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    Feeling like I can't catch my breath or....

    I'm breathing I know this but I feel like I can't take a deep enough breath or when I do I feel like I have to take the deepest breath and am forced to let it out quick.

    I know this sounds odd, I'm not sure how to word it but it has happen many times and I just can't get used to it.

    My question is has this happen to you and what advice do you have for me? I'm trying to relax and be calm and working on thinking of other stuff but this has been going on for hours now and I feel light headed and oh so tired.

    Thanks for reading.

    Angel
    Dx MS Aug 2010 (after 2 years of searching)
    Started Copaxone Aug. 2010

    #2
    Angel, you might be hyperventilating. Try getting a paper bag and breathing into it.

    I remember my mom used to have feelings like she couldn't get a deep breath, then she'd start focusing on it and it would get worse. Most of the time, the anxiety of it caused her to hyperventilate, which made it worse. Breathing into a paper bag can help normalize your breathing.

    Try that and see if it works. (Hope it does!)

    Hugs,

    Lisa
    Joy is not the absence of suffering. It is the presence of God.
    Cut aspartame from my diet in 2012 and my symptoms have slowly disappeared. Interesting!
    Alpha Lipoic Acid (200 mg) + Acetyl L-carnitine (1,000 mg) = No more fatigue for me!

    Comment


      #3
      Oh Honey, This does not sound odd! I've struggled with this for years! After about a few weeks of this stuff everything starts to hurt. And it is so scary!

      My neuro thinks that this is (in part) the MS HUG. This heat has been especially bad and I suspect it is related to a resperatory problem. Allergies? Possible Asthma? I don't know for sure but I've tried to figure it out for years now.

      I have to force a yawn to get a deep satisfying breath. I'm sorry to say I don't have any advice for you. Oh.. sometimes a muscle relaxer helps or a little Xanax. I'm going to try to paper bag trick soon.

      Let us know if you have any success.
      Marti




      The only cure for insomnia is to get more sleep.

      Comment


        #4
        Hello Angel,

        Yes, MS can effect lung function. Information about respiration and MS:
        http://www.nationalmssociety.org/abo...ion/index.aspx

        I am wondering, as Shashi pointed out, if you are hyperventilating. If that is the case you can become lightheaded and dizzy. Breathing into a paper bag allows you to start breathing normal.

        If you sit or lay quietly and simply focus on your breathing (slow, deep breaths from the diaphram) it might help. If the paper bag or breathing techniques help then more than likely you are dealing with anxiety and not respiration problems of MS.
        Diagnosed 1984
        “Lightworkers aren’t here to avoid the darkness…they are here to transform the darkness through the illuminating power of love.” Muses from a mystic

        Comment


          #5
          Thank you all.

          I have to say I don't believe it's hyperventilating... It just comes out of nowhere and hits hard. I can be walking to the bathroom or from one room to another and it hits or wake from sleep with it.

          I have Xanax that I take sometimes when I get a panic feeling because of the awful odd things that happen to my body; uncontrolable jerks, shaking like crazy.... I tried it for this but it doesn't help.

          It's also not as if I can't breath but as if I can't take a deep enough breath; like something won't allow my chest to expand that much/far.

          Marti the heat does in fact make it MUCH WORSE for me and brings it on very fast and very hard. If I get too hot I can't take that breath at all and have to apply ice to my neck and lay down and it takes awhile to get that deep breath.

          Thanks for all the advice.
          Dx MS Aug 2010 (after 2 years of searching)
          Started Copaxone Aug. 2010

          Comment


            #6
            Try typing in "breathing" in the search bar on this page. You should get a lot of theads on the subject.
            Marti




            The only cure for insomnia is to get more sleep.

            Comment


              #7
              difficulty breathing

              I had this every day last winter. I think it started as early as november. I felt like i wasn't getting enough air, couldn't get a good breath. It started at work but then at home too. I needed a fan blowing on me or an open window to breathe.

              It started when i was still going to Beth Israel, & could not get in touch with anybody to ask the question for the 3 months between appointments. When I switched to NYU my new neurologist said that while ms induced weakness could lead to breathing difficulty, he didn't think that was it in my case. He suggested I ask my PPD.

              Looking at your posts I think maybe it's not unusual but is not directly related to ms.

              Then, sometime in March I just stopped having the symptom. Now I'm seeing my PPD on July 7. There's probably not much she can do since I'm not having the symptom now. Maybe it was some seasonal allergy thing, but it started during the fall & continued into winter & early spring. Or maybe it was anxiety. I'm going to tell my PPD about it & see what she says.

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks Linda and Marti,

                I don't have heavy breathing or pant, it's just the feeling as I said "I don't get that full deep breath cause my chest won't expand"

                There are times when this happens where when I go to swallow that I feel like my throat won't open back up... Now that I admit makes me almost panic but I know it'll open; just feels like it gets shut for a second as I swallow.

                This happens almost 70% of the time with the not being able to get a full deep breath.

                I'm going to search it on here; very good thought Marti. Thanks so much.
                Dx MS Aug 2010 (after 2 years of searching)
                Started Copaxone Aug. 2010

                Comment


                  #9
                  On 2nd reading i think Marti is probably right.

                  I don't think what you are experiencing is anything like what I experienced. It sounds more like the MS hug, problems with muscles between the ribs. Maybe you should ask dr. about this possiblity.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Having trouble breathing was my first symptom of MS.
                    I am an ex smoker too I am not near death and I was dx in 1987. I am 49 I do not use a wheelchair.
                    I am not bedridden... it comes and goes.. I am aware of it most of the time.
                    Prednisone does help, I never wheeze, even though I have had a real case of asthma..
                    I hear more and more ms'er's complaining of this..type stuff...... I think neuro's are coming around............ stay active... that's the best advice I can give.
                    Sorry I can't do better......do not be afraid.......fear of it is what will get you...

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Just to add...I had a pulmonary test for an upcoming surgery and that tech said I passed, but that my lungs were diminished at the bases..probably due to MS.

                      I will see the pulmonologist soon and I will ask. MS HUG is one of my worst and longest symptom. Also, a Rheumalogist also measured my chest to say I do not take IN a good breath..my lungs do not expand enough.

                      Just my experience..I have sudden swallowing problems in the middle of the night too..or cannot breathe..THEN the fight or flight starts in..and I have to get UP..and do SELF TALK to get my autonomic system to calm down. I self therapize I guess LOL..but it works.

                      Hope you get answers..and relief~

                      Warmly, Jan
                      I believe in miracles~!
                      2004 Benign MS 2008 NOT MS
                      Finally DX: RR MS 02.24.10

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Cindarelly, Linda,

                        Thank you both for the reply. I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow or go to the ER tonight cause it's just not getting any better and I can't seem to get to sleep with this. As tired as I am.

                        I'll let ya'll know how it goes. Thanks again for the replies and support.
                        Dx MS Aug 2010 (after 2 years of searching)
                        Started Copaxone Aug. 2010

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Never hestitate to go to the ER if you feel that bad.
                          They can check your o2 levels and do chest xrays to rule out serious things (like ms isn't huh?? ) I know.. but in a way it does get better..
                          prednisone or medrol helps me with this symptom too.
                          you might call your neuro. See what your dr thinks about doing a course of it.
                          Update when you can

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Hi angelpach;
                            I know that feeling that you are talking about, my breathing is very shallow and it feels like I can't get that full breath in. I never really paid attention to it till I was sent for a sleep apena test for fatigue, and they have wires that moniter your breathing hooked up. I now sleep with a c-pap not because of apena but because they said when I sleep on my back it's like I don't have enough muscle to breathe deep enough and my breathing stops 53 times an hour and my oxygen levels drop.

                            They said that because of how shallow I breathe it lets my tounge slide back and block the opening. I did ask if it was it was MS related and they said yes that they thought so. I think that is also why I pant so hard after going up stairs or with exercise, I now try as much as I can remember to take in a deep breath as I can to try to build muscle tone.

                            Thanks for that link snoopy, gives me things to watch for in the future' Thanks MS for another gift it still won't get you a better Christmas Gift

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I've had this many times over the years, but it's really kicking up this summer. Heavy duty chest, and back, tightness when I'm in the heat for any length of time and it feels like I can't expand my chest muscles to breath deeply because they're so tight.

                              I put an icepack between my shoulder blades (some people use a heating pack.) It seems to help. Another strategy I use is to sit in a chair and lean forward, elbows on my knees, head in my hands and take deep breaths. For some reason (and I have no idea what it is) this helps me take in deeper breaths.

                              Hope you get some relief.

                              Comment

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