I’ve had my blood pressure taken twice since these symptoms developed – it was normal both times. I’ve never had an abnormal blood pressure reading. Obviously that can change/fluctuate, but so far everything has been good on that front. Still, that might be a good idea. Just because I haven’t had a abnormal reading yet doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

All of my thyroid readings came out normal. Is there a specific thyroid test I should be asking for? I’ve heard TSH can actually be unreliable/misleading, and I’ve read a bit about the importance of Free T3 and Free T4 testing. Anyone have any info in regards to this? I can order my own tests if I want through an independent lab, but at this point I don’t know what to try next, and I don’t want to waste even more money. I have heard that folic acid deficiency can cause shortness of breath, etc. To my knowledge, the only other vitamins that can cause the breathing/heart symptoms are ferritin/iron, D, and B12. I wonder if the twitching in my feet/calves is related to this…

I don’t think I felt worse after taking the multivitamin. It’s just that due to this bowel movement frequency, I figured I might be overloading a bit and thought the smart thing to do would be to stop all supplementation (save for the magnesium and D), just as an experiment. It isn’t always loose stools, just going a bit too much (2-4 times a day when I normally go once a day).

I will say that I feel a bit better now than I originally did when everything first started. I would be heaving for breath with my heart going a mile a minute. Now, on average my pulse seems to be around the mid-90s when I’m resting (which is indeed a touch better, although still too fast), and the shortness of breath is still very troubling but also a little better. It could be because I’m panicking less, because it can be very scary when you’re short of breath and your heart is racing. There were moments I wanted to go to the ER.

I forgot to mention, I tried taking some more natural anti-stress supplements (Pure Life Naturals Stress Stop & 5-HTP) without much success. I stopped them a while back, but I may give them another go, just to see. I thought they would work better if my symptoms were truly being caused by stress/anxiety, but I suppose that might not be realistic. Otherwise why wouldn’t most everyone go the natural route instead of taking Zoloft, etc.?

But I guess the thing that confuses me is, if this is anxiety, wouldn’t I specifically be feeling ANXIETY? The shortness of breath and fast heart rate happen even when I’m relaxed – reading a book, watching a favorite movie/TV show, etc. And again, it doesn’t come in short bursts. It starts up right upon awakening and continues through the majority of the day. I guess I would have thought I’d feel nervous/anxious/frightened/on edge/etc. with true anxiety worthy of being medicated. This is really all new to me, though. But it seems like when I do feel anxious, it’s because the breathing and heart are causing the anxiety, and not the other way around.

I don’t even know what kind of doctor to see at this point. An internist? An endocrinologist? A shrink?! Ugh.