I am a 23 year old female who keeps losing breath severely and my heart rate keeps beating way too quickly. This is made worse by exercise but It can either come when i am asleep and I am not able to breath fro a long while.
I have had several tests, such as ECG, TTE and a respiratory physiology.
I had the respiratory physiology on the 3rd of December and prior to this appointment, I already had a meeting booked on the 11th of January with a respiratory physician.
At the respiratory physiology I found out my lungs are operating at 51% and a very narrow airway. The woman who conducted it (was very lovely) did state she is taking the results straight to the respiratory physician who ordered the tests so he has them the same day.
Has anyone experienced anything similar?
Thanks so much in advance.
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Narrow airways and breathlessness as you describe could be asthma. Did they give you a couple of puffs of a blue inhaler when you had your lung function tests?
Thank you, the 51% was at resting, not when I was struggling to breathe. I can only presume this drops significantly further as and when that does occur. I.e last night I was awake for a good hour unable to breath (this had woke me up).
In regards to an inhaler, no. They gave me an nebuliser and repeated the tests thereafter. They did them 4 times prior to the nebuliser and they were averaging 51% (around 1 percent either way) and after, they repeated the test again four times and it improved to 97%. However, I now need to wait until the 11th of January to discuss this with the respiratory physician and also, a treatment plan.
I really appreciate the time you have taken to respond.
I see you have not received any official diagnosis. Lung disease is so very tricky to diagnose. Like you, by the time I realised something was wrong my lung function was at thirty five percent. For some reason I just put the exhaustion and breathlessness down to being busy. I am hoping you get a diagnosis and get set up with a treatment plan very soon. Please do let us know how you are getting on.
This must be devastating, but remember this is a bad patch, it does not mean you will have a bad life.
Sorry to hear about your health problems. Are they under treatment now and are you feeling better?
You correct, I have not received any diagnosis at present. I had months of heart tests and now I have been referred to this. At present, I do not have the results of the heart ones, the woman doing the respiratory physiology gave me some of the results but that is all.
Yes i had put mine down to stress of work, uni and life in general! Being so young i figured it would just clear up but it has been nearly 2 years and is getting progressively worse. In some instances, I can barely breath at all and become very dizzy. This for me is so unusual and prior, I was on every sports team and even climbing mountains throughout the night! At the moment, I cant even walk to my local shop without losing my breath.
Thank you for your words of encouragement, I am hoping when a treatment plan is in place I will feel more positive.
Hello again. I had to have a transplant two years ago as my time was running out. But I am doing pretty well now. 😊 What test results did you get back? Please know you are not alone. This is a fantastic place for support and I for one am cheering you on. I have suffered from Rheumatoid arthritis for twenty years and that caused my lung disease Bronchiolitis obliterans, and now I fear I have inflammation in my arteries also due to RA. But life goes on and it's good to be alive. Do not be discouraged. You will adapt and thrive. Hoping we will hear more from you. xx 🌿🍀🌿
I am pleased to hear your transplant was successful and that you are doing pretty well.
I hope that you do not have inflammation in your arteries! However, I am pleased to hear you have such a positive outlook on life.
I had a ECG and transthoracic echocardiogram on my heart and i've received no results from those. Then i was invited for the Respiratory Physiology and the women who conducted it just mentioned the figures and not much else! She said I may get the results from all on the 11th of Jan.
Thank you again for taking the time to respond again xx
You must be incredibly worried but as Caspiana said, you will get a diagnosis and effective treatment but I can be frustrating.I’m asthmatic and was devastated at hearing the label but after inhalers and many years experience of dealing with my condition, I was still competing at 53 and in peak fitness. What I’m trying to say is that you will most likely be happy and well once you get past this wretched point once you get treatment plan of how to manage your situation.
Wishing you all the best and hope you get what is needed very soon.
It is great to hear that despite asthma, you were still enjoying fitness and competing at 53. How incredible! Among a few other things, it is the being outdoors and fitness that I miss the most, so I will be happy once it is all under control and I can enjoy the little things.
It is really encouraging to hear how well you are thriving and that yours is controlled from the sounds of things.
I am sure things will get better when I have a treatment plan and feeling more positive.
I know nothing of your condition but seems outrageous that you have to wait until Jan 11th for some answers. Can you conta ct the secretary of the dr/consultant dealing with you & explain that you are very anxious & really need some answers this side of Xmas. Also contact the heart people & enquire about results from your ECG etc. Good luck!
I have considered such, however, with everything going on the the world I did not wish to add more pressure to the NHS at this moment. I may follow up with the heart results as these were done a fair few months ago and see if the date of the 11th if brought forward in the next week.
You've been left in a very worrying place. As has been suggested, maybe ring the consultant's secretary. If the consultant knows how you are struggling she may prescribe inhalers to tide you over till your appointment.
I would have thought that the initial route would have been an x/.ray this may have given them a clearer picture of the problem to start with. I do hope that you get the diagnosis and treatment.
First of all, welcome to this lovely, supportive forum.
You must NOT worry about adding more pressure to the NHS. Your health is as important as anyone else’s & anyway, getting effective treatment now could save the NHS money further down the line.
There are so many different lung conditions as well as the most common, so what you desperately need is a diagnosis & treatment plan so you can start to get better.
From what you’ve said, unless you’re really happy with your hospital, I’d urge you to get a referral to one of the UK’s specialist heart & lung hospitals. These are tertiary hospitals (gp = primary care, local general hospital = secondary) where you’ll get the very best care. Eg I go to Royal Brompton in SW3. Your GP can refer you.
You’re so young, your health must be top priority so you need to be proactive (assertive if necessary). How this is handled now could be crucial for the outcome.
I’m So Sorry To Hear This I Am Thinking Of U And I Hope That You Get The Answers U Need Very Soon .. Perhaps Ring The Consultants Secretary To See If You Can Speak With Him .. Take Care Keep Safe 🖤🖤
Welcome to the forum. You are so young, you have a lot of life in front of you. As far as I'm concerned this means that you should be prioritised over old fogies like me, who have already had a fair ration of life. Don't worry about putting more pressure on the NHS.
Can I just say I am absolutely overwhelmed and grateful for each and everyone one of you who has taken the time to respond.
It is really encouraging to know the amount of support that is out there and that things really do get better.
I am going to take the advice and contact the heart consultants secretary to see if they can provide an update and so I have a little more of an idea.
Each of you of whom are struggling with your own health problems may I say I wish you all the best of luck and I hope you are all getting the treatment you need.
You’re very welcome! Please let us know how things go for you. We’re all interested in hearing members’ stories, the treatments they receive etc. It all adds to our community store of knowledge, and your experiences could help someone else x
It's excellent that sats improved to 97%! Its usually salbutamol( ventolin) in nebuliser.if it's asthma,it's great the improvement was so hugeDo u have allergies/ nose+sinus probs?
It may b worth reading up on " controlled breathing" to help u whn walk or struggling.it helps avoid panic too x
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