Shallow Breathing

[Otto11]

Hello all

I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced episodes of really shallow breathing. It happened to me about a month ago when I was in bed. I felt like I was hardly breathing & felt quite scared by it so much that I woke my hubby to tell him I loved him in case something happened in the night. Of course it didn't just me being over anxious I presume. Then last week it happened again. I was in the back of the car & found myself suddenly nodding off but was aware of my hubby & daughter talking in the distance. We arrived home & I was very slow to get out of the car & felt so not with it I immediately went to lie down. I realised it was like the previous episode a few weeks earlier & that I felt as though I was hardly breathing again. Hubby has a BP machine so he took it & it was 95/63 & pulse 53. I went to bed & was ok the following day. Its just un nerved me a bit as never had this before. Has anyone else had this? Am I being over anxious?

[Troilus]

Have you been to the doctor Otto. I’m no expert but I would say your blood pressure (top reading) and pulse rate are too low. Worth getting checked by a medical professional.

[Otto11 in reply to Troilus]

I havnt been to the GP as it’s pretty impossible to get a GP appointment at our surgery. I’m still waiting for a call back from 27th October for a swollen knee. I know they are low but ok the rest of the time. I’ve been seen in Endocrine & had 2 dose increases in Thyroxine & wonder if it could be that. Perhaps I should post there. Just unsure. Thanks.

[Alberta56 in reply to Otto11]

Troilus is right. You need to see a doctor. Perhaps phoning 111 would help. Sometimes they will get on to a surgery on a patient's behalf and tell them you need to be seen. This needs checking out.

[Otto11 in reply to Alberta56]

Thanks. Maybe I will send a message to our practise but our current call back time is 14 weeks. Really unsure what to do tbh.

[Izb1]

Have to agree with the others about your blood pressure being too low. If you ring your surgery before 8am you can ask to speak with the doctor, if not then 111 x

[Timberman]

Definitely think you should see you GP as a matter of urgency; try the 111 route if the surgery is unhelpful (they all are these days since most are owned by private companies!) . You symptoms might suggest narcolepsy which can be treated. Be careful taking your own blood pressure without guidance on fitting the cuff correctly. Wrong readings can be alarming and dangerous.

[Otto11 in reply to Timberman]

Thank you. I will look into this. I also have Epilepsy so possibly a connection with that too. I’m seeing my nurse in April but could call her.

[Timberman in reply to Otto11]

I would also take a long read of the notes with your epilepsy medication - it may be an unavoidable side effect?

[Otto11 in reply to Timberman]

Thank you so much. I’ve just looked up Narcolepsy & scared myself. I really can’t cope with anything else right now 🙁 I will look at my meds info x

[Patk1 in reply to Otto11]

U should speak to dr

[Lupino]

Hello Otto,

You’ve received good advice. Just wondered if you kept a record of your pulse, as regularly below 60 should be checked by GP? 🤗x

[Otto11 in reply to Lupino]

Thanks. It used to always be around 60 but I have hypothyroidism & was under medicated for a long time. Now my dose has been increased my pulse is generally 74 ish. I did say to hubby last night I should check it daily for a few weeks. It’s just how I felt that was worrying me. Almost like I had been drugged & was about to collapse. X

[Ergendl]

I've had very shallow breathing in the past. I also had episodes where it took an age to get round to breathing back in after I had breathed out. That was shortly before I was diagnosed with COPD.

Still get shallow breathing at times now. It is usually when I am very relaxed and my body is doing very little.

So do get your shallow breathing checked out, as others have said, but it may well not be anything to worry about.

[Otto11 in reply to Ergendl]

Thank you sorry for late response I have been in hospital for surgery. x

[Ergendl in reply to Otto11]

Glad that you are able to come on here and check your replies again. Wishing you all the best, Otto.

[Otto11 in reply to Ergendl]

🙏🏻 x

[Otto11]

Thank you so much. This gives me a bit more reassurance as I’m a bit worried not experiencing it before. I have awful fatigue still getting over Covid so am exhausted a lot of the time. It may be part of that. I don’t think it’s worth the stress of trying to contact my GP so am going to wait till I hear back from my Respiratory team as I had another Lung function test in December. I will try to speak to them about it. Thanks again x