I can't draw a full breath - I'm scared I will stop being able to breathe

[struggleandwin]

Hello - this is my first post.

Right now I feel I can't breathe properly - I do have asthma which I thought it was for a while. However, after spending all day in A&E being tested, no asthma or lung clots were found, my blood oxygen was 100% and they said it was most likely stress related.

It feels so powerful - I can't walk anywhere or go up stairs without feeling I am going to pass out. It is like there is a barrier there I can't breathe past. I try breathing exercises from the internet but the more I think about breathing the worse it gets and I have to stop for fear I will die.

The background to this: I was in a violent and abusive marriage for 15 years. I have been out of it for three years this month, and now have a wonderful partner and two happy kids. But I think that the issues I papered over during the split (I never had any counselling afterwards) are coming out now, I did an online test for ptsd and I scored very high.

How did anyone else get through this breathing worry? It is taking over my life, and I am afraid to sleep, afraid to be awake, just so afraid my lungs or my throat will just close up and I will have to leave my family alone without their Mum/partner. Can anyone help me? I feel like I am going to go crazy.

[ankietyjoe]

This is pretty common with anxiety, and as long as you've been tested it's nothing to worry about (although very uncomfortable).

I used to suffer with it a lot, and discovered that most of the time it's simply caused by trying to breath too much. It's a mild form of hyperventilation.

It can also be caused by tense muscles, including the diaphragm.

One of the best things to do is to just sit down and try and breath more slowly through your nose. It'll feel like you're not getting enough air, but you are. Keep telling yourself it's nothing to worry about (medically confirmed) and keep breathing slowly.

Try and breath with your belly if possible, rather than your chest.

[Catherine S]

Spot on Joe, just what I was going to say. When my anxiety was at its height, some years ago now thankfully, this was the worst of all the symptoms I experienced. Like Joe said, it's usually down to tense muscles, particularly the chest wall muscles and overbreathing. It can lead very easily into a panic attack which in turn makes the breathing even more erratic.

It's not an easy one to get to grips with but if it's the result of anxiety, try not to add to it by worrying if you can help it. Keep trying the breathing exercises...find some that suit you. Try yoga breathing exercises, or perhaps ask your GP surgery if they can recommend any physio exercises aimed at the lungs. My mum has an appointment with a physio after recovering from a lung infection. It might be worth asking.

[unicorndusy]

Hi there,

I know it can be hard to believe but your breathing is anxiety related which has been confirmed by the tests you’ve had done. I myself suffer with this occasionally and almost went to the doctors about it (I was worried it was something serious) but once I’d done some breathing exercises I was able to breathe properly. I sometimes find it really hard to breathe but I know I’m okay as when I exercise my breathing is absolutely fine and normal - which shows I only have difficulty when I am thinking about it and concentrating. I’ve known a few people with breathing problems and you know it’s serious when you feel that you are breathing through a straw and have pain. I’m not saying you can’t have a serious problem if you are having your symptoms if another has them, but if something was wrong you’d be very very ill and the hospital would have picked up on it straight away. Stay positive

[struggleandwin]

I just wanted to say thank you very much to everyone who has replied - I have read every bit very carefully and it does help to know I am not alone or even unusual. I am struggling tonight with really believing it isn't harmful. I can't seem to get that in my head at all. I have tried different YouTube videos on how to breathe and it made me concenfrate on it so much I really thought my throat had closed up for a moment. Panic waves kept sweeping over me before the one before had finished.

I am now very much at the stage of panicking about panic and I think I need to take something. I came off sertraline after 10 years of use, only about 5 months ago. I had felt fine and was really proud of myself, until something I saw triggered the bad memories, so I will be seeing the doctor tomorrow to ask for meds to help me break this cycle. I think if I can take the edge off, I could make some headway with counselling, but I don't know how I would stand the wait for that without some help. I can't even eat more than a few bites at each meal, I just feel completely full all the time. I can't carry on like that for long, so time for the doctor. Just got to get through one more night somehow, then maybe something that will help.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Classic anxiety here. I've been having the same problem for a few weeks because I am now focusing daily on my breathing. Sucks, but I know it's just the anxiety. When I don't focus on it I'm fine. When I was diagnosed 17 years ago this was one of the first symptoms I ever had.

[struggleandwin]

I just wanted to give an update on how the appointment went, in case it is helpful for someone.

So I went in, after a day worse than ever - so plagued by feeling unable to breathe that I couldn't walk anywhere without feeling that was it for me. I felt zaps and the throat lump so much, and I felt like a wave of panic would wash over me before the last one had finished. I am even afraid to start crying in case it closes my throat and I suffocate. I had a terrible moment, when saying goodbye to my partner I was floored by a strong feeling I would never see him again. It was an awful day.

Once at the docs I felt worse, but went in and told her what was happening. She agreed I should go right back on sertraline, but also to get me through until it kicks in, Diazepam (Valium).

I have the valium sitting in front of me now, but I am very nervous of taking it - I am terrible at taking new medicines in case of side effects or allergy. I guess this is just a choice I have to take, take them and risk it or suffer what I know.

[Speranza]

Hi,

I was once given Valium for a shoulder problem, and I remember sitting looking at the tablet like it was going to bite me. In the end I took it, and just as I thought nothing was happening I felt as though I was floating (in a very good way).

Take it if you have been prescribed it. Stay on here if you like and post how you are doing.

Sounds as though yu have been through a lot and I notice you mention counselling - so it is obviously something that's in your mind. May I recommend you try it? We are not designed to cope with some of the awful stuff life throws at us - anxiety is a perfectly rational response.

Oh, I get the breathing thing too. After decades I am now able to talk myself through by telling myself I have never died of it! Another encouraging thing was when I took my daughter to hospital once in the middle of an asthma attack which looked pretty bad. They did her oxygen saturation and showed me the results and said, "Most of the time, even if you think there's no air getting in, there is more than enough - look at her levels."

Vicious circle. The more you worry, the more the breathing will be off kilter. Trust your body. I sometimes do the in through the nose, hoooooooold and out through the mouth. Just a few of those usually puts it right. That feeling of not having caught enough breath is really common and it will not harm you. Eventually a breath will come and make you feel full up again. (And then you will burp if you're anything like me!)

Hang in there. Glad you have a good GP. xx

[struggleandwin]

Thank you Speranza, that was a really lovely post. I am going to see how the evening goes - my children are with their Dad overnight and he picks them up in half an hour. I don't want to take the valium until they are out.of the house, I'm not really sure why! I have had to just say hang the cost and have booked an appointment with a counsellor on Friday.

I think one of the hardest things is feeling I will never be better. It seems like, even though this flare up has been maybe a week, week and a half, that i can't imagine life feeling different.

[Speranza]

It will. xx

---------- Post added at 19:22 ---------- Previous post was at 18:53 ----------

Have you taken it yet? How are you doing?

[struggleandwin]

I took it about an hour ago - I don't feel great, sleepy but not very relaxed. I think that is probably my anxiety about it. Lots of tingles and waves through my body and hot flashes.

---------- Post added at 21:30 ---------- Previous post was at 20:01 ----------

That was so weird - I'm all right now, in fact I do feel better than I did before taking it - much more my normal self. But according to my partner, I fell into a shallow sleep and wasn't very responsive - then I do remember waking up boiling hot, sweating profusely, very slow heart and feeling awful. It passed and now, I feel fine. What an intense evening. Not sure I want to try that again.