Anxiety, Shortness of Breath, Lung disease?

AndyBB · ‎10-12-2018

Hello,

I have been an on and off anxiety sufferer for the past 10 years. I was diagnosed with GAD, Depression and maybe PTSD. I came here to ask for help. I quit smoking nine months ago and about two months ago I developed this shortness of breath. It feels like I can't gasp enough air. I sigh all the time, sometimes I sneeze. I went to a GP and told him all my symptoms and he did a consultation and said there is nothing wrong with my lungs. Although the GP said that, I keep obsessing about it. I think that I may develop a serious condition (asthma, COPD, lung cancer) and I worry about it daily. It's in the back of my head all the time. I keep thinking that I should go back to the GP and get a referral to an expert so I can get an X-Ray, or a spirometry test.

I have experienced many symptoms throughout the years and I know that anxiety is a pain and sometimes it makes me feel like I wanna give up because I am tired of this life. Every damned day, something is wrong with me. I keep thinking that I may not live to see old age and My life is a mess (no job, no car, no family). I can't even take care of myself.

This shortness of breath is accompanied by a lump in my throat. Can someone please help me?

Cheers,

Andy

AshleyK · ‎10-12-2018

Hi Andybb, I suffer from exactly the same , throw in some chest pains and I’m in agony , literally all day . I even wake up from my sleep with this breathing issue . I’ve seen a respiratory specialist and even a cardiologist and in my case , nothing is medically wrong . If it will give you peace of mind ask your doctor to refer you to a respiratory specialist . . This may give you reassurance , every time I feel like my heart is beating and I’m suffocating I remember the words of my cardiologist that everything is medically fine and I try and overcome the panic . Also I did mention in another forum that symptoms like this can be linked to your gut , this is advice from my respiratory specialist - if you have been having gut issues maybe look into that ? You will be okay , it is a very frightening and ugly symptom but once you’r medically cleared that’s when you can look into some therapy , seeing a psychologist and if your open to it medication ! Try to relax in the meantime , I’ve totally cut out caffeine and cut my hectic gym routine just to light walking at least an hour 4 times a week and it helps somewhat !

Croix · ‎10-12-2018

Dear AndyBB~

Welcome back, I read your posts from last year and realize you have been having a pretty tough time and that your GAD and health anxiety is still giving you grief.

I have thought at times I've had various illnesses, from cancer to heart disease, and none have actually been the case. I found it very difficult to accept negative test results and wondered if they were the right tests, or the problem hard to diagnose. Still nothing has ever eventuated.

In your shoes perhaps I might ask for further investigation. I suspect if even the most thorough tests come back negative you will still worry, however at least your GP will have the full facts.

If it does turn out to be your anxiety overtaking all then can I suggest you find a medical professional who can help you, by the sound of it the last one did not. I found it was as much my confidence in the therapist as the type of treatment involved

Beyond Blue has a fair amount of information on the subject, which you might like to look at

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/treatments-for-anxiety

Please let us know how you go

Croix

blondguy · ‎11-12-2018

Hello AndyBB

Great to have you on the forums posting with us and thankyou too!

Croix (above) is spot on with his counsel as well as information from your older posts which have been an excellent reference so we can help support you more effectively.

You mentioned that your lung function has been cleared by your GP....and good on you for being proactive with your health too! Just a note on anxiety if thats okay. I used to have chronic anxiety for a long time (in recovery now..yay!) and tight breathing for me was a just one of the awful symptoms of anxiety illness

When we are anxious our adrenaline gland works overtime and as a result our muscles tighten.....including our chest and tight breathing is a very common symptom of this awful condition when we are anxious

I hope you can post back when its convenient for you with any questions you may have Andy. As you already know the forums are a safe and non judgemental place for you to discuss anything you wish to 🙂

you are not alone

my kind thoughts

Paul

AndyBB · ‎11-12-2018

Hello Croix and Paul,

I would like to start by thanking you both for your replies. It's good to know that there are people on the forums that are ready to jump in and give someone in need some advice. I felt better today. I noticed that these symptoms appear in the evening and before bed sometimes. I think that diversion might do wonders for me as it did in the past.

Paul, care to share your insight on how you parted ways with anxiety?

Croix, I did some exercise, effort over the past two weeks and I noticed I do not tire easily. I am thinking that if I had something wrong with my lungs, I would have problems when I did the minimum effort.

I will keep you guys posted on my progress.

Cheers,

Andy

AndyBB · ‎12-12-2018

Hello Ashley,

First of all: thank you for your thoughts.

Secondly: it seems that I am not alone in this. I forgot to mention that the GP said it could be some gastro reflux and I got scared for nothing.

We need to pass this with dignity and learn the most important lesson from it: that it will not kill us. We might seem fragile, but we are very strong inside and our time has not come yet. I believe that exercise should be present and moderate and besides that please remember that our mind is the one that is "suffering". That is where we have to work the most. The body should be kept in functioning order, but the mind is the one that needs help.

Please let me know how things turn up for you.

Cheers,

Andy

smallwolf · ‎12-12-2018

Hi Andy,

Came upon your story and noticed some similarities between you and me so I thought I might share some of my story with you...

Some of the symptoms I saw mentioned in this thread include a lump in the throat feeling, someone else mentioned chest tightness, reflux, shortness of breath etc. I have read somewhere (although I cannot remember the source), but mentioned a link between anxiety and reflux. The other feelings mentioned here are what I describe as my physical symptions. While I used to have negative thoughts running around my mind, until I started a new medication, those physical symptions were ever present (and annoying).

And I agree with you that the mind is the thing that needs fixing. But we also need to listen to what our body is telling us.

Tim

blondguy · ‎13-12-2018

Hi Andy

Thanks heaps for posting back...and for your complimentary posts too 🙂

No worries at all....I am more than happy to share my anxiety background with you

First anxiety/panic attack was bad news....when I was 23 in 1983. Racing heart..tight breathing..cold sweats. I had no idea what was happening except that I was scared and spent the next week in bed as I was a nervous wreck...I still remember when and where it happened....
Just in my situation I screwed up big time by not seeking help....as I thought these vile feelings would 'get better'....and they didnt. There was acid reflux...diarrhea...and the relentless panic attacks..ugh...
10 Years later I had two GP's trying to help me and I was still stubborn and refused therapy and meds...until they read me the riot act and said I will lose my home..career and relationships etc...This is when I started a small dose of AD's...(SSRI's) and then weekly counseling for seven months. The counseling was hard as I didnt know that they were going to ask me difficult questions that would make me cry (let go) about the past crap in my life....on the second and third visit
Having that chance to cry allowed me to free myself from all the pain that I had been carrying around since I was just a child. The crying was uncomfortable yet a day or so later the relief was wonderful and the bulk of the anxiety dissipated
The tight breathing...the lump in my throat...the cold sweats and panic faded away.....(with the minor dosage of an SSRI and monthly follow ups with my legend of a GP)
Anxiety/Panic tends to effect our digestive system first as its the most sympathetic to our anxiety levels
Its taken me 35 years to understand that the earlier anxiety/panic is treated the better our recovery will be

I really hope some of this may be of help Andy...You are not alone

Please be super gentle with yourself..You deserve to have peace in your life! Any questions or comments are always welcome Andy. Its great to have you as a part of the Beyond Blue forum family too 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul

AndyBB · ‎19-12-2018

Hello everyone,

Wow, did we start a thread here 🙂

My apologies for not replying sooner. I was caught up in work. I noticed that when I work, these symptoms go away (distraction), but when night comes and I sit on the couch watching TV, they reappear. These thoughts keep popping in my mind: "I will die, I have a lung disease, I did nothing with my life and I will die, I am hopeless, I don't wanna die young, Why me?, When will this go away?" and many more.

I feel breathless when I sit down and I feel like I am chocking. I keep thinking that there is an underlying cause. For example, when I was 23 and had my first panic attack, I began to develop something called: a claw in the chest. I felt like had a balloon that moved from my stomach towards my neck. I have had this for nine months. I was convinced that it was something wrong with my heart and I strongly believed it was gonna shut down. I ended up having an EEG. The doctor that performed it was amazed at the fact that someone so young would request this. He said that my heart was completely normal as were the main blood vessels that "fuel" it. After this relief, that claw in my chest vanished the next day. Have not had it ever since. Two years later, after stress built up, I began to cough excessively and I went to a GP, got a referral to a specialist that performed a spirometry test. My lung capacity was 100%. The cough vanished the next day.

Now my obsession is my lungs. I keep thinking I do not breathe properly, that I have a rare disease, lung cancer, asthma, etc. I wrote all of this because there is a pattern: I think I am sick, I visit a doctor (specialist or not), do some non-invasive test, results come back and it is all OK, disease goes away next day. I never learned how to break this habit. All the professionals I visited did not help. I feel like all hope is lost.

BTW, exercised today. Have you guys seen a man with lung problems run 1 KM and do 20 minutes cardio?

With all this, I still see myself as a dying man. Hopefully this lung obsession will go away. I need to break this cycle of GP visits, expert visits and whatever visits. I have been obsessing about my health ever since I was 14 and contracted a condition that 1/3 of males have it. I thought I was gonna die. So I've been "dying" for 19 years. What a life!

All the best to you people. Please avoid becoming something like me 🙂

Cheers,

Andy

tomyguy60 · ‎13-01-2021

Hey there, i understand this thread is old but ive been having this issue for about 4 months with shortness of breath and what feels like a lump in my throat, it gets better when im out and doing stuff but when im at home lying on the couch and not doing much it becomes unbearable, how did you go managing this and did you get better?