tight chest/hard to breathe

[iamspartacus]

Been taking 5mg now for 6 days after taking evry other day for 2 weeks. I take it in the evening and soon after taking, my chest feels like its in a vice. im asthmatic anyway and have a bit of a chest infection. been taking my peak flow and readings are good, so i know this is an anxiety symptom. have become concerned though that breathing issues were possibly an allergic reaction and not anxiety. i could contact gp but am afraid that he may say stop taking these and i will have gone thru this hell for nothing. my anx is quite high before taking med and has got much higher the more days that go by. just hope this is a transient side effect that will calm as the anxiety subsides. just want something to work for my anx/dep because i have suffered for long enough.

[smb25]

Hi,

You have effectively doubled your dosage. I went form 5mg to 10mg on Saturday and am only now starting to feel a bit better, very up and down at the moment.

Apparently the recommended dose for anxiety is 10mg, maybe go back and have a chat with your doctor.

Time does drag, especially each day when you just want to wake up and feel better.

x

[iamspartacus]

thanks for the reply. totally agree with wanting to feel better.

at least i was able to leave the house today. the tight chest stayed until mid afternoon. the depression has started to lift thankfully, however, it came back slightly this afternoon. hopefully each day will get progressively easier. *crosses everything*

[Anxious-in-Canada]

Hi there

I am no expert on asmtha But if you can, when you feel the chest tightness can you try some deep breathing? Simply inhale from you belly hold for five seconds and then exhale out as much as you can. Repeat for ten to fifteen times. See if this helps you.

Something to try

[iamspartacus]

thanks,

i am doing the deep diaphagmatic breathing and it helps although its still like being encased in a concrete pipe. i can cope with this symptom if its just anxiety, but like a fool i read the medication leaflet and it says contact a doctor if you are having swelling of throat, tongue or finding it hard to breathe. i know this is a classic anaphalactic shock reaction and surely i would have had this from the first dose, but my anxious brain is telling me its not anxiety but an adverse reaction. god i hate anxiety with a passion. it twists you all ways till you dont know which way is up.

[daybyday]

What anxiety med are you taking? I have anxiety also.

[iamspartacus]

cipralex

[Anxious-in-Canada]

Clenching your jaw and actually pushing you tongue against the roof of your mouth are symptoms of anxiety. When you feel the tight in your throat look for where your tongue is. I bet it is firm against the roof of your mouth which is anxiety and not a side effect of the med

I hope this helps, I had been doing this and clenching my jaw in the first part of the meds regime. Still have the tongue issue occasionally.

[iamspartacus]

its not so much in my throat but just generally short of breath and all my chest/back/neck muscles are soooo tight. theyre not as bad tonight as they were last nigh but still the mind has had time to ponder and has come up with the 'adverse reaction' theory.

[smb25]

Hi

Obviously i am not a doctor but I don't think its adverse reaction. I think if it was it wouldn't have eased, it would be the same or worse. Its the same with my nausea, is it the anxiety or the meds? doc reckons bit of both.

Try not to worry.... (!) i know, i know. Give it a few more days. If you are really concerned can you ring your docs just to check and ease your mind for the weekend? My docs will do a telephone consultation after surgery hours.

Best wishes
x