Anyone ever feel like one lung isn't filling all the way

[misskittie]

I've had this problem for a few days now with chest pain on my right side. I freaked about it this morning and went to e.r. Where they did ultrasound and ECG of my heart and xray of my lungs and everything turned up normal but it's driving me insane right now. Maybe I'm just so tired at this point I'm being more sensitive to it but just looking for reassurance I guess that I'm not going crazy everything is fine.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, I've been having this for years with my anxiety. It worried me at first because I have asthma too, although not having HA meant I could deal with it without the panic.

What I have found it that mine is muscular tension. I am tensing in that area and more to the right hand side. My diaphragm is trying to move against this tension and that causes this feeling on the right side.

You tend to here anxiety sufferers needing to take a big breath sometimes. That can come from this too.

[misskittie]

Thanks Terry, that's what I was thinking as well but sometimes it can be hard to talk myself down.

[crazymum25]

Trapped wind get it all time n chest pain back pain and arm spasms

[misskittie]

Thanks CrazyMum25, the pain was pretty much better this morning when I got up and has been getting better all day long so yay! Left with a little residual headache and dizziness but I figure that's just tiredness from all the adrenaline I burned yesterday.

[percythetrain]

Hey everyone, I do have this issue to the point where I'm worried my diaphragm may be paralyzed. It just becomes so bad I end up curled up on the floor sometimes feeling like I can't move it enough or that it's not working properly. It's a terrible thing. I wonder if muscle relaxants would be able to help with this symptom. I'm still half tempted to have a study on my diaphragm to make sure it's not really somewhat paralyzed :-/

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hey everyone, I do have this issue to the point where I'm worried my diaphragm may be paralyzed. It just becomes so bad I end up curled up on the floor sometimes feeling like I can't move it enough or that it's not working properly. It's a terrible thing. I wonder if muscle relaxants would be able to help with this symptom. I'm still half tempted to have a study on my diaphragm to make sure it's not really somewhat paralyzed :-/

If it happening to that extent I would suggest talking to a GP to rule out possible problems or even breathing conditions.

Muscle relaxants are a possibility but so are the exercises that you can learn in such as CBT.

Have you tried Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)? This can teach you how to tense & untense properly so that you can control these symptoms better. It's been around since the 1920's and therapists still hand out the worksheets today, like mine did. There are worksheets online for it, I can post one if needed but I'm not on this forum much so PM if you want to.

There is always the newer version of that, Applied Relaxation, which takes it to a new level by training you to bring it on faster & faster and in trigger events. This is seen as an alternate of the same level as CBT in the UK, according to NICE, and it does incorporate some elements of CBT as well as being able to combine it further if needed.

[percythetrain]

Hi Terry! Thanks for the suggestion. I will find out about that. I never heard about PMR before. I tried CBT before for a short time and found it helped a bit but stopped going because I had no ride and it was a little far away.

I did have a heart and lung workup and that was okay so I'm thinking it's either anxiety or some type of muscleskeletal issue that's causing my muscles to tense up. I do want to rule out a phrenic nerve issue because I read it could affect the diaphragm and I have spine and cervical problems. It's hard to say sometimes how severe my issues really are because whenever I have a sensation my OCD kicks in and I will not focus on anything else until I panic LOL

Will be looking for a therapist this week and will ask about PMR, it just seems like most therapists near me are the psychoanalysis type and I'm really not sure how helpful that technique for issues like ours. I'd say that it is not but maybe I'm just being ignorant :D