Sorry to post so much; can barely breath

[Orange Lightning]

It'll be a while before any doctor can see me, so I really need your help until then. My symptoms just keep changing constantly, mostly since stopping the Mirtazapine I was on just 2 weeks ago. I've never had what I currently have before, and to be frank it scares me to no end. Basically I feel like something is clogging up my throat. A glue-like texture of sorts, which makes me short of breath, prevents me from taking a deep breath and puts pressure on my head and chest.

What really gets to me is that my digestive symptoms have beek decreasing of late - less burning throat, butping, nausea - and I have less post-nasal drip causing less throat clearing. Unless I force myself tp clear my throat though, I can barely breath. The symptoms only fade a little when I sit down, and all but vanish when I'm asleep. Gaviscon Advance makes it worse - it gets stuck too! Almost no issues with swallowing by the way, and it gets worse with excercise.

Sadly all my efforts to Google an answer say "LPR" which only scares me even more, as it is uncontrollable and incurable. I thought I'd have these kinds of problems when I had MORE mucus in my throat, so why are they only appearing now? Any help you can offer to calm me down would be greatly appreciated.

[Tanner40]

Orange Lightening, you are still breathing. Breathing is an automatic reflex. You will not stop breathing for no reason at all. The important thing to thing about is not your breathing but your reactions and fears surrounding the breathing. What is it you're thinking and why does this frighten you so badly?
Try distracting yourself with something that you enjoy to get your mind off of yourself, if only for 10 minutes. Changing the way we think about these situations is extremely important.

[TooMuchToLiveFor]

(Taken from "Symptoms" at the top left of this page).)

Whilst it is true that there are many more anxiety sufferers thinking they have a physical illness than ill people who think they may have anxiety, it is prudent and we strongly advise you to see your doctor to discuss your symptoms and get checked over.
So if you have not seen a doctor as yet, please make an appointment soon. If you see your doctor and are diagnosed with anxiety/panic then we can help you overcome these symptoms, this disorder and regain your quality of life.
The symptoms of a Panic attack are very physical and real - they are not imagined in your mind.
BUT these symptoms are not life-threatening however much you may think they are; and you will not die or even be maimed from them - despite how awful you may feel at the time. They do pass. Keep reminding yourself of these facts as they will aid in your recovery.
I'll take the symptoms one at a time and you will learn and understand what happens throughout your body that causes you to feel the way you do during anxiety/panic attacks.
The Sympathetic Nervous system kicks in. This is an involuntary system so once your body has decided to put this into action there is nothing you can do except go with it and calm yourself as fast as possible thus telling your body all is now well and it can stop the response thus limiting the length and severity of the response.
It all starts in the Adrenal glands. The adrenal glands not surprisingly secrete adrenaline - which stimulates the heart rate and the breathing rate. It also secretes noradrenaline , which helps maintain constant blood pressure, which may contribute to why we feel a bit dizzy whilst it finds a balance. The adrenals also release Cortisol, this affects the release of glucose from the liver to give us the energy to flee and why you feel so exhausted at the end of an attack and it is so vital to replace nutrients.
This in turn affects parts of us …

Hyperventilation:

Hyperventilation means over-breathing which is caused by the sufferer breathing faster then needed. This may be apparent by feeling very short of breath or you may not be aware of it at all.
In this way the body's balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen is disturbed.
Hyperventilation can lead to Panic because you start to breathe quicker and shallowly and this results in you breathing out more carbon dioxide than the body produces, thus keeping the carbon dioxide level in the blood stream too low.
Without enough carbon dioxide to maintain the acid/base balance of the body, the blood becomes too alkaline, a condition known as "blood alkalosis." Alkalosis causes the arteries to constrict, with the result that blood flow is restricted, especially to the brain. Although the blood contains plenty of oxygen, alkalosis also prevents the essential transfer of oxygen from the blood to the brain, muscles, and organs, as has been frequently verified in panic attack victims who have gone to the emergency room. This is known as the "Bohr Effect" and has long been recognized by those who study hyperventilation.
Under these circumstances, the oxygen available to the brain is reduced drastically. At first your vision begins to blur. The typical sufferer reports feeling dizzy, tense, anxious, jittery, and nervous. The sufferer often feels like crying, and feels weak and confused. Starved for oxygen, the sufferer feels as if they are suffocating.
As the condition worsens, the brain gets more confused and sends the wrong messages. One wrong message sent is the need to breathe even more deeply, which worsens the problem.
The heart is pounding by now, increasing (or lowering) blood pressure. Pupils dilate, parts of the face, hands, and feet become cold or numb, the hands tremble, and the sufferer sweats. Chest pain may be present. This is usually related to chest breathing and muscle spasms in the chest wall, but in some cases may be actual heart pain.
Another symptom directly resulting from this is tingling in fingers and toes. A sure sign of hyperventilation. The numbness is a symptom that its hard to get used to , why 3 fingers and not the whole hand or just the right side and not the left etc. This often leads people to self diagnosing strokes and fits whereas this is just hyperventilation and extremely easy to correct.
Hyperventilation is not a serious medical condition as the body will automatically readjust when you let it. However, the sensations are extremely unpleasant and frightening. In many cases the sufferer has lost the ability to control their breathing correctly and this can be remedied by re-learning a correct method of breathing , from the abdomen and longer the out breath (count of 11) than the in one (on count of 7) and as slow as you can make it.
8 breaths a minute is adequate for healthy adults at rest.
If you find that you cannot control your breathing then breathe into a paper bag or cup your hands over your mouth and breathe through them , as if it's really cold out , it does work and only takes a couple of minutes to take effect! Friends and family can help you by counting in and out for you.
Many articles on panic will tell you that although you may feel dizzy you will not faint. That's mostly true but in reality a very few people who cannot control the hyperventilation may faint which is the body's way of taking back control so it can redress the o2- co2 balance. The good news is that if you've not fainted by the time you read this it's most very likely that you will not do so. If this is going to happen, it happens on the first panic attack. If you have not fainted to date you will not start to do so - especially now you know what to do.[/I]

---------- Post added at 10:43 ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 ----------

Throat tightening/Choking/Swallowing problems

What you feel:

Often one of the first symptoms of anxiety. People complain of feeling as though they will choke or being strangled. In reality its not nearly so dramatic - the muscles in the throat contract and salivary glands produce thick mucus leading to a feeling of restriction around the throat, it can produce a feeling that you are having difficulty swallowing or breathing. In fact you are not having difficulty, it just feels as though you are. You also get a dry mouth and it can feel like you cannot drink but you can.
You feel as though there is something stuck in your throat or sometimes feel there is a lump in your throat. Other times you may feel that you can barely swallow or that there is a tightness in the throat, or that you have to really force yourself to swallow. Sometimes this feeling can lead you to think that you may suffocate or get something stuck in your throat.
What causes this:

When in danger, stress biology produces a tightening in the throat muscles which produces the choking or 'something stuck in the throat' feeling. When in a nervous or stressful situation, many people will experience this feeling. It is often referred to as 'a lump on your throat'.
There is minimal danger of choking or suffocating under normal conditions, however, some people are very sensitive to things in their throat and therefore caution should always be observed when eating. Chewing food thoroughly andslowly will prevent inadvertently swallowing something that may provoke someone to gag. This symptom can come and go, and may seem to intensify if one becomes focused on it.

[Orange Lightning]

Thank you for the replies; I'm afraid things have gotten 10 times worse, and nothing helps. I have now acquired head/ear pressure and even more shortness of breath in my symptoms, and mucus really is going down my throat now. I cannot breath a deep breath, the mucus stops me before I can finish. I've tried steam inhalation, hot showers, hot drinks, extra water, vapour rubs, decongestants, antiacids, taking my mind off it. It continues to worsen. What should I do? I can't see a doctor for at least 3 weeks, the waiting lists here are ludicrous.

No allergies history or new allergies. No asthma unless LP-freaking-R is causing it, and no symptoms of a cold or otherwise. It doesn't come and go (constant, all day) and it doesn't make me get a dry mouth, gagging or any hyperventilation symptoms. Trust me, I know what those feel like. I even tried having a laugh with some friends, and kept stopping to try and breath every so often. LPR or not, this is a nightmare. I want to be free of illness, no symptoms whatsoever like everyone else around me ;(

This probably has nothing to do with stopping my Mirtazapine, right? :(

[paula78]

Aww I feel for you I really do but plz if you have a garden go an take a few moments outside and deep breathe through your nose and down from your stomach and hold and out through the mouth, sit and tell yourself that your going to allow this anxiety/panic to do its worst within 20 seconds an then your going to carry on with your routine as normal for eg make a drink or wash up, an see if you feel any different someone told me to do this and sometimes it works to calm you if not keep repeating this and soon I'm sure your symptoms should relieve, keep in touch its all about the way we think I guess, I've had a bad day today and am going to do exactly what I suggested to you in 1 min x