Dyspnea - Air Hunger

[Raziaar]

I've been suffering for about a week now of some rather severe Air Hunger. I don't even know how the **** this one started up. It was just 0-60 instantly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_hunger

I feel like I am not getting proper oxygen, and I have the overwhelming urge to inhale a deep breath. Deep breaths do not work though, and it seems the only way I can get the type of satisfying breath is by yawning. It's not always successful, and I start to feel a little panicky when I can't get that proper breath because to me it feels like I could die if I do not. And once I do manage a success, it lasts about... 30 seconds before I'm attempting again.

I've read all over and have heard of many people who deal with this, saying that they have gone to the doctor, sometimes repeatedly, and their doctor has found nothing wrong with them to explain the condition. Saying it must be something psychological, like anxiety.

I don't really know what I have to be anxious about though, other than this.

Do any of you suffer from this? What do you do to cope? This is NOT something I want to be dealing with for years and years. Some individuals say they have lived their entire life with this feeling. I can't even imagine how horrible that would be, as this completely distracts from almost everything I do and constantly requires my attention.

 

[mindless_moder]

We are now completely aware of our breathing. Thanks a lot raz.

 

[ktimekiller]

HUUUUUU

UHHHHHHHHH

HUUUUUUUUU~

UUUUUUHHHHHHHH~

 

[Raziaar]

We are now completely aware of our breathing. Thanks a lot raz.

I would gladly simply be aware of my breathing compared to what this feels like.

 

[Warped]

I think I have that like I stated before. not quite Asthma but a bit worse. I "woke" up pale after an all night of not breathing good and I thought I was going to die. I barely walked to the end of the hall and collapsed and my parents said I looked like a ghost.

what you want to do is stop the heavy exercise and put a humidifier in your room for the winter time. also pinch the top of your nose before you go to bed to open your airways and sleep on your side. I never got diagnosed but its not so bad anymore. also stop drinking lots of alcohol if you do, it won't help much

edit: it all started when i got back from a vacation at cedar point and i had massive headaches, then i felt dizzy (because of the lack of O2) then I had big breathing issues. i had to call off of work but right now I'm fine. usually one night out of the whole year i have issues but if you just relax it goes away. i seriously think its psychological

 

[Avoidist]

Hands up people who just yawned. Don't lie, I know you did.

Clearly this is a pretty serious problem for you, I recommend doctors over helplife2.net. (To Warped): By humidifier you mean something that makes the air less humid in winter, right? Wouldn't think the opposite would be too effective, it would just encourage disease and fungi.

 

[Dekstar]

Don't we all suffer from Air Hunger in some form?

 

[Warped]

Hands up people who just yawned. Don't lie, I know you did.

Clearly this is a pretty serious problem for you, I recommend doctors over helplife2.net. (To Warped): By humidifier you mean something that makes the air less humid in winter, right? Wouldn't think the opposite would be too effective, it would just encourage disease and fungi.

no a humidifier makes the air more moist in the winter. another cheap method is boiling hot water and placing in a pan in your room...believe me, you breath much better and are less likely to catch a cold. i haven't had a major cold in years this way

 

[Hazar]

it's caused by Texas

 

[Raziaar]

Hands up people who just yawned. Don't lie, I know you did.

Clearly this is a pretty serious problem for you, I recommend doctors over helplife2.net. (To Warped): By humidifier you mean something that makes the air less humid in winter, right? Wouldn't think the opposite would be too effective, it would just encourage disease and fungi.

Doctor sounds like a pointless endeavor. I've read about 75-100 stories of people who have this problem, have gone to the doctor(sometimes several times) and been shown to have no visible medical issues after extensive tests. I've also read that there are know definitive known causes for this.

This is one time that going to the doctor sounds completely and utterly pointless. I just want to know how to cope with it. After about a week, I've not been doing very well.

I think I have that like I stated before. not quite Asthma but a bit worse. I "woke" up pale after an all night of not breathing good and I thought I was going to die. I barely walked to the end of the hall and collapsed and my parents said I looked like a ghost.

what you want to do is stop the heavy exercise and put a humidifier in your room for the winter time. also pinch the top of your nose before you go to bed to open your airways and sleep on your side. I never got diagnosed but its not so bad anymore. also stop drinking lots of alcohol if you do, it won't help much

edit: it all started when i got back from a vacation at cedar point and i had massive headaches, then i felt dizzy (because of the lack of O2) then I had big breathing issues. i had to call off of work but right now I'm fine. usually one night out of the whole year i have issues but if you just relax it goes away. i seriously think its psychological

When I'm awake, it seems to cause me problems. When I'm sleeping, I seem to sleep fine. however, I cannot observe myself while I sleep, so I do not truly know, but I still seem to sleep well... once I can actually fall asleep.

Heavy exercise isn't any sort of cause in this case. This is all happening completely at rest.

Not sure about the humidifier, but I did try breathing in steam at the suggestion of my brother, but it did nothing.



Feeling like you can't breathe is one of the most distressing things ever... like you're suffocating. Even though you know full well that your normal breaths are still keeping you alive.

it's caused by Texas

I'm inclined to agree.

 

[Warped]

can I recommend one more thing, lay off the excessive caffeine or drugs if you are on any. if not are you anxious about something in your life right now??

 

[CyberPitz]

Have you thought about this...?

You felt you needed a deep breath, so you took it, Not feeling satisfied enough, you take another...but in the your mind, you thought "oh no, what if something is wrong?" when nothing was. You look online, see people have this issue, and you 'force' it upon yourself...

Just my assumption, since I've never heard of this \=

 

[Raziaar]

Have you thought about this...?

You felt you needed a deep breath, so you took it, Not feeling satisfied enough, you take another...but in the your mind, you thought "oh no, what if something is wrong?" when nothing was. You look online, see people have this issue, and you 'force' it upon yourself...

Just my assumption, since I've never heard of this \=

No, I didn't force anything upon myself. I waited three days before even looking at all. Your assumption is wrong.

can I recommend one more thing, lay off the excessive caffeine or drugs if you are on any. if not are you anxious about something in your life right now??

No Caffeine and no drugs. Not anxious about anything right now, which is why the anxiety cause perplexed me. If anything, this air hunger is my only cause of anxiety at the moment.

Right now I am in the process of trying to convert to a completely healthy, low salt diet. Consuming no more than 500mg or salt each day... eating nothing but healthy fruits, vegetables, legumes and fish in the process. I'm avoiding dairy completely except for plain yogurt, and I'm avoiding wheat as well.

I would have thought the salt thing might be the problem, but this breathing thing started about two days before I actually started this change in lifestyle.

 

[Naudian]

Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting enough air, but what you describe sounds worse. I'm guessing that concentrating on breathing normally doesn't help at all? Go for a walk or something, try to relax? I dunno, that's all I can think of.

 

[CyberPitz]

No, I didn't force anything upon myself. I waited three days before even looking at all. Your assumption is wrong.

Says the guy who won't go to the doctor! >=|

 

[Raziaar]

Says the guy who won't go to the doctor! >=|

Oh come on Pitz, I already said that pretty much every personal story I've read regarding this, the people have gone to the doctor and came out of it with a clean bill of health and absolutely no medical explanation for them to work with as far as a cause.

Waste of money I don't have that would be. If I had the money to go, I would go for some problems I have that I know would actually benefit from going to see a doctor.

Anyway... I'm going to bed. At least I don't notice it then.



http://www.airhunger.co.uk/forum/

I guess I should just try to find answers here... helplife2.net fails!

 

[Vegeta897]

Sounds exactly like hypochondria to me.

 

[Warped]

Sounds exactly like hypochondria to me.

its not, he can't breath properly or his brain is not sending the signals to his lungs to do breath involuntarily. its like he has to force himself to breath which is abnormal. like i've said, i've had this too....its not a fake symptom

 

[Vegeta897]

Next you're going to tell me the government is responsible!

 

[Warped]

Next you're going to tell me the government is responsible!

you said it!

 

[Raziaar]

Sounds exactly like hypochondria to me.

No it's ****ing not. Hypochondria is worrying about your health and going and finding reasons why you should be worrying about your health, and believing you are suffering from symptoms that you're really not.

This is me going about my business, happy go lucky... and for inexplicable reasons I suddenly have worrying difficulty breathing, coping with it for a few days, and then trying to figure out what the **** could be the cause..

 

[mortiz-Redux]

When I get a little air hunger, usually just after I've gone to bed or during the mornings the best method I've found is to just psychologically reassure yourself that if you keep breathing in a regular pattern you won't sufficate, just keep your breathing patterns regular and don't take overly fast breaths, just a relatively deep breath every 2-3 seconds, knowing that if you do that then you're getting enough oxygen. The worst thing you can do is panick because that just makes it worse as the panick response is to start breathing heavier/faster.

Another good method I've found is to make sure your room is well oxygenated, open all your windows and bedroom door, just take some time to breath in the fresh air. It may mean your cold but the cold can actually make you more sleepy and slows your heart rate down. If you think you're not breathing in your sleep (you keep waking up gasping for air) then that's worrying and you definitely have some underlying health condition.

 

[VirusType2]

try to lower stress levels

exercise daily (note it takes a while to build an improved circulation system and lung capacity) Results in 30 days

lose weight

eat less fats

less (or none at all) caffeine

don't use tobacco

maintain correct posture

reduce allergens in the air (wet dust, install air filter)

 

[CyberPitz]

Oh come on Pitz, I already said that pretty much every personal story I've read regarding this, the people have gone to the doctor and came out of it with a clean bill of health and absolutely no medical explanation for them to work with as far as a cause.

Waste of money I don't have that would be. If I had the money to go, I would go for some problems I have that I know would actually benefit from going to see a doctor.

Anyway... I'm going to bed. At least I don't notice it then.



http://www.airhunger.co.uk/forum/

I guess I should just try to find answers here... helplife2.net fails!

Who's to say you're not going to have that missing piece that will let them tie it to something.

Coming to a forum trying to get answers instead of going to a doctor because you read stories on the internet saying the doctors found nothing doesn't sound like an excuse to me.

 

[Rizzo]

You have to little to do. Im serious. Take walks or whatever, just don't sit at home and focus on your breathing. It's all in your head. I have sometimes feelt that I don't get that satisfying deep breath, but I can't see what harm can come from it. Worst case you suffer a blackout or something.

 

[Raziaar]

This is experienced by people who exercise fairly regularly. In fact, the exercise merely exacerbates things.

But, exercise is always a good thing and I need to do more.

 

[VirusType2]

Raz, I find that when I wake up in the morning, the dust and pollen has all but clogged up my nose.

What I've found is that hand washing my dishes when I wake up in the morning clears things right up. The hot steam really clears things up. Nose, throat, and eyes. Plus the movement gets your blood circulating in the morning.

I just wash a few glasses while I wait for the microwave every morning. Seriously, just try it, you'll feel like a million bucks.

Another thing you could do is time your showers for when you usually have a breathing episode. For me, it's in the morning, all the dust and pollen really build up overnight while I'm sleeping.


There are also breathing machines to make sure you get a good nights sleep. But I've heard that these contraptions aren't pleasant to sleep with, not to mention very expensive. Basically a breathing mask for breathing assisted by a machine.


If you often have a rapid heart beat when you aren't even exercising, then you need to be rid of whatever is upsetting you.

 

[sinkoman]

I used to get this sometimes after coming home at like 3 in the morning from a rather adventurous night out, still high as ****.

What I do sometimes is tuck my lower lip underneath the upper so that the upper one is brushing up against the soulpatch hairs, and breath through that small space so I can feel the hairs moving in and out with each breath.

I don't know why, but something about breathing like that is really relaxing. I do it a lot when I need to calm down while i'm on my bike, say while i'm eyeing out a trick that scares the shit out of me, or if i've been pedaling around hard as **** and need to slow my breathing. I do it a lot just walking around too, again, just because it's kind of therapeutic, and helps to put me in a good mood.

Try it?

 

[Tyguy]

it might be some sort of mental tick. try actively breathing at specific time intervals for a few minutes at a time or see if you can get some over the counter shit. i'd recommend taking a few valium but that has a tendency to affect breathing...so ya

 

[comradesean]

Where's Gregory House when you need him?

He'll reassure you it's not lupus.

 

[Acepilotf14]

Sometimes I'll get this. Not too often, though. It just feels underwhelming with normal breathing, and I have to do a big inhale(this gets awkward and leaves me uncomfortable when around people) to feel better.

Breath with your nose more.

 

[CptStern]

is this condition brought on by being really fat?


http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/174/9/1293

 

[Raziaar]

Sometimes I'll get this. Not too often, though. It just feels underwhelming with normal breathing, and I have to do a big inhale(this gets awkward and leaves me uncomfortable when around people) to feel better.

Breath with your nose more.

I breathe with my nose all the time.

I'm no mouth breather! Except after this condition came on.

is this condition brought on by being really fat?


http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/174/9/1293

Nah. I'm not really fat, and I've been at my current weight for a few years now without issues prior to it. Sedentary lifestyle really would have lessened my lung capacity though.

It seems many of the people this afficts are regular individuals. Average weight, average lifestyle... even some athletes. Some are obese too though. Seems to affect people indiscriminately.

I'm really starting to think it's a mental tick like tyguy mentioned it could be(and some others). I need to try and calm myself and get over it.


Sinkoman - I've been trying to vary up my breathing in different, sometimes strange ways to see what it might do. I'll give your idea a shot.


Virustype - I've tried the steam thing... and it's a no go for me. And when I'm in the shower, that actually makes things tremendously worse. I have to keep half the shower curtain open, as my chest gets tight and I can't seem to breathe. I also sleep like a baby when I do manage to get to sleep. I get a good night's rest(this new healthier way of eating really helps too), and it's the falling asleep that's typically the problem.


You know... I have one inkling suspicion. Before any of this happened... I was using a new bodywash and shampoo my brother had gotten. I think it's Axe brand... not sure why he gets it. Anyway, when I was taking showers and using these things, I felt like I couldn't breathe. The combination of the moisture in the air, and the thick scent coming off the lather made me feel like I was suffocating, and my chest really started tightening up and hurting, so I had to often keep the shower curtain open to gasp for some breath.

Maybe, just maybe having to deal with that day after day started really building up some anxiety in me and my breathing problems from the shower have transferred into my daily life, and I just haven't been able to shake it.

 

[CptStern]

you know all of this speculation is useless and can be dispelled by someone trained to diagnosis health problems: a doctor. can't you just apply for medicaid?

dammit I know healthcare is shit south of the border but really you guys have NO idea how bad you have it. I have never ever had to decide whether I need to go see a doctor because of finacial reasons. how much sickness could be prevented if ameicans had proper healthcare coverage?

 

[Raziaar]

you know all of this speculation is useless and can be dispelled by someone trained to diagnosis health problems: a doctor. can't you just apply for medicaid?

dammit I know healthcare is shit south of the border but really you guys have NO idea how bad you have it. I have never ever had to decide whether I need to go see a doctor because of finacial reasons. how much sickness could be prevented if ameicans had proper healthcare coverage?

Human beings don't even deserve food and water, if they cannot afford it. That's the mentality many around here have.

For a lot of my other medical problems I think seeing a doctor would be the wise thing to do. But from everything I've read about this condition, it seems to me, as I've said previously, that seeing a doctor would be a waste of valuable money.

 

[VirusType2]

I've been having a lot of problems with allergies for the past couple of weeks. That's one reason I'm happy that Fall is here.

I never even knew I had allergies until this year. I guess I didn't notice that it was allergies since I was high and/or drunk and smoked cigarettes my whole adult life. ...Oh, itchy eyes? Well, I was high.

I quit all that a few years ago and started exercising. Several times a week I would fight a punching bag. At first, I was so out of breath I think I nearly died after an intense session. I was actually a little scared a few times. But it got easier over time as my lungs repaired themselves, and it got to the point that I could never get out of breath unless I unleashed hell, and I would recover quickly.

When I was working 12 hours a day, I couldn't exercise anymore and so I lost much of the circulation and lung capacity. So when I started exercising again recently, it was very difficult to catch my breath again.

So, it's good to do some exercise every day. At the very least, do it a couple times a week for at least 15 minutes, preferably 30.

There is a [strike]huge hill[/strike] mountain in my backyard, so I start by walking down it and back up. After a month or two I've gradually progressed to running up and down it like Rocky.

 

[CptStern]

For a lot of my other medical problems I think seeing a doctor would be the wise thing to do. But from everything I've read about this condition, it seems to me, as I've said previously, that seeing a doctor would be a waste of valuable money.

this is a mistake, you are not a doctor and the internet is notoriously bad at providing info to self diagnose



"oh no, it's not Dyspnea, it's actually cancer, good thing you came in"

 

[Raziaar]

this is a mistake, you are not a doctor and the internet is notoriously bad at providing info to self diagnose


"oh no, it's not Dyspnea, it's actually cancer, good thing you came in"

Yeah, well... I don't really have a choice, now do I? I don't have the money to shell out. So it makes me feel better this way, okay? If anything is cancer, it's the thing in my neck, not my breathing difficulties.

 

[comradesean]

this is a mistake, you are not a doctor and the internet is notoriously bad at providing info to self diagnose



"oh no, it's not Dyspnea, it's actually cancer, good thing you came in"

It's BRAIN CANCER

 

[Sulkdodds]

Right now I cannot breathe very easily because I went to what's called a "foam party" and this is apparently like a normal club night except every twenty minutes they drop huge amounts of bubbly foam on you and you feel like you're drowning.