Hyperventilation

[Ninura]

Hello,

I have been suffering with panic and anxiety for many years, I had all the symptoms...but lately I started hyperventilating, I'm always with "air hunger", many times I feell like I'm going to sufocate and its so scary, I really convince myself that I have no air and that I will faint or die. If I panic its worst, when I panic because of this it becomes even more dificult to breathe and I just want to run to the ER.
I have learned to control the panic attacks but now because of this symptom I'm to scared again and even afraid of getting out of home and see people, I always think I will start hypeventilanting if I go out. And it really happends if I go out for a walk I start breathing like crazy and everyone look at me...its so embarassing...and the worst is that this anxiety is making me feel depressed, my mind is so tired, I'm so sick, dizzy, nauseated, always trying to vomit but I can't.
I can be months without panic, but sudenly it comes back :weep:

[milly jones]

aw hun,

hugs to u xxx

have u read thru website and looked at top tips in forum?

its such a horrible illness isnt it?

i do square breathing which helps. find a square anywhere eg a door. breathe in slowly as u trace the side with your eyes, breathe out along the next side etc. this is effective for me as it distracts and help me conc just on the breathing.

hope it helps a little

milly xx

[Mae]

Hi there - I wasn't aware that I was overbreathing until my physio pointed it out to me. She noticed it in the speed at which I talk and how I breathe in quickly through my mouth. I was in a really dark place with my anxiety, had suffered dizziness, confusion and revved up feelings since the week before when I had my first panic attacks. She gave me a book to read - and I hope I am not breaking any rules, but I swear it stopped me from believing I was going mad. I picked it up every time I needed a little reassurance and followed the breathing programme which has worked wonders for me. The book is called Hyperventilation Syndrome by Dinah Bradley - I have recently bought the newer edition but any edition will do - its fab.
Be interested to know if anyone else has benefitted from this book.
xx:yesyes:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/images/misc/progress.gif

[Ninura]

Hello,

yes Millie, I read some of the links in here, they are really nice and helpfull...its a really terrible illness, I was so much happier before i have this, I was never hipocondriac, but now I am. For me is really dificult to control the breathing and if I concentrate to much on it, gets worst. Many times I wake up without air, like today, I wake up at 6 and my nose was completely blocked, I was breathing trough my mouth, and the air was not going in. I spend the days feeling sufocated and very tense. Thank you for your advice!
Mae, I also talk to fast and I become breathless if I talk to much...for me worst then the dizziness is the feeling that I have no air and that I'm going to sufocate, I can be still with my mouth closed and trying to breath trough my nose and diafragm, but I continue having the sensation that I have no air and that I need to hyperventilate to get some satisfying air. I have noticed too that I'm always very tense in my shoulders and neck, everytime I notice I try to relax them. I also heard that sometimes the air hunger have to do with the diet, I'm trying to lose some weight, because I start having this at the same time I gain some weight...
I'm going to buy that book, thanks for the sugestion...:)

thanks for your kind help:hugs:

[Pickle]

Hi Ninura, I'm sorry you are suffering at the moment :hugs:

I'm 'lucky' in the sense I dont very often hyperventilate but I do breathe in the shallow way we anxious ones do.

A few weeks ago I was with my doctor when I suddenly started to hyperventilate 'properly'. My fingers got pins and needles and I started to panic. My doctor gave me the best advice ever - He told me to sit down and bend the top half of my body over my knees, with my head touching my lower legs. Within seconds my breathing had returned to normal :)

He explained that the position had restricted my diaphragm and lungs, thus restricting my air intake. Did I mention my doctor is great lol

Anyway, I've used it a couple of times now, usually if Im getting into a panic.

It may not work for you but why not try it next time

Take care

:hugs:

[Mae]

Another quick fix is to cup your hands over your mouth and nose - same technique as breathing into a paper bag. It re circulates the carbon dioxide I believe which is what we miss out on when we hyperventilate - too much oxygen from breathing in, and not enough CO2 from mbreathing out; and doing it with your head down between your knees as in Pickles advise would be even better I imagine.
I seem to remember reading something about breathing into a paper bag not being advisable for asthmatics though I can't remember where.

Hope it helps -
Mae

[Ninura]

Hi, :bighug1:

thank you for your sugestions. I have been a little bit better from the hyperventilation, but always anxious and scared that something will happend. I start taking the rescue remedy and doing muscle relaxation. And I wrote 10 positive sentences that I should read everyday, but I'm not doing that...I will have to start reading them everyday, to put positive thoughts in my head, instead of negative scary ones.

I'm always scared of what is going to happend in the next minutes...