Exercise triggered panic attack or something more sinister?

[turtleonaleash]

Hi everyone,

I'll try and keep things brief - I was working out pretty regularly (3x a week) for about a year. My schedule became overwhelming in September of last year though and I had to drop my workout routine. I've now started up again - taking up a pretty intense kickboxing course. I went to my first class on Monday and felt great. I went to my second class on Wednesday and I was already having a pretty anxious day. I worked out and this workout was TOUGH (the trainers themselves said so.) I left the gym and I felt my chest burning. It was so tight whenever I took a breath. Later in the day I began wheezing and coughing. Of course I went to Dr. Google and I began reading all about "exercised induced asthma." The next day I went to the Dr who listened to my chest and heard wheezing and he confirmed the diagnosis of exercise induced asthma and gave me an inhaler to use prior to exercise. The issue is - my chest still hurts 2 days later (which from what I've read, would be unusual for exercise induced asthma - usually symptoms peak within 10-15 minutes.) And now, I'm afraid to exercise at ALL. Even walking up the stairs I begin to feel afraid. Anyone have any reassuring tips for me?

[ErinKC]

Is it cold where you at? I get exercise induced asthma, too, especially in winter. When I'm breathing heavily outside, which it sounds like you were after leaving, my lungs can hurt for days.

[Midnight-mouse]

Hi everyone,



I'll try and keep things brief - I was working out pretty regularly (3x a week) for about a year. My schedule became overwhelming in September of last year though and I had to drop my workout routine. I've now started up again - taking up a pretty intense kickboxing course. I went to my first class on Monday and felt great. I went to my second class on Wednesday and I was already having a pretty anxious day. I worked out and this workout was TOUGH (the trainers themselves said so.) I left the gym and I felt my chest burning. It was so tight whenever I took a breath. Later in the day I began wheezing and coughing. Of course I went to Dr. Google and I began reading all about "exercised induced asthma." The next day I went to the Dr who listened to my chest and heard wheezing and he confirmed the diagnosis of exercise induced asthma and gave me an inhaler to use prior to exercise. The issue is - my chest still hurts 2 days later (which from what I've read, would be unusual for exercise induced asthma - usually symptoms peak within 10-15 minutes.) And now, I'm afraid to exercise at ALL. Even walking up the stairs I begin to feel afraid. Anyone have any reassuring tips for me?



I have asthma also, day to day I’m completely stable but I will admit that when I’ve had problems brought on by exercise my chest has hurt for DAYS afterwards.

You have your inhaler, you are covered. The worst already happened when you didn’t have any medicine to help you and you’re still fine!

Positive vibes,

Mouse


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RadioGaGa]

I reiterate what Midnight Mouse said - I'm a fellow asthmatic checking in

[turtleonaleash]

Is it cold where you at? I get exercise induced asthma, too, especially in winter. When I'm breathing heavily outside, which it sounds like you were after leaving, my lungs can hurt for days.

That is exactly what happened! I'm in Canada and as soon as I stepped outside on a particularly cold day I was in agony.

---------- Post added at 21:29 ---------- Previous post was at 21:26 ----------


I reiterate what Midnight Mouse said - I'm a fellow asthmatic checking in

Thank you so much - this makes me feel much better.

---------- Post added at 21:31 ---------- Previous post was at 21:29 ----------


I have asthma also, day to day I’m completely stable but I will admit that when I’ve had problems brought on by exercise my chest has hurt for DAYS afterwards.

You have your inhaler, you are covered. The worst already happened when you didn’t have any medicine to help you and you’re still fine!

Positive vibes,

Mouse


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you - this makes me feel heaps better. Obviously as an anxiety sufferer anything to do with my breathing makes me feel twice as anxious. I keep reading that this shouldn't last for more than 10-15 minutes and here I am, going on 48 hours. Of course I begin thinking of all of the other awful things it could be. I'm also so afraid that next time I do exercise, it will be even worse.
Thank you very much for your reply. :hugs:

[ErinKC]

Ha, I responded on my phone and didn't notice your little flag. Canada in January! That's definitely the culprit! I first noticed my exercise induced asthma after running in the cold one year. Then, even when I worked out inside my lungs would burn. It's such a pain, but the inhaler helped me so much! I started even having to use it after walking one block to my commuter train everything morning when it was very cold!

---------- Post added at 20:35 ---------- Previous post was at 20:34 ----------

Plus, since you're so aware of it, you're almost certainly breathing more heavily than normal to "test" if it's better, which will only make it worse!

[turtleonaleash]

So now here we are... 5 days later.

My chest is still sore and my anxiety has been through the roof. I'm now terrified to exercise incase it brings on another attack.

To make matters worse, I'm also afraid to take my Salbutamol inhaler as I was reading how it combined with antidepressants can lead to prolonged QT syndrome. I take 2 different AD (Fluoxetine and Mirtazapine) so I'm double afraid to take the Salbutamol.

I just gave a new gym $300 the day before this happened - I really don't want to quit working out/lost my money - but I can't tell the difference between anxiety and asthma.

I tried working out at home on the treadmill a bit last night at home - I felt OK. Focused on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. When I finished I felt dizzy and my chest hurt. I also began to cough a little but not wheeze. Anxiety? Asthma? Both? What are some tips you learned early in your diagnosis? How do you tell the difference between an asthma attack and an anxiety attack? How did you "get back on the horse" and begin exercising again?

[ErinKC]

That sounds so frustrating, especially since you have a real diagnosis, but one that can definitely be exacerbated by anxiety.

I would assume a lot of your lung pain is anxiety related. You're so focused on your breathing AND you're anxiety so you're probably serious stressing out your chest muscles.

If you're worried about the drug interaction I'd call your doctor or a pharmacist to discuss it and see what's best and/or put your mind at ease.

I think the best think you can do is just keep trying to exercise. The more you do it the more you'll see that you can do it without trouble and the anticipatory anxiety about what what might happen will pass.