Interferons can cause shortness of breath. In rare cases interferons can result in Sarcoidosis which is the body attacking organs, usually lungs, skin and heart. That be me.

There are LOTS of reasons for shortness of breath...

HOWEVER, if it can be SERIOUS....

Go see the doctor....your PCP....he/she will be able to put a finger on the problem....

Hope it is nonserious....

This problem once sent me to the ER too! I was driving my kids to Kid's Day Out and got so short of breath I started to have tunnel vision. I went to the nurse's office at the big church where my kids went to KDO, and she had to call my husband. When I got to the ER, they couldn't find anything wrong with my lungs, heart, or oxygen saturation, so they decided it was an anxiety attack. Patted me on the head and sent me home with tranqs. I looked at my husband and said, "Did I seem anxious to you?" He said no, I seemed very calm. I've been afraid to mention it to docs ever since for fear of getting the same reaction.

I too have had this and am experiencing it right now. I actually press my back against the wall to get a deep breath. Have been to the ER twice in the past thinking the worst and they ran all the tests mentioned above and found nothing. I am going to make an appointment tomorrow morning for this. Glad you brought it up Kelly as I was wondering if others experienced it as well. Funny thing is this time around when I lie down in bed I feel relief. In the past I had to prop myself up. Such a strange disease!

Joyce

Yup, I'm having problems with breathing, also.

My neuro has referred me to a pulmonologist.

I'm having problems breathing. Kind of asthma like problems, although asmtha for me has always been limited to the "cold induced" or "heat induced" variety.

I'm having a lot of gasping and coughing. Almost like sometimes I forget to breath. And waking up a lot at night.

DH swears it's not a snoring problem, and anyway, snoring wouldn't account for the problems I have during the day. Hopefully the pulmonologist will get to the bottom of it.

I hope it's not the hug. I would hate to hear that I just have to live with it.

I'm so sorry to here this has hit you. I agree you should get it checked out, but my bet is on panic. This is only based on me. In Nov 07 I was DX copd and could breath fine till then. Then I suddenly couldn't. It was panic. I went on celexa 60 and it became better. The in 2-08 I was DX MS. That was it. Panic, Panic....anytime of day I could not breath. It just popped up out of no where land. No other sx then could not breath. I know mine is panic and I know why - the heck with copd - this is MS! This is terrible! I'm scared, alone and with several battles to fight alone -hence panic. Ex: I was fine till I read your post tonight - not you but knowing you can get this from MS scared me - hence panic and breathing prob. now. I don't know how you feel, but panic can be controlled. I take celexa and zanex, I know that's a lot but - whatever it take IMHO. If you do have panic then 1 celexa or lexapro (sp)... would most likely do fine. Your nuero will give it to you. I go to a psy. for mine due to dosage. I wish you all the luck in the world ~Sheena~

Sheena, thanks for your response. For me, it's not panic. I'm pretty calm most of the time. Well, all of the time really. I haven't been prescribed anything for anxiety (xanax, etc.) because I haven't felt I needed it and have not asked for it. I'm sure my Neuro would write me a prescription for it if I asked him. I'm convinced it's MS related - and like most symptoms it will eventually go away. I'm sorry my post scared you - I feel bad about that. I hope things get better for you. Sometimes it seems like it all hits at once and I won't pretend to know what you're going through. Just know that you have friends here that truly care about you.

Oh Kitty, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I just have a lot to learn about all the nice, sweet things that MS brings to us. If I get a hug from MS, I'll prob still pass it off as panic and just pop a few extra pills. LOL I hope you feel better soon - very. Take Care no today!

Just to add to the chorus...

I've also had shortness of breath that I initially wrote off to anxiety - except that I wasn't anxious. Sometimes it just feels like I need more air, so I breathe in through my nose, and out through my mouth. Sometimes I'm so short of breath that I pant - this hasn't happened in a while.

I exercise regularly, and this doesn't happen when I exercise - it's always been when I'm fatigued, on the couch, and either just waking up or about to nod off.

When I called the neuro about it, I wasn't able to get through, but the nurse on station told me to call my PCP, as a virus was going around. Turns out it wasn't the virus - I just got that last month! So I know what that's like. Horrible!

It's taking me a long time to recover from it, and I believe it's because of my restricted breathing. I've always had a low lung capacity, going back to high school, but until I got MS I never thought it might be neurological.