| A-Rod
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i have an annoying issue that i'm thinking someone here might have some wisdom on.
last year, i developed difficulty breathing. i'd call it shortness of breath, but mostly characterized by the inability to breathe in fully and deeply [only short, shallow breaths and the feeling that an elephant is sitting on my chest/throat]. sometimes there's minimal wheezing, and it's sometimes triggered by exercise, but this was only when i was running.
i will add that i'm only dealing in "vanity pounds" and am in decent physical condition, so this isn't weight-related or for lack of exercise or cardiovascular health related to lifestyle choices. i don't smoke, either.
i tried an OTC inhaler - didn't help. went to the doctor, they thought it sounded like asthma, gave me a different inhaler - didn't help. did some tests and ruled out asthma. lung capacity is fine - all the tests were normal, but i wasn't having one of the episodes when they were testing me.
immediately after that first round of tests, i moved and have been without insurance. after moving, for some reason, the episodes stopped. i was also exercising less at that point. i thought perhaps it was mold in our old boston apartment, but now the episodes have started again. i have insurance as of a few days ago, and need to go get it checked out, but since the first tests weren't helpful, i thought i'd lobby you guys for some suggestions or thoughts that might prove helpful.
thanks in advance! |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:00 pm |
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| ladybugnessa
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have you had allergy testing?
it sounds like asthma to me.
I suggest a pulmonolgy specialist they do nothing but breathing. i see one on Friday. |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:11 pm |
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| A-Rod
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i've never had allergy testing done, because i have never exhibited any [other] symptoms ... is it possible to have an allergic reaction solely restricted to difficulty breathing?
i know it sounds like asthma, but inhalers didn't give me any relief, and there's not as much wheezing as i've heard from other people with asthma. |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:17 pm |
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| ladybugnessa
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i know i have the same thing. i get short of breath now more than i did 50 pounds ago. very annoying.
it's funny but if you have the insurance i dont' see how allergy testing can hurt. |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:19 pm |
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| A-Rod
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| hmm ... why do YOU get it? |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:25 pm |
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| ladybugnessa
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A-Rod wrote: hmm ... why do YOU get it?
THEY THINK i have COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
I have that MAT thingy and usually if the heart is fine (and mine is) what causes it is Lung problems.
but they are not sure so i have to see the pulmonoligist this week. lucky me. i went from perfectly healthy to having a pulmonologist and a cardiologist. |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:28 pm |
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| luvs_torun
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A-Rod it sounds like maybe exercised-induced asthma ??
Is this what it is like?
Exercise-induced Asthma
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-induced-asthma/HQ00560 |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:31 pm |
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| A-Rod
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*runs and googles chronic obstructive pulmonary disease*
i don't think i have it!
it SOUNDS like asthma ... so why didn't inhalers help at all? |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:31 pm |
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| A-Rod
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luvs_torun wrote: A-Rod it sounds like maybe exercised-induced asthma ??
Is this what it is like?
Exercise-induced Asthma
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-induced-asthma/HQ00560
i remember googling that when this problem first came up and thought that was likely ... but inhalers didn't help, and it worsened [rather quickly] to where i'd be sedentary and having difficulty breathing [like today, at my desk, all day]. |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:33 pm |
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| luvs_torun
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How strange that you are getting being sedentary also (if they've ruled out asthma)?
What you explained sounded exactly like what my last marathon training partner had. She would puff away on her inhaler and run!!
But when she wasn't exercising she was fine.......
Maybe try a second opinion on the whole asthma thing? |
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Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:41 pm |
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| Dragonrose
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Has the weather where you are now been more humid/dryer then normal? Before you moved do you recall if it happened when the weather was more hunid/dryer?
My DH has asthma and it is worsened in dry, desert type conditions. I know you say asthma has been ruled out but perhaps it is just a change in weather conditions that cause it. |
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Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:35 am |
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| LegalBeagle
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| It sounds like asthma. Go to an asthma/allergy specialist and get rechecked. |
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Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:09 pm |
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| JerseygirlMP
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an allergy can also just cause shortness of breathe. i remember last time i was stung the only symptom i remember was shortness of breathe (there could have been more- there were like 9 wasps so i wasn't doing so hot). so it's prolly not sting or anything, but maybe some fumes you breathe in regularly which bother you?
i think your best bet is to find a good specialist like everyone else says |
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Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:18 pm |
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| A-Rod
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you guys are right - i do need to get it checked out again.
i think maybe humidity has something to do with it? it flared up in summer in boston [high humidity] but was fine when i moved back to oregon. allegedly asthmatics get a reprieve when they move, but eventually the issue recurs [which it has]. our oregon rain has been relatively mild up until the past few weeks, but that would be strange for it to come up now, when i lived in the rainy northwest my whole life.
i'm not entirely sure how asthma testing works, but i'd think the results should indicate asthma regardless of whether one is having an attack at the time the tests are done? i had all the spirometry tests done and all results were normal, so that's what confuses me ... that and the lack of relief from an inhaler.
to complicate things further, i also don't wheeze or cough, which is typical of asthma. webmd.com and google aren't helping at all! |
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Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:12 pm |
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| Kimboroni
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| I don't have anything to back this up, but you could try eliminating wheat for a few weeks to see if that helps. For some reason, I faintly remember a link of what you've described to a wheat problem. |
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Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:23 pm |
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