Chest tightness/ feeling can't catch breath

Hello im 17 years old and have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. For the past 4 years since i was 13 i have had this constant tight feeling in my chest. Im on gabapentin and seroquel. When i first started taking the gabapentin it helped with the feeling of the tight chest but it soon started to wear off. I also have to feel like i have to yawn to catch my breath or i feel like i cant breathe. But once i yawn the feeling comes right back. I have had chest x rays, blood work, and mris. They have all come back normal. Does anyone know what i can do ? my doctors say its just anxiety but im not anxious about anything. I also take magniusm because i read online it can help. i also read vitamin b12 might help but im not sure? also do you know if anything else could be causing this. Its ruining my life, feeling like i can never breathe. Like even just watching tv i feel i cant brethe. thank you

[Indigojoe]

Hi

I am sure you have your reasons as to why you feel this way. For many of us this is a normal symptom of anxiety.

I say SYMPTOM because it is not the problem.

Whatever is bothering you from when you were 13, is obviously still bothering you.

Now is a very good time for you to find a good ( or different ), adolescent therapist, social worker, or school psychologist to talk to about what is at the bottom of this.

You may be just the personality to do an OUTWARD BOUND type program, instead.

Get the core belief solved and all of the symptoms ( that never mean anything anyway) just slip away.

[Hidden in reply to Indigojoe]

Hi Thank you so much for responding!! I will definitely seek out peoples help and i have a psychiatrist and doctor appointment in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully all turns out well. Thanks again!

[Anxietyhappens]

Hello Anxietyhelp

I think you should talk to your parents. Gabapentin is a neurological pain drug, and is not approved for use in children. Talk with your parents.Do not stop taking your medication without the help of a Doctor, because you can have sever dangerous side effects if you suddenly stop taking them.

This is for your parents

A competent doctor would never prescribe these types of medications to a child. They may be making your son or daughter feel worse. If you absolutely feel your child needs medication there are safer medications out there that are approved for use in adolescents.

[socratesanne]

Good to have doc check it out but also try to honor the body. Try just touching your heart/chest carefully to help the body know you are trying to respond. We have an autonomic nervous system that speaks to us, but we often do not know how to respond.

There is an exercise I do periodically and should do each day. It is by Rodney Rosenberg. He says to lace your fingers together under your skull in the morning or during the day and lean back looking up to ceiling, best while lying down. With head looking up, eyes only look to the right and wait for you to sigh, yawn or swallow then look back to center, then do same with eyes only to the left for a similar response---then go about your day. If you cannot do both sides, then just try another time. No worries but this helps the nervous system. Whatever you do just enjoy the exercise whether successful or not. It does help to relax.

Also deep breaths especially out breath deep into the belly If you try too hard then worry will get in your way. Worry is not allowed, I say with humor.

I am not a doc but work a lot with trauma victims, They find it helpful. We all breath too shallow especially if worried or scared. I find just breathing out and imagine my greatest vacation spot helps calm me down as we are not used to breathing out significantly. You are young so should master this easily but once you get to the root causes will help.

If scared you might want to see a mental professional to discuss your fears and body responses to these fears. Medications can often turn off that wonderful nervous system, but this can be addressed with your docs or mental health professional.

I also encourage people just to get outside in nature can do wonders for health if dressed for the weather and sometimes pick a favorite tree and stand with back to it for support and feel the ground beneath you, absorbing the surroundings.

The writer below suggested to get help for the underlying cause and these are mainly to help you begin to make a connection with that fear you can address with a mental health provider as you get the thoughts out with the provider.

Just keep in mind there are many causes that occurred before we might have memory, so do not get worried if you cannot find them quickly as you do not know how buried they might be. That is why it needs someone who can help you find a cause rather than all the medications as they can often turn off the nervous system. They can be helpful until you work through to the cause, so keep that in mind with you parents and docs collaboration.

School can be scary but later I found it wonderful. It took a long time for me to make peace with learning and liking my inquisitive mind. The need excel should be the secondary goal. Enjoy those bits of knowledge. Never thought I would ever use physics, but found later I used it frequently when playing the piano, believe it or not.

Also one other piece of thought, since I already bored you to death. You are entering adulthood and that in itself made me shutter in terror. Makes sense you might be having more anxiety now, of course. Also you made mention of age 13 but hormones also play havoc about that time. So many avenues to consider and I like your spunk in questioning them.