have to suffer with the yawning for a bit. Weird I know. I think it is deffinatly what you eat and I think it may be different for everyone. Some saying Gluten, someone else milk and onions. Maybe you should see your GP or a doctor who can tell you what your body needs and doesn't needs. I think mine might stem from my familys lactose intolerance gene. ??
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Avatar universal
I also have been having the issue with difficulty breathing--feel like sometimes I cannot quite get satisfied in terms of having enough air in my system, and yawning, where I cannot quite complete a yawn. Or when I can complete a yawn, then I feel compelled to yawn a lot, because I feel starved for air. I tried the salt thing, and that did seem to help. I heard something about artificial sweeteners that made me think to try cutting them out of my diet -- aspartame/equal/sweet and low/diet sodas, etc. I did this (by cutting out diet sodas and using sugar in my tea/coffee instead of equal) and after a few days, the intensity of my breathing/yawning problems decreased, and after about a week, they had more or less disappeared. I tried having a diet soda yesterday, after about a week of no problems, and now the problem is back, although not too bad. Anyway, I'm about 70% convinced that artificial sweeteners may be contributing to this, at least for me, so hopefully this post might help some of you to get some relief as well. All the best and God bless!
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Avatar universal
Hello,
I've had this for about 25 years and I haven't died so take that on board. I have done a test with food allergy and there does seem to be a link. My problem is milk and onions.
This has not cured me though. The last peice of the puzzle I would suggest is the anxiousness. Most people who get this are stressed people.
That is line I'm about to take now so we'll see.
I think Species48 could be on to something here.

Cheers Jerry
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Avatar universal
Glad to hear that you know what's wrong with your daughter! But the doctor should have informed you that Celiac Disease/Gluten Intolerance is INHERITED! So, most likely you're the one who past it on. As far as being lethargic and tired (and more)... you're right about having low iron.. you will with gluten intolerance... Your intestines can't break it down properly or get it to where you need it most... the symptoms will get worse... the sleep apnea goes hand and hand with this stuff...
Did the doctor put you on anything? Or did he/she just have you change your diet? If not, send me a message,... I can tell you a book to get, or just let you know what is naturally prescribed by a nutritionist.
Please remember, 1 out of 3 people have gluten sensitivity and don't know it, and Celiac disease/gluten intolerance is the most misdiagnosed problem.
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Avatar universal
This is part of the message i sent to my doctor before i figured it out because my daugther has had diarreah for 2 years and she is only 2 i just brought her to a naturopath he figured it was a gluten allergy i went on the diet with her and in 5 days i started sleeping through the night again, previous to this i even got oximetry testing done and all it was is a gluten allergy:
I felt after I spoke with her that there was nothing on my chart, meaning no serious inquiry about getting me some help. I hope I am wrong and just panicking because I am still so tired, difficulty concentrating until I pop caffeine. I have been on the iron pills for the last three months, they seem to make a bit if difference, but not much and not enough. The only things that help keep me awake at work every day are caffeine pills, nibbling constantly and coffee.

This is not helping me it is getting worse, now I am getting more chest pains. This scares me because not only does loud sleep disturbing snoring run in my family, so does heart disease, hyper tension and diabetes. I have a young baby who only has me; her father is not interested in caring for her even if I die. That is not causing depression for me I am happy with my new partner,  I just feel like I am barley treading water (lethargic); I really need to get help before I die on her. I am starting to feel hopeless from time to time that I am ever going to get a phone call to get into a sleep centre.
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Avatar universal
I had a chest xray, EKG, O2 percentage, ultrasound on my thyroid, a full thryriod panel bloodwork done, and complete blood panel done. NOTHING! Nothing was wrong!!!!
But with Gluten Intolerance / Celiac disease...... It wreaks havoc on the small intestines causing them to swell ( among other things) and applies pressure on the diaghram!!!
That's why its so hard to catch that good yawn!... This problem goes more undiagnosed or misdiagnosed than cancer! And it has such a simple treatment! NO MEDS! lol... it's just changing what you eat... you can see a difference and FEEL a difference within the first day!!!! And it will just keep on getting better!  My suggestion if you're unsure... go to the bookstore or library and find " The Gluten Connection".... it will explain EVERYTHING.  ( some of the other books do not cover enough of the symptoms, and the reasoning, but just go straight to the diet part of eating)
ALL your symptoms will go COMPLETELY away....
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Avatar universal
To clear out medical related causes, run a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which could cause this shortness of breath. It is unlikely, but still probable.

The most reasonable diagnosis, is GAD (general anxiety disorder). That is, you are somatizing. That means that psychological stress factors and anxiety are causing you to hyperventilate (which you describe as the inability to take deep breaths, and the incessant urge to keep yawning). You think you are out of breath, and that you're nearly suffocating, and that only adds to the problem, and actually keeps you from attaining that "deep" fulfilling breath.

The usual medication would be an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication, like Deanxit. Deanxit is a mild antidepressant with Flupentixol and Melitracen, which induce a feeling of relaxation, acting on relaxing your nerves, and almost completely eradicating the problem you have. You will need a prescription though, I'm almost sure of that. Don't take anything more serious, like serotonin reuptake inhibitors, because those can be addictive, and are really over the top for such an issue.

I know this because I'm studying such things, and I actually had/have this problem, and it almost completely goes away when I take this medication. Trust me, this is it. Try convincing your physician with this so he'd prescribe the medication. If he doesn't, and doesn't agree with what I'm telling you, then he's a *******. A really renowned physician diagnosed me, and properly treated me.
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