shortness of breath/suffocation

[Guest guest]

sure sounds like shortness of breath can be caused by a lot of things.

I think that mold allergies play a big part in mine. But I wonder why it

changes all the time or exercise exacerbates it.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Jennie, I've never heard of metoprolol. What is it supposed to do?

Jackie, strangely enough my shortness of breath got a lot worse a few

days after I started doing Dr. Weil's breathing exercises. I can't

imagine why. Is Ativan the motion sickness drug?

Mike, I've not used any antiviral drugs but my viral loads are not really

that high either.

Mark, it's a little hard to believe anxiety is the problem. There don't

seem to be any psychological issues driving this symptom. It waxes and

wanes seemingly at random. And what exactly is Cognitive Behavioural

Therapy? I've seen it discussed in the CFIDS Chronicle, but its

techniques were not described.

Rich, the worse my shortness of breath is, the shallower I breathe. To do

otherwise feels like hyperventilation and only worsens the problem. I

suppose it has something to do with the pH issue described by Hale in her

book. My breath rate might be a tad high, but is probably normal.

Doris, I've been on heparin for about 3 weeks with no results. Berg told

my doctor to put me on it despite the fact that my Hemex texts were

within normal range.

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[Guest guest]

> Thanks for the replies, everyone.

>

>

> Jackie, strangely enough my shortness of breath got a lot worse a few

> days after I started doing Dr. Weil's breathing exercises. I can't

> imagine why. Is Ativan the motion sickness drug?

Ativan, like Klonopin, is in the " benzo " family of drugs. It is not

for motion sickness, but has, I believe, neuroprotective properties.

I'm not sure why the Ativan works for me, but it does. And my

shortness of breath has nothing to do with anxiety. I can get it in

periods of total calm. I seem to get it most often on waking up.

Jackie

[Guest guest]

I am sorry but truly what an idiotic comment,,,,,(my opinion

only))))))).

I wonder if this is a male who wrote this stupidity…..you sound so

dismissive….let me see….i was in severe abdominal pain….emergency doctor

loaded me up with 15 mg of valium….gee valium helped me too….wonder if

the hysterectomy did not know it was anxiety….

goodness sakes alive…

you sound like an old male doctor who dismisses things with stress….

sinerely

sam

Re: shortness of breath/suffocation

The feeling of not being able to get a complete breath was one of my

most

distressing sypmptoms. It comes out of nowhere, is not related to

anxiety or allergy and goes away for no apparent reason. I have it less

now that I am 9 years into the illness thank goodness.

I have tried mebeverine to relax stomach muscles because it felt like a

knot near my diaphragm, antacids in case it was digestion related

(burping seemed to help!)and valium to help with the accompanying

panicky

feelings. Concentrating on breathing correctly made it worse.

hayley

This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with

each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any

treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

[Guest guest]

If Valium helped, your problem is casued by anxiiety.

Re: shortness of breath/suffocation

The feeling of not being able to get a complete breath was one of my most

distressing sypmptoms. It comes out of nowhere, is not related to

anxiety or allergy and goes away for no apparent reason. I have it less

now that I am 9 years into the illness thank goodness.

I have tried mebeverine to relax stomach muscles because it felt like a

knot near my diaphragm, antacids in case it was digestion related

(burping seemed to help!)and valium to help with the accompanying panicky

feelings. Concentrating on breathing correctly made it worse.

hayley

This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

[Guest guest]

Ativan is an anti-anxiety drug.

Re: shortness of breath/suffocation

> Thanks for the replies, everyone.

>

> Jackie, strangely enough my shortness of breath got a lot worse a

few

> days after I started doing Dr. Weil's breathing exercises. I can't

> imagine why. Is Ativan the motion sickness drug?

>

Shallow breathing is the result of the body trying to increase CO2

levels in the blood. If blood is not getting into the tissue to

deliver oxygen then the cells are not able to produce CO2 (a

byproduct of mitochondrial ATP production). The brain sensing that

CO2 levels are low reduces the rate and depth of breathing.

Dr. Weils breathing exercise is designed to increase oxygenation of

the blood, the very opposite that the body is trying to do. That may

be an explanation for the results that you had found.

All the best,

Jim

Fibromyalgia: A Hypothesis of Etiology

http://www.xmission.com/~total/temple/index.html

This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

[Guest guest]

the problem most definitely was NOT caused by anxiety. the anxiety came

after hours of feeling like I was suffocating. The valium did nothing

to help the breathing problem, just my reaction to it. I know it is

common to think that people with ME are depressed or anxious but dont

know it - but surely we are all past that by now?

hayley

Re: shortness of breath/suffocation

The feeling of not being able to get a complete breath was one of my

most

distressing sypmptoms. It comes out of nowhere, is not related to

anxiety or allergy and goes away for no apparent reason. I have it less

now that I am 9 years into the illness thank goodness.

I have tried mebeverine to relax stomach muscles because it felt like a

knot near my diaphragm, antacids in case it was digestion related

(burping seemed to help!)and valium to help with the accompanying

panicky

feelings. Concentrating on breathing correctly made it worse.

hayley

If Valium helped, your problem is casued by anxiiety.

[Guest guest]

Uhh - folks with ME and CFS are depressed and anxious as are all folks with

a debilitating disease.

Do they know it, quite possibly not, depresion can and does slip up on folks

whether

they have CFS or not.

Happens every day.

Same with generalized anxiety disorder.

As for being " beyond this " , my experience has been that folks with CFS/ME or

any other serious disease is that it is a more than full time job dealing

with the specific symptoms of the diease, the insurance companies, etc, that

they fail

to deal with the ineveitable depression and anxiety until it too is

debilitating.

Re: shortness of breath/suffocation

The feeling of not being able to get a complete breath was one of my

most

distressing sypmptoms. It comes out of nowhere, is not related to

anxiety or allergy and goes away for no apparent reason. I have it less

now that I am 9 years into the illness thank goodness.

I have tried mebeverine to relax stomach muscles because it felt like a

knot near my diaphragm, antacids in case it was digestion related

(burping seemed to help!)and valium to help with the accompanying

panicky

feelings. Concentrating on breathing correctly made it worse.

hayley

If Valium helped, your problem is casued by anxiiety.

This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

[Guest guest]

In my own experience and that of severely affected friends of mine, not

generalising about all folks with ME and CFS, I am perfectly capable of

recognising and dealing with both depression and anxiety before they

become debilitating - hence the taking of valium when I recognised that

the breathing problem was causing anxiety.

I believe it was you Mark who recommended CBT as a helpful treatment for

ME. Uhh - I do not know any severely affected sufferers who would agree

with this one.

hayley

Uhh - folks with ME and CFS are depressed and anxious as are all folks

with

a debilitating disease.

Do they know it, quite possibly not, depresion can and does slip up on

folks

whether

they have CFS or not.

Happens every day.

Same with generalized anxiety disorder.

As for being " beyond this " , my experience has been that folks with CFS/ME

or

any other serious disease is that it is a more than full time job dealing

with the specific symptoms of the diease, the insurance companies, etc,

that

they fail

to deal with the ineveitable depression and anxiety until it too is

debilitating.

RE: Re: shortness of breath/suffocation

the problem most definitely was NOT caused by anxiety. the anxiety came

after hours of feeling like I was suffocating. The valium did nothing

to help the breathing problem, just my reaction to it. I know it is

common to think that people with ME are depressed or anxious but dont

know it - but surely we are all past that by now?

hayley