View Full Version : anxiety and asthma update
Shortness of breath is back again now, doctors listened to my heart and lungs did my pulse and oxygen etc and my peakflow for asthma is ok
just feels like i cant get that satisfying breath and my throat feels restricted
anyone else have this? its very frustrating
I have it as well. Have you checked your sinuses?
I have this right now and am going through terrible anxiety!
Ive had this for some time on and off. Clear ECG and Echo but still bothered by it. Anxiety and consciousnesses on the sensation can make it worse.
nomorepanic
17-01-18, 20:49
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.
struggleandwin
17-01-18, 23:40
I know exactly what you mean - all the tests are fine but it still doesn't go away does it. It is taking over my life at the moment - the doctor has prescribed sertraline. Don't lie too flat, rest as much as you can. Thinking of you.
Just wondering what your shortness of breath feels like? as i have asthma its hard for me to tell the difference, but my peak flow is between 600-700 and im told thats really good
thanks guys
In short , feels like bloody asthma, I can't tell if it's in my head or my asthma and my peak flow is about the same as yours , wish I could be of more help but Ive been in the same boat for nearly two years and the docs are sick of seeing me .
Take care . :D
Hi all
Last night was the first time in ages this has happened I woke up a couple times not being able to catch a breath and then I had one really bad episode where I couldn't catch my breath my heart started beating very fast and I think it was because I started to panic. But then after that I slept for 5 hours straight and it didn't happen
Anyone have any ideas on this
This happens to me a lot when I'm super stressed.
It's called a hypnagogic jerk, it's very common in people who suffer with anxiety and is harmless. If it was something serious you wouldn't be able to go straight back to sleep x
roseanxiety
30-05-18, 16:32
This has happened to me twice before . It’s scary. But as previous poster said it can happen with anxiety.
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Hi folks
So in the UK we been having a heat wave and I've definitely noticed my breathing change and that my throat is tight. But my peak flow reading hasn't really changed and I don't use the blue inhaler at all as it's like a safety thing like if I use it and it don't work.
My question is does the warm weather effect anyone elses breathing and what helps it
Thanks
Yes yes & yes!
I haven’t noticed my peak flow really change either, but there have been a couple of occasions where I’ve needed my blue inhaler.
Edit - I don’t know what helps it really. Staying out of the hot weather where possible, keeping hydrated, staying as cool as possible & not panicking!
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---------- Post added at 21:45 ---------- Previous post was at 21:44 ----------
Oh and also, I don’t understand your logic around your blue inhaler?
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My asthma seems to be acting up. I have tightness in my throat, an infrequent cough, and occasional phlegm. Maybe wheezed one time.
I haven't been using my inhaler either, but think I'm going to try. I use Breo, but found I haven't needed it for some time.
meant2live
18-07-18, 04:22
Eddy, do you live in a bigger city or densely populated area? During heat waves, you should check the air quality index for your area.
We’ve had a few code oranges in the US recently and I know you’ve had them in the UK this summer.
ankietyjoe
18-07-18, 10:06
The pollen count has been enormous the last month or two, with no rain to lower it at all.
That alone can cause breathing issues.
Even when I'm sat down I feel like I need to fill big deep breaths and sometimes I can't and it worries me. But why would I need big deep breaths if I'm just sat watching TV?? Is trying to take these big breaths causing this issue do you think??
mare serenitatis
12-08-18, 15:14
I’m that way, and I’ve been that way since I was a child. It constantly feels like I just haven’t gotten a deep enough breath, and I need to breathe deeply to satisfy myself.
When you’re anxious, unconsciously, you start to breathe shallow breaths. You’re getting enough oxygen. It’s a normal anxiety symptom!
I've had this for a few years now, it really worried me for a while but apparently it's a common symptom of anxiety. The more you focus on it the worse it gets so I suppose that makes sense :(
Sometimes you can stop it by taking a gulp. It’s very common with anxiety
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ankietyjoe
12-08-18, 18:31
Yes it's very common.
It's counter intuitive given how much fear the sensation of being short of breath can illicit, but the best thing to do is try and ignore it. It tends to go away if you do.
This is a very common anxiety symptom. Simply try gulping when you feel this happening. If that doesn't work try chewing gum. It's hard to chew and concentrate on breathing together x
This is classic anxiety. I can remember having this problem when I was nine years old. I think it was one of my first anxiety symptoms. I've read that it's caused by breathing shallowly, taking small breaths because you are so tense. I've found that doing relaxation exercises (ones that don't involve focusing on your breathing, of course) helps.
its driving me insane if you saw me you wouldnt think i look like i feel breathless, its almost like that throat feeling when your up all night laughing and you get that wheezy tight throat if that makes sense, i know that description sounds weird though haha my asthma peakflow is a little less than normal, its usually 600/650 tonight its 550/600
does any of you guys suffer with anxiety and asthma?
Yep , and it's slowly driving me round the bloody bend , Ive been like it for two years , I can't tell the difference between my asthma and anxiety , I also have reflux so my throat is tight , it's but like being strangled and suffocated all the live long day ,you might be experiencing something completely different just sounded similar to me .
Take care .
Yes, and like buster I also suffer from reflux (apparently that’s really common in asthmatics).
I find taking my peak flow meter can often reassure me that I’m dealing with anxiety and not asthma.
Also when my anxiety is high I often forget whether I’ve taken my asthma medication which makes me more anxious!
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Hi all
Just wondered if anyone with health anxiety has any pointers for starting a running regime. My main symptoms are short of breath and chest aches , so i want to challenge these feelings and thoughts
I want to get in to running, i have mild asthma and i am abouts 3/4 stone overweight
Does anyone have any ideas on a place to start?
Many Thanks
As with any exercise regime, it's best to check with your doctor if you have any underlying conditions (asthma for instance). Once you get the all clear, start slow and build up. Start with walking, picking up the pace and distance as your endurance improves.
I have heart issues and take several meds and they put a ceiling on how hard I can push so I'm at a couple miles at a fairly good pace. It's all about taking the initiative and as Nike says... Just do it!
Keep us updated on your progress!
Positive thoughts
eddy1608
It's great you've decided to adapt a more healthy lifestyle.
The vast majority of healthy people should have no problems starting to undertake exercise. You report to be in good health aside from the asthma and excess weight. Assuming your doctor has not told you to avoid exercise, there's no reason not to go ahead with it. I'm asthmatic and it's well known that exercise is good for asthma (unless, of course, it's exercise-induced...but even then, we're still told to exercise in some shape or form. You may or may not find running aggravates your asthma, in which case if it does, see your GP but you'll most likely be told to take prophylactic salbutamol before exercising unless that reaction is severe, which is very unlikely)
It also depends on your exercise tolerance at the minute. You won't be going out and running a marathon tomorrow or any time soon, I'm sure you're aware, so it would be good to start with lighter exercise and build your way up.
Start walking. Walk at a pace that exerts you. How do you know you're being exerted? Try to sing a sentence and you shouldn't be able to without pausing for breath. Gradually work your speed and time up as your exercise tolerance builds. How quickly that happens is unique to each individual - and how much effort you put in.
Another thing to bear in mind is that a lot of council gyms will have very low cost membership fees (usually around £20/month). *Included* in this fee is usually some exercise classes, which work to increase your cardio.
Do you have any friends or colleagues in a similar situation, who want to shed excess weight or increase their phsyical activity?? You could ask them to join in.
Another good thing to do is ALWAYS take the stairs of the escalator or lift. Instead of driving to the shops, walk to them. Simple things like that really can help you burn excess calories.
AVOID: chocolate, cheese, crisps, fried food etc or GREATLY restrict them!
Keep us posted on how you get on :) Good luck
PS: Make realistic weight loss targets. 1-2lbs/week is a realistic goal. Some people aim for 5+lbs a week, which just isn't realistic, and then get disappointed when they don't see those results.
Hi there! I just joined a small local gym and am working one on one with a personal trainer. I don’t do running because I too have asthma, and running isn’t the best thing for that, according to my doctor and my trainer. We do lots of weight training and other forms of cardio, just no running. I also need to lose some weight, but according to the trainer the best way to do that is diet modification. I’ve cut way back on sugar, bread, and unhealthy snacks. Working out is a great stress reliever! I wish I had done this a long time ago! I’ve onlt been doing it for a couple of weeks so I haven’t seen any real results yet, but I’m being patient. Good luck! Sorry I can’t help as far as the running is concerned, but any form of exercise can help.
How about one of those really good phone apps, like 'couch to 5K' ? I know a lot of people who think they are great, and there are lots of them out there, which act like your personal trainer. I think you can tailor them to your fitness level, have very slow and gradual builds ups and so on. However, I'm not a great knowledge on them as I downloaded a couple and errr....that was the most exercise I took, in pressing the download button. LOL Good for you for finding the motivation and taking control of your health. I bet it will do you so much good in terms of your mental health.
Oh, and make sure you have a pouch to carry your inhaler......:biggrin:
thanks guys for the replys, there is some really good ideas
thanks once again
---------- Post added at 21:50 ---------- Previous post was at 21:48 ----------
Hi there! I just joined a small local gym and am working one on one with a personal trainer. I don’t do running because I too have asthma, and running isn’t the best thing for that, according to my doctor and my trainer. We do lots of weight training and other forms of cardio, just no running. I also need to lose some weight, but according to the trainer the best way to do that is diet modification. I’ve cut way back on sugar, bread, and unhealthy snacks. Working out is a great stress reliever! I wish I had done this a long time ago! I’ve onlt been doing it for a couple of weeks so I haven’t seen any real results yet, but I’m being patient. Good luck! Sorry I can’t help as far as the running is concerned, but any form of exercise can help.
what forms of cardio did your doctor and trainer recommend
One more tip and it's a good one. Set realistic goals. Write. Them. Down!
For example. The average person walks three miles an hour. That translates to a mile every 20 minutes. Since they say that 30 minutes of daily exercise is good for you, set a goal to walk 2 miles in 30 minutes. Keep a journal of your progress. When you meet one goal, set another and so forth.
Keep in mind how long it took you to get where you're at now physically and don't expect miracles in a couple of weeks. It takes equally as long to get back to where you were.
Positive thoughts
thanks guys for the replys, there is some really good ideas
thanks once again
---------- Post added at 21:50 ---------- Previous post was at 21:48 ----------
what forms of cardio did your doctor and trainer recommend
I like Fishmanpa’s advice. Set realistic goals and start out slow. Walking is good cardio to start out with. I do jumping jacks, squats, jog in place (I can do that without having asthma though). I like the stationary bikes at the gym as well. Basically anything that will get your heart rate up and make you sweat will help you to lose weight. It kind of just depends on you and what you can and can’t tolerate. I always have my rescue inhaler, just in case too!
MyNameIsTerry
17-11-18, 02:29
I would start small and see what happens. Start with walking. Try a book aimed at starting and you will probably find they cycle walking between short runs and build up. I think Paula Radcliffe's book talked about that?
It might depend on your asthma. I used to run cross country with mine when I was young but they knew a lot less about asthma back then and even did some daft tests that involved exercise to diagnose it!
If you build up your lung capacity it might be easier to move towards running if it is ok.
There are schemes in the UK for exercise with long term health problems. You get referred by your GP and see a local PT. You might be able to access that even and get x amount of free sessions. Some charities even do this with grants from sports clubs or LA's.
Intensity might be the issue when starting. Starting something like HIIT with asthma might be hard but low intensity will be easier to adjust too without upsetting your asthma. Even weights as this will burn calories by adding muscle too (cardio is useful but when it starts eating into muscle you weight loss ends up dropping so weights might also be a good augment to it).
hank you all for your replies, i am on meds for my anxiety and asthma etc. were not sure if the asthma is caused by anxiety and or lack of exercise and weight gain over the yrs as the asthma started when the anxiety did. The problem i have is that over the last 8 years the sensations the anxiety gives me has put me of exercise so i need to challenge this.
Today i did 2 mins straight of skipping it may not sound much but my heart rate was 140 then i timed it and 30 secs later it was 106 and it took a total of 2 mins to return to complete normal and where i was not out of breath anymore.
i do have a build up of mucus in my throat and my throat is a little sore so again i think this has added to the breathing sensation
MyNameIsTerry
18-11-18, 03:13
I expect anyone on here with asthma will understand what you mean by that (and anyone who has breathing symptoms as well really). My asthma has been declared in remission this year but having it with anxiety made it hard to work out which was which and there is that fear it may be an asthma attack coming rather than an anxiety symptom.
It put me off exercise too. My therapist set up some Behavioural Experiments to challenge my thinking. She had me do a short sprint and then think about how I felt. After doing it a few times it did get easier.
I think our confidence gets seriously rocked by mental health disorders. We retreat. We need to rebuild it by showing ourselves we can do things. It's hard because it's all exposure to our anxiety and it gets a bit harder until we push through it and things start to change.
So, building up slowly and trying things will help. Good work on the skipping!
Hi guys just a quick question, has anyone noticed if feeling bloated and/or acid reflux can make your breathing feel short?
many thanks
Yes but only momentarily.
The same as a deep intake of breath.
I suffer with this a lot and try to avoid those foods that bring it on. It's just not worth it!
Last week, my wife went out to eat with a few girlfriends. The food didn't agree with her and she was feeling really bad afterwards. Bloated, gassy, reflux etc., and yes, it definitely affected her breathing. Her stomach hurt just taking a deep breath it was that bad. Lesson learned, don't eat that menu item again!
Positive thoughts
Hi
I have read up about these before and have heard they help not cure things, so i went in to my local health shop yesterday and had a chat with the lady in there and she recommended the salt pipe so i purchased one.
I was just curious if anyone on here has used or know of anyone that has used one and what the results were?
many thanks
For weeks i have felt like my throat is tight and i cant breath properly, i have seen a couple different doctors and all have said its my anxiety and asthma working against me. When one starts they both do, my asthma peak flow is ok as is my pulse,bp and oxygen levels.
Has anyone had or still get this and can recommend any coping tactics or lifestyle changes they made to help this get better?
thanks
I've also had a flare up of my asthma recently, although this has clearly been linked with a minor cold I've caught.
Was going to ask about your peak flow, but if it's the same as your normal reading, that rules out any sort of bronchoconstriction.
The only other thing that would come to mind (this time of year) is the cold weather. I see you're in the UK as well, and it has been very cold in my part of the country recently. Came in from work tonight (hands purple from the Raynauds!) and lit the fire.
The reason this is important is cold weather can trigger asthma in quite a few people. A tip is, if you're outside in cold weather, before leaving the house wrap a scarf around your face and keep it over your mouth whilst outside.
Then, as I said, I lit the fire tonight (using non-smokeless coal, how bad of me haha) it could also be the smoke in the air contributing to this, especially if you have neighbours lighting their fire or even your own.
AVOID: Smoking (cigarettes, cannabis etc) strong-smelling air fresheners, perfumes, oils creams etc, animals if they trigger you e.g. cats/dogs
A VERY IMPORTANT ONE
Has your doctor or pharmacist recently reviewed your "inhaler technique"? You'd be surprised at how often most people simply aren't taking their inhaler properly. They're either inhaling too soon, too deeply, not deeply enough etc etc. If you answered NO to this, see your pharmacist tomorrow or as soon as is convenient!
Can't really think of anything else right now. If anything comes to mind, I'll pop back :-)
Good luck
EDIT
I always do this - post my response and then think of a better response after lol. Anyway, some more things that came to mind:
* Avoid red wine, I've found this is a trigger for me and I've heard others report this.
* Avoid aspirin/ibuprofen: can cause bronchoconstriction in asthmatics, however if you've taken it before without issue, you should be ok
If you have acute asthma e.g. an 'attack' take one puff of salbutamol every 30 to 60 seconds, max. 10 puffs (or as directed on your asthma action plan!). If that doesn't help or you feel worse, call 999. After 15 minutes have passed you can repeat the one puff, every 30-60s max. 10 puffs whilst you wait.
so i have been challenging my thoughts that my breathing is shot, i have started to do some skipping at home. Today i did 4 mins of straight skipping, i dont know if thats a good time or not but my heart rate went up to 155 then within around 5 mins it went down to 102 then dropped even further.
I didnt need to use my rescue inhaler before or after, i am on pred as i have had a flu like bug lately and im still coughing up thick mucus. I am guessing have mucus stuck and coughing will also irritate my airways?? Anyway i have my asthma review tomorrow as its been a month since i was changed from seritide to a fostair inhaler so i will see how it goes.
thanks
MyNameIsTerry
17-12-18, 02:12
Mucus is very common with asthma, it's a reaction. If you have had a cold virus you will have more mucus and the lungs will be irritated hence more mucus reaction by the asthma. It will sort itself out and you can use/adjust inhalers to help with it.
Well done on challenging yourself. I would only add that since you are ill at the moment, don't overdo it and remember your lungs may not as effective as they will be once you are over that cold hence things will only get better than what you are seeing in your exercise progress.
Hi
This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.
Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.
It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.
Elen
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