Slight breathlessness unaffected by exertion

[Wezzo]

Hi all,

I'm a 24-year old male, obese and asthmatic, but I have no other known long-term health conditions and my asthma has been well-controlled for quite a few years. I also suffer from health anxiety quite a lot. For the past few weeks I've been feeling slightly breathless (not overly) around half of the time. I can't tell if it only happens when I think about it, or if I begin to think about it when it happens.. When I'm distracted I don't tend to notice it as much. Sometimes there seems to be a slight wheeze, too, but other times there are no audible symptoms.

My peak flow is still good (700ish, my age and height indicate a reading in the 600s) and, crucially, exercise has no bearing on the breathlessness - I can walk a mile, or several flights of stairs, and my breathing is exactly the same as it was to begin with, no worse. It also hasn't been waking me up in the night or anything.

Given my history of anxiety, I do wonder if it's just all anxiety related. Unfortunately one of the ways in which my anxiety manifests itself is a fear of the doctor, so I pretty much resort to the internet to reassure/scare me (hence being here now), which is not so good.. I managed to almost convince myself I had a pleural effusion caused by kidney failure until I did a urinalysis stick which indicated no sign of protein.

Does anyone have any other suggestions of a breathing problem that doesn't get worse with exercise, other than anxiety?

[sial72]

Hi Wezzo
You made me laugh with the internet reassure/scare me :D
It sounds like anxiety to me, especially since you don't notice it when you're not thinking about it.
Other things that could cause shortness of breath without going to worst case scenarios are silent acid reflux or an allergy.
And since you are asmathic I think I would go to get checked by the doc. I know you say you are afraid of going to the doc, but I'm sure it won't be anything serious.
Let us know how you get on x

[Wezzo]

Aw, cheers for your kind words. I appreciate it. I'll keep you updated :)

[sial72]

And no more Dr. Google :winks:

[Wezzo]

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago. At the time, the problem wasn't playing up, but he said my chest sounded fine, my oxygen saturation was fine, etc. I had a slight fever (37.7C) and he said it may be some kind of sinus infection; he gave me antibiotics.

Unfortunately the problem remains. It is so sporadic; it almost always happens at rest, though, never while walking or otherwise exercising. It also seems to be accompanied by a throat-clearing cough. Dr Google (:blush:) suggests acid reflux/GERD or post-nasal drip, but Gaviscon hasn't helped, and I take Beconase and Cetirizine already.

It took so much bravery to go to the doctor once.. I hate the thought of having to go back again!