10 replies to this topic

[lavenderlilly]

Hello Coolrunners

My 14yo son, who is an active athlete started having problems to breathe but when resting.
He, as if suddenly, takes a very deep breath, looks very scary, as if he couldn't breath.
He says it feels like he can't get enough air into his lungs.
This started early this year.

We took him to our GP, who could not find anything wrong, but reffered us to a pathology for a breathing test (I forgot the medical term for it).
In this test my son had to breath in a little machine through a mouth piece about an inch in diametre, 1st breath - very long & slow, 2nd breath hard & fast.
The results were ok - nothing wrong with his lungs.

I'm not sure what to do now.
It does not bother him when he is exercising.

I was wondering, if anybody had the same experience, or knows anything about it.
Thank you, your help is much appreciated.

LL

[4eyez]

I don't know if this is the same thing but I think I've had a similar problem and what I've decided it is, is muscle fatigue in the upper back - between the shoulder blades. I'd be feeling like I couldn't take a deep breath and not be able to. All the muscles and veins around my neck would strain - looked and felt awful. And the more I thought about not being able to take a good breath the more I would panic about it. I spend a lot of time hunched over a sewing machine and had to correct my posture, raise the machine and lower the chair and now I don't have the problem. Just wondering if your son spends a bit of time at the computer or studying???

[lavenderlilly]

Hi 4eyez and thank you for your reply.
You might be right, my son does spend a lot of time studying.
I should get him a better chair, I think, and see what happens...
Thanks again.
LL

[balfey]

Hey all,

Just reviving this topic as i've been experiencing this same problem. I ran my long run yesterday (15km), and all day today I've been struggling to take a deep breath. I can breathe normally, and I'm not struggling to get oxygen, but I feel like I need to take a deep breath - and I can't. After about 20-odd attempts, I'll manage to get a deep breath in.

The muscles between my shoulder blades are noticeably sore, and I'm sitting at the computer all day in the office, but I generally have reasonably good posture. I agree with what 4eyes has said, but I'd like to know what else I can do.

Thanks,
balfey

[Chooky]

Hey, me too!
I've had this for about the last month. I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, and same thing - she listened to my chest, said there was nothing wrong, but that if it didn't go away in a couple of weeks to go back. I haven't been back coz she wanted to do things like an ECG and send me for a chest X-ray and blood tests. It really doesn't seem like it warrants any of those sort of things, so I've just left it for now. I get the feeling that I'd just have to pay a heap of money and they'd all come back inconclusive.
I'm still getting it though, so would be interested to hear from others.

[carasmellsok]

My first post on these message boards was meant to be epic and memorable BUT I saw this topic and couldn't keep my nose out.

Is your son still having this issue?? By no means am I saying that your son's problem is similar to mine, I just want to give a different perspective.

When I was around 15 I would have the same issue (except I was not active at all). The doctor told me it was anxiety related. I didn't listen to him because, well, he was old and creepy and I thought he wasn't taking me seriously.

It's like I would have to stretch my lungs to bursting point all of a sudden with the amount that I needed to breathe in, but it just wasn't being absorbed. It came and went for the next 6 years.

I was referred to a psychologist for depression (not caused by the breathing issues) who recognized that what I had anxiety, and who gave me strategies to cope with this.

I'd be happy to share the tips I got from the psychologist if you'd like (or anyone else)

Anyway its such a simple thing to fix if it is anxiety related, its just a matter of realizing that if you just take normal breaths you won't die.

[lavenderlilly]

Hi carasmellsok & others

My son seems to be fine now, but he didn't notice when the problem stopped.
We changed his chair and put his computer in the middle of his desk so that he would be sitting straight.
Also he has been doing some gym work and a lot of swimming.
I think we'll be able to tell in the winter if he's ok or not because that's when it was the worst, during cold weather.

Thanks for your replies.
Cheers, LL

[Chooky]

It's kindof good and bad to hear this carasmellsok.
My doctor also thinks it's stress/anxiety. Have had it for quite a while now and just really want it to go away. You say you had it on and off for 6 years - I don't really want to be stuck with this for that long! Were you seeing the psychologist for that whole time, or just towards the end? What do you think made it go away in the end?
I've also been to a psychologist, but I'm not sure if it's helped. I guess I just want to go back to normal, and to hear that I will get over this!

[julia]

I sometimes have the sensation like I can't breathe deeply enough, as balfey was mentioning. I would struggle for a breath, but it'd feel like I wasn't getting enough air in when I would breathe.

In my case it was due to some damage caused by getting whooping cough when I was younger, what I had wasn't caught onto in time so it was past the effective treatment time and I ended up havingi t for about a year and a half, rattled my lungs quite a bit. Also means that if I get a cough the cough again sounds like I have whooping cough. So I have a certain puffer for that - and when I start feeling the sensation that I'm not getting enough air I use it for a while and the problem goes away.....

[carasmellsok]

Hi Chooky,

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I only noticed this thread again last week and I tried to PM you but I have too few posts

I started seeing a psychologist very late last year. I'm incredibly stubborn so I thought it wasn't worth it either, but my bf at the time made me go (she ended up being great when we broke up so that's a plus, right?) It's a matter of ignoring it and distracting yourself, because attaching fear or anxiety to your breathing makes it worse. It's hard to do because you honestly feel like you're getting no oxygen, but when you focus on anything else intently you forget about breathing. That's what really helped me.

Anyway, psychs are great for anxiety. Hope you feel better soon!!

[kbryant]

why not try yoga? esp. those poses that opens up the diaphragm. i do them before any exercise and it helps.