Breathing concern that is hard to deacribe

[Nexiboi]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to ask if anyone has any helpful info about what's going on with my lungs.

I am 22, not a smoker, gym goer before the Corona, pretty much for the last 4 years, however, one morning I woke up super tired and breathless which pretty much left me in the bed for a few days because every movement was just effort and hard to breathe.

Things are better now but months after, my lungs just don't feel the same, at least in my head. I don't know if I am hyperaware of my breathing now or if I just have anxiety but I feel like I have this annoying breathing struggle that is really hard to explain.

Best way to describe it is I can go hours without thinking that it's there if I am distracted but at night, when there is little to do but sleep, it's the first thing I think of.

I have literally 0 symptoms besides what I could describe above. I am also not asthmatic.

Blood tests came back normal, and I can run and exercise maybe at 80/90% as far as I can tell. Which could be due to inactivity for the past few months or not.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

[Badbessie]

Personally I believe you have rationalised the situation yourself. You have no physical manifestations and admit to anxiety which is very understandable. I had a serious illness a few years ago and like you became very conscious of my lungs and breathing. Whilst not thinking about it there were no problems. For example my wife shouted for help upstairs which I ran up. It was 10 minutes before I realised what I had done. I can give other examples of reactions and then thinking about it later. Over a period of time I began to rationalise that physically I could do all these things it was my mind that was the problem. I would speak with your Doctor to confirm there is not a physical issue and ask for advice concerning the anxiety. I found CBT helped me.

[Nexiboi in reply to Badbessie]

Thank you for the reply. I have another doc app for some other breathing related tests just to be sure. I am usually not the type of personal that easily gets affected by stuff to that extend which is why I am finding it difficult to believe that it is indeed my mind making me go crazy.

However, sometimes, I legitimately believe that there is something wrong because I do need to catch my breath. But I presume if something is wrong, I would have felt worse because it's been 5 months since it started.

In terms of CBT, how did you enquire about it? Do you need a reference from the doc? I am new to this whole mental aspect of things.

[Badbessie in reply to Nexiboi]

Discuss it with your GP. Once all physical causes have been eliminated. You seem a very rational person. If all the tests etc are within normal limits then logically only the psychological aspects are left. I know I had some lung damage but that did not explain the problems I was having. I had every test known to eliminate causes until in the end I did realise it was me. However until all the tests are finished keep an open mind.

[Nexiboi in reply to Badbessie]

How long did it take for your condition to improve? I am away for a month and feel much better because I am a lot more distracted and I am afraid of going home because it will end up in that shitty cycle again.

[Badbessie in reply to Nexiboi]

I must apologise for taking so long to reply. I believe in honesty. If you breathing is due to anxiety it may take some time to reverse your thoughts. I used a number of distraction techniques. Instead of lying in bed thinking I listened to a book. I set little goals when exercising to slightly improve time and distance. I brought a pulse oximeter to measure pulse and oxygen levels. All of which showed normal levels and I was able to rationalise that the machine was telling me all was ok it was my mind telling me otherwise. I am not an expert your GP should be able to direct you to advice that would suit you.

[Caspiana]

Hello Nexiboi .

Honestly, I understand this completely. After my transplant I started to get palpations. It was like every beat was being literally banged out on a timpano. 🥁 The doctors ran the appropriate tests many actually, but they could find no "proof" of anything wrong except that my BNP was high. And because they could find nothing amiss in the tests, they attributed it to stress. Yet, I found it hard to believe. I continued to seeing a cardiologist for sometime. But he assured me my heart was doing fine. And funnily despite the booming, my heart rate was always normal. I think in the end I had to say to myself something is causing my heart to behave strangely. Admittedly I had a lot of stress and anxiety at the time. I made a conscious decision to change some things in my life. To avoid the sources of worry as much as I could. I also started to take time to breathe deeper, do yoga and concentrate more on myself. It has helped and most days now I don't feel it anymore except a bit before bed. But even that is improving.

I'm not sure if this is helpful or not, but if you think you can try, look carefully at your life. Are there things that you think you are handling "just fine" but I reality it's taking a toll on you? Plus we are living in extremely strange times. We think we are doing okay with the current pandemic and all the news coverage etc. But in fact it's draining and unconsciously it's quite stressful.

I hope things improve for you.

Best wishes to you.

Cas xx 👋😄

[Nexiboi in reply to Caspiana]

Thanks for your reply Cas. I don't watch any news or engage in any energy draining behaviour and I care very little about Covid and the latest news. It's all too toxic and not worth my mental health(while still protecting my self and others in best ways possible).

I feel like there are a few things in my life that could be fixed. I am too fixated on work and work and work. I hardly went outside in the UK during Corona because that's the wave right? But now that I've been in Denmark with my gf for about 3 weeks, everything has gotten much much better in my opinion, but still, I am visiting the doctors here to see what they think.

People here don't wear masks, even old people and take life as they normally should and yet, have astronomically lower cases to the UK which I don't want to justify because there are less people per square km. I think the Corona has taken a mental toll on many people and has affected them in different ways.

[Caspiana in reply to Nexiboi]

Hello Nexiboi , 😊

I think you bring able to state that you work, work and work already identifies something that is not having such a great impact on your health. Acknowledging it is the first step to feeling better. The fact that you feel better with a new environment speaks volumes too. I hope you continue to improve. Take care.

Cas 🍀

[Hidden]

Weird but I am 72 and have COPD and like over night over a month ago I became weak and having troubles breathing. Just the least bit of doing anything gets me out of breath. I have had 3 COPD flare ups and went to the Emergency each time because I could not get air into me although the oximeter says I am OK. The ER always says my heart is fine. I am now going to have a big lung test breathing in those different gases. The heart doctor (cardiologist) just began seeing me. He wants to do a heart catheter. I am scared to have this done. But I need to find out why I get so weak and breathless.

So how how are you today?

(I would not be as scared about having the cath done if I knew someone who had it done and they could tell me how it is)

[Nexiboi in reply to Hidden]

I am going to a different doctor for a 2nd opinion. I doubt I have any serious illness as I believe that my thing is mostly in my head, but those flare ups I've had have been pretty bad and I don't know why I've had them because I am young and healthy as far as I am aware so it makes no sense. I've had them twice and they usually go away in like 4 days. But basically, just getting out of bed was like I've had a sprint and I had to lock myself in a certain position which was best for my breathing.

I know me saying this probably isn't going to help but just go to the doctor and let them do their thing. They are there to help you and you shouldn't have any fear of it. I myself hate doctors, even for the smallest thing but going and doing everything with your head up is the best way to go.

[Hidden in reply to Nexiboi]

Thank you. I really have no one to encourage me or talk to me about it. I think that is my main holdup.

I have to sleep sitting up or with my head really propped up when I have a flare up. Was explained to me like the following I put into a picture....a field a tall grass (Is the lung's hair-like cilia s) waving in the wind, and then it rains really hard and fast over it (like the mucous in the lungs) and so when I lay down, the mucous floods over these hair-like cilia s and drowns me and I can't breathe.

That helped me to figure what to do and get through it........

GOOGLE SAYS:

What is the main function of the cilia?

'Motile' (or moving) cilia are found in the lungs, respiratory tract and middle ear. These cilia have a rhythmic waving or beating motion. They work, for instance, to keep the airways clear of mucus and dirt, allowing us to breathe easily and without irritation. They also help propel sperm. (That's what Google says!)

[Hidden in reply to Nexiboi]

I have some sight problems that bother me because I TRUSTED an eye doctor plus I lost $300 so I have trouble letting them do their thing, but thank you.......long story.

I JUST RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM A SITE CALLED WELVIE THROUGH MY INSURANCE WHICH HELPED TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO AND TO ASK QUESTIONS AND TO ASK ABOUT OTHER OPTIONS AND TO HELP CHECK OUT MY DOCTOR AND HIS EXPERIENCE....That all helped put me in a better frame of mind!

[Nexiboi in reply to Hidden]

You would be surprised how powerful your mind is. Probably more than you realise. It can break or make you, and trying to stay on the positive side always helps. I've been a lot more active the last few weeks and my mind has just been much better and clearer. The fog anxiety and fear can create is not spoken about enough, and it can truly make you go crazy if you let it.

Ps: always seek second opinion. If your current doctor doesn't care or is crap, there are 10 others that love their job and would go above and beyond to help. You just need to find them.