Asthma or anxiety?

[Opaldragon]

It began in December 2018. Out of nowhere I couldn't breathe. I was trying to take deep breaths but felt I was not getting enough air. This was accompanied by chest pains. It's been 4 months now and I've seen several doctors who tell me it's either asthma or anxiety. I've never had asthma in my life and I'm 32.. I've had anxiety for 20 years and I think I would know if it was that. I don't feel anxious when it happens. All of a sudden I can't breathe and my chest really hurts. I've had an ECG, blood test and xray and they all came back fine.

I've has an inhaler for 3 weeks that i have to use at least 4 times a day and it gives me massive headaches and the chest pains have gotten worse.

I feel like everyone thinks I'm making this up as tests have shown there is nothing wrong but the pain is very real and very scary.

[jessiejakes]

Hi is the inhailer helping you ? Does it make your breathing easier ? If it does then it is probably asthma as asthma can start at any age I have asthma/ anxiety and sometimes is hard to now if it's the anxiety causing the breathlessness or the asthma as they are very similar at times.have you had spirometer test ? Where you breath out into a hand held device then you take your inhailer then repeat the test and if your readings go up then it shows nurse or doctor wether it's asthma as if it's asthma the inhailer openens up the airways.hope this helps .

[Opaldragon in reply to jessiejakes]

It does open up my airway but I know loads of people with asthma that don't use their inhaler as often as I do. Because I need to use it so much, it's giving me severe headaches and it does nothing about the chest pain

[Hobbes12]

Hi! I have been experiencing the same thing for the past several years. I took Paxil for 20 years and it worked great. All of a sudden it stopped working and I couldn’t breathe and it felt like someone was choking me all day every day. I did tons of tests and nothing. Decided to go off Paxil and try other meds. Tried Lexapro, Effexor and Celexa with no change. I’m on Pristiq now and I feel a little better but not great! I’m 53 and in great shape. I run a lot and it’s very uncomfortable when you can’t breathe but I do it anyway. I’m going back to my Dr today. I’m going to see if there is something else to try. I’m so frustrated!!!

[Opaldragon in reply to Hobbes12]

I'm just glad it's not only me experiencing this. Starting to think I'm going mad! Is my body playing tricks on me? Do the docs think I'm faking?

I play ice hockey and I'm a singer so I need to be able to breathe. For 32 years I've never had these problems and now it's affecting everything!

[Hobbes12 in reply to Opaldragon]

Do you take any meds?

[Opaldragon in reply to Hobbes12]

No just an inhaler at the moment. I used to take citalopram for depression but stopped about 2 years ago as it was making me really ill

[Ragdoll15]

It sounds like anxiety. I have had this happen to me. I believe it's through over breathing which can happen when we suffer with anxiety. When this happens try to relax and take several deep breaths and breath out slowly. Do you think the pain could be caused by tightening your chest when this happens.

[Opaldragon in reply to Ragdoll15]

I've had anxiety for 20 years and I've gotten good at bringing myself out of an attack but this is different. ..

[Opaldragon]

My mum sent me this link healthline.com/health/gerd/...

Sounds very familiar but not one mention of GERD by a single doctor

[Hobbes12 in reply to Opaldragon]

They thought I had GERD too but a colonoscopy and endoscopy showed nothing. Worth a shot though!!

[alonso713]

I've had this air hunger symptom for two months now. Spoke to a friend who said she had it and was diagnosed with b12 deficiency. I have been eating less meat over the last few months so have tried to actively eat more b12 sources and, touch wood, it seems to be improving. Not sure if it's actually working or if I've eased some anxiety and convinced myself it's working, bit I'm much happier!

[Opaldragon in reply to alonso713]

I eat plenty of all the food groups so can't be that

[Zazzel]

This is a long shot, but there is a possibility you are out of alignment which could cause the chest pain and be putting pressure on your lungs causing the breathing issues. I recently had an episode where I had chest pain and breathing issues and my rib cage was out of alignment. My doctor is a DO and caught the problem. I’ve had several adjustments. It’s taken awhile to feel better. I think the actual breathing problems for me were a combination of the rib cage being out of alignment, the increase in allergy causing pollens this year and then when I start to think about not getting enough air in, I get anxious and I feel like I can’t get a full breathe.

My point is that it might be a combination of things that aren’t easily picked up by a regular doctor and then anxiety tops it off making it worse. Good luck. I hope you figure it out.

FYI, if you live in the US, here’s a pollen map pollen.com/map?utm_source=a...

[Opaldragon in reply to Zazzel]

Thanks for the info. I'm from the UK. Never had any allergies in my life. Diets fine, weight is fine. ..