Constant breathlessness and tight chest

[clairee22]

Hey everyone, I really appreciate if I could have some advice regarding some syptoms I been experiencing on and off for the past year. My health anxiety became non existent in 2014 and reappeared April 2015 where I was suffering with post-natal anxiety and depression and was on anti-depressants for 6 months. I have greatly improved since then however in still not right in terms of my anxiety.

I have been experiencing constant breathlesses and a tight chest mainly in the day and it get worse when I'm eating though I also suffer with a phobia of choking on food in which I can't eat alone in fear of choking to death :( when I finish eating I feel very breathless and freak myself out. Though when I get in a panic my heart rate is still low around 55-70 bpm. So in conjunction with the breathing problems I also worry about my heart if it's not working properly as I also get dizzy and feel faint on and off through the day also.

At night my anxiety is generally better however I have noticed in the night I wake up breathless and with pains in the middle of chest(under the breastbone) so I'm unsure whether it's also digestive.

I've been to doctors a few times but when I mention anxiety may be causing these symptoms that what they put it down to however they do not listen or check my chest and I haven't had a ecg or chest X-ray in years l. So now I feel I'm being blacklisted as I've suffered with health anxiety since I was 16 and now 27. I don't know what to do :( I work and have a partner and three children and need to be strong for them all but I'm so scared of my health. Please help :( any advice would be most appreciated

[randomforeigner]

And it's not asthma? Food allergies? Have you tested your breathing capacity at the hospital?

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

[dorabella]

From what you have described, it sounds to me as if the constant anxiety that you experience, particularly with regard to eating, is causing you to remain physically tense. If you are tensing like this constantly then it can have an effect on your ribcage - and cause discomfort in the central chest area where you are focusing all this tension and anxiety.

Add to that the fact that constant anxiety, and probably hyperventilation and panic around the time that you actually eat can cause digestive upsets, fill you up with gas and even cause stomach acid, I'm not surprised that are feeling like this. I'm sure a lot of us on this forum have done the same to ourselves in prolonged periods of constant anxiety. I remember very well the episodes of chest discomfort when I first was in your state, and found it very hard to be convinced by the doctor who after examination said it was muscular and caused by anxiety and physical tension.

You may have periods of low blood pressure - which can be caused by panic and anxiety - although I have read that this is not uncommon in anxiety sufferers. The faintness that you feel, whilst it can be sometimes attributable to low BP,can just as easily be the result of your body saying that it has had enough of the heightened prolonged anxiety and is 'pushing for a faint' as Claire Weeks describes in her books on anxiety. I'm sure if after several visits to the doctor with the same complaint they have not seen the need to subject you to further investigation and procedures, then you should take it on face value.

[little kyle]

Best thing to do I would say would be demand a lung function test.

I'm not saying it could be a lung condition.

But it would give you peace of mind that everything is fine

Hope I have help in some way

[clairee22]

Hello everybody, thankyou so much for the replies. I don't think I have asthma anymore as I grew out of it. However I did go through a period in 2013 thinking I did have asthma and was given seratide inhaler and salbutamol if I needed it. Though being on the medication did not make a difference for about a year so I weaned myself off the seratide. I also had a lung function test around this time and there was no improvement with the salbutamol during the test.

The description from Claire Weekes makes alot of sense I will have to check out her books. I think your right about the constant anxiety all day as food is such a big part of my life.

In terms of allergies, I am allergic to penicillin and I think raw tomatoes though I don't know if its just me thinking it is as my mouth get's tingly with them but that could be due to the acidity. I work with penicillin in my job and will be going to specialist hospital to check whether if still allergic to it. Though I still had these symptoms before I qualified!?

Thankyou for all the support :) Which Clare Weekes book was it you got that information by the way?

[Lily83]

Hi Claire. I posted this in the general anxiety section. I tried it after suffering from chest tightness and breathless! I hope it works for you. Let me know how it goes!

By the way, you can get an ECG, Chest-X Ray, Lung Function Test, and general bloods tests at the A&E! Just request it!

But you need to request for a thyroid blood test with your GP. All this needs to be ruled out before they tell you it's anxiety. Also ask to be tested for GERD. Sometimes GERD can cause these symptoms.

I've also heard a deficiency in vitamin B12 and vitamin D can cause these symptoms.


I was talking with a neighbour about my chest tightness coming for a few days then disappearing for a few days then coming back and so on. She told me that it's because I'm tensing up my diaphragm.

What I needed to do was just let go of my chest breathing and not suck in my gut, just let it hang loose! As soon as I did that, my chest tightness went away!!! I had no idea that was tensing my muscles all the time!

STAND UP. (DON'T WEAR A BRA OR TIGHT CLOTHES WHEN DOING THIS EXERCISE). GO TO A PEACEFUL PLACE IN YOUR HOME. (I DID THIS IN THE BATHROOM). YOU NEED TO RELAX YOUR DIAPHRAGM AND LET GO! BREATHE IT ALL OUT AND RELAX YOUR GUT! THEN THE CHEST TIGHTNESS GOES AWAY.

I hope this advice helps others who complain of chest tightness and have already ruled out any health issues with an ECG, Lung X-ray, and blood tests including Thyroid and Anaemia.