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Old 10-27-10, 09:58 PM  
Inchworm
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Long Island, NY
Can anyone help me breathe??? Can't get a full satisying breath, anxiety? Please help

Lately, after getting over cold and still (sinus/semi bronchial asthma), I have to force a yawn in order to get my lungs tofill with air to breathe. I do get claustrophobic and it's hard for me to breathe comfortably on my back and let's not even talk about being in an MRI, almost unbearable! I love to exercise, and have only been able to do yoga/barre/pilates for last 2 weeks bc I want to get back into cardio gently. I've had this before, usually when stressed. Definitely don't want any meds for it, but looking for some real suggestions.
Does anyone else deal with this and how do you deal with it? I get a back drip at bottom of throat and cough a lot, but have been to doc and feel he looks at me like I'm just being silly at times. I take Zyrtec and Nasonex for this.
Are there any specific breathing exercises I could do or should I check out a medical issue? Do you think it could just be the stress AND getting over cold? I just came off of Prednisone to knock out the sinus inflamation.
Thanks,
Kelly
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Old 10-27-10, 10:06 PM  
Fitstick
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: CA
Strange we must have both posted at the same time. I just started the "sick for a month now" thread... I'm sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I don't have any advice since I have been experiencing my own issues with some sort of a cold/cough that doesn't want to go away. Maybe if your doctor is not taking you seriously you should get a second opinion..
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Old 10-27-10, 10:24 PM  
kali1
 
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Kelly are you having difficulty breathing? That is one of the severe allergic reactions to Prednisone. I'd go see a doctor about this whether it be a new doctor (which I'd be inclined to do) or the one you've been seeing. It could be anxiety related but I'd get checked out right away.
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Old 10-27-10, 11:19 PM  
beyond.omega
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Hi Kelly,

Sorry you have been feeling so ill for so long. I would second the suggestion to get it checked out. But in the mean time, if I was you, I would try a couple things:

1) Sometimes I have difficulty breathing as I carry my tension in my upper body and ribs. I found that doing a spinal twist lying on the floor really helps me to catch my breath when that happens.

2) I did a massage treatment for a year, which included deep tissue treatment. While I actually did it for my back, I found that as a side affect I could breath a lot easier.

3) I like to make a drink of 25% cranberry juice (100% pucker your lips kind) 25% orange juice and 50% mineral water. I find it relaxing...not quite as much as a glass of wine, but perhaps half a glass. I later read a study that suggested that cranberry juice combined with vitamin C can lower blood pressure. If you breathing trouble is related to stress or anxiety, this might help.

4) I used to go to the sauna 2-3x/week and found it helped a lot too.

5) I usually knock back elderberry and zinc for when I get a cold. Don't know if it will help you at this stage.

HTH, and take care.
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Old 10-28-10, 07:06 AM  
geojill
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Colorado
Kelly,

Make sure that this isn't a medical issue, first. But a big symptom of anxiety I have been dealing with is the inability to take a full, satisfying breath along with chest tightness (I get physical symptoms of anxiety, not mental). It is much worse when I don't sleep well enough. I found that a good sweat session helps, as does kundalini yoga. If this is a stress issue and not a medical one, paying close attention to your posture and keeping your chest open helps, too.
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Old 10-28-10, 07:20 AM  
cfwb
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
I agree that you should first make sure there are no medical issues involved and that your bronchitis is completely cleared up. Some breathing exercises that I used to do as a singer included: taking a deep breath and then blowing against your fist (this takes a lot of diaphragm effort to push the air out); quickly expelling the breath, much like the breathing patterns in the Pilates 100 (5 quick inhales, 5 quick exhales). Pilates has some other breathing-centered exercises that might be helpful, too. For more relaxed breathing, you can try meditation-type breathing, where you inhale slowly, hold your breath for 5 counts, and exhale slowly.
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Old 10-28-10, 07:50 AM  
lorajc
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
I have that same problem most of the time. It gets worse from time to time. I do have asthma, but I don't think they are closely related.

I find yoga breathing.....long, slow and deep help, as does breath of fire. However, doing the latter sometimes, I tend to hyperventilate if I'm not relaxing my diaphragm enough.

I am severely claustrophobic and had a horrible time in an MRI tube once where I had a severe asthma attack brought on my the claustrophobic stress and had to have most of it redone due to movement. I'll never have a closed MRI again!

I do have extreme anxiety also that makes it worse.
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Old 10-28-10, 08:25 AM  
Sue B
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Maryland
Wow, I was thinking of starting a thread on the same topic. At kettlebell class a few weeks ago, the instructor asked me if I had asthma - he noticed that my breathing was short. I said, not that I know of (I always think of people with asthma as choking and needing inhalers) but since then, I've been aware of my breathing. Every winter for the past few years, I've had bronchitis that lasted as long as several months. I still cough a lot in the morning, and cough if I try to take a big deep breath.

But I don't feel "sick", nor do I have any big loss of energy. I thought of seeing a doctor, but I hope this isn't one of those things, like bad backs or dizziness, that everyone complains about but doctors can't figure out why it's happening. I just want to be able to take a great big deep breath like I used to. Do lungs shrink with age, like bladders?
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Old 10-28-10, 08:49 AM  
Eibhinn
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Atlantic Canada
I've occasionally had times where I felt like my lung capacity was reduced due to stress and tension, but it's been very short-term. I would definitely have this checked out by a doctor. It's not a symptom I would ignore or try to self treat.

That said, for anyone who is a shallow breather, or would like to work on their lung capacity, I would recommend Max Strom's Learn to Breathe DVD. I wasn't sure what to expect of it, but I find it's definitely made a difference in my ability to take deep calm breaths, and has positively affected both my Yoga and Qi Gong practices.
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Old 10-28-10, 09:29 AM  
ardnas
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Midwest
Try some of the breathing exercises on the breath ratio chart, originally from Yoga Journal Magazine...
http://www.drgaffney.com/htm/2min/deepbreath.htm
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