For the past two weeks I have been having constricted breathing. Anytime I do anything physical even just putting laundry away, my breathing becomes like Darth Vadar. Forget about going outside- it takes about 20 minutes to recover. I had a bad attack last week from a piddly little walk that I had a very hard time getting air in.
I have never had asthma or bronchial problems in my life, so this is new. It is terrible. I am remaining very calm about it, but do think I should get this checked and probably will need a nebulizer of some sort. Who do I even go to? My neurologist probably can't do anything so probably a pulmonologist? I'm so sick of this.

Do you have wheezing sounds?

Do your muscles in your chest feel like they are not working?

Wheezing sounds respond to inhalers. The difficulty is inside the lungs.

But muscular problems are another thing entirely. Myasthenia gravis and MS affect the muscles of the chest.

Are the muscles in-between your ribs sore to touch?

If so, then possible trigger points, or possible muscle spasms are the cause...

It feels like trachea bronchial tightness. In chest, not lungs I think. It's like the air is so thick I can't get it in. It has been very humid here and I can't tolerate being outside because of this, but even in the a/c it still happens upon minimal exertion. I have no history of breathing problems or asthma.

So start with the easiest solution... get an inhaler.
Your GP will want to listen to your chest...for rales etc. before giving an albuterol inhaler.

I have some episodes of swelling in the throat from my HAE...and at those times I breathe strangely and loudly. But that is a rare condition I have, so I just do calming exercises and that helps.
Humidity I agree is awful for me too. But I always carry an inhaler... bus exhaust and fireplace smoke, and ammonia give me asthma attacks.

You could have a mixed condition too.

Thanks Mrs D,
I went to my primary and she actually did give me an albuteral pump thing. I haven't used it yet because I hate drugs!!! I don't know if it will even work.

I asked someone I know who has asthma with an inhaler pump, and she said the only one that works for her is the one with prednisone in it.

My mom thinks I shouldn't use it unless I'm wheezing.

Part of me thinks I should just try it during one of these episodes because it might help with the diagnostic part of what's going on. I just don't think it will help if my muscles are what is causing the oxygen problem.

You should definitely try it! There's nothing to lose, since you do not have to commit to it. Try and see if it helps and you might feel better, that's what we are all aiming for eventually! There is no need to be anxious about it, just give it a shot.

I had the same thing for several months when mine started in 2014. You feel like someone is putting weight on your chest and you can't get enough breath in. I pretty much lived in a recliner during that time because I was so winded. How is your heartrate? Elevated? Do you have palpitations? In doctors offices, my heartrate would always be over 100 bpm while sitting (normally it would be in the low 60s)

Mine is thankfully much better now, and I only get that feeling a few times a week instead of constantly; the feeling is also less intense. I didn't receive medication, but I did take d-ribose (plus all the standard neuropathy supplements) and began water walking to attempt to minimize all the deconditioning. I feel like these two things helped a bunch. I've lucky to have seen improvement. It seems like most neurologists tend to error on the side of not treating autonomic symptoms with medication unless they are severe.

I get this during flare-ups, shortness of breath that comes and goes.

This got me thinking about your case. I don't have that problem but I did get incredibly stressed and anxious about my symptoms etc. I decided I would start breathing in a better fashion where it could relax my body. And it has greatly helped but it's also seemed to make my general breathing deeper and stronger. I'm wondering if it could be of any help to you? Whenever I have stress my blood glucose skyrockets and fast. It's changed my beliefs about what is causing my condition. I have a strong feeling now that I know why I have this monster in my life now. My docs wasted a year I could have been treating myself by telling me that my blood sugar was fine when in fact it is not fine. Well it's much better now but it was not back a ways.