short of breath, chest tightness - worried
 

hi. i am having new symptoms which are worrying me.

i am getting more frequent episodes of chest tightness and mild(?) shortness of breath. the breath is like, i can breathe, but i constantly feel like i would need to take a deep breath to get enough air. however, actually taking a deep breath, or two, does not make it go away or improve.

i do not hyperventilate and my pulse is normal and regular.

i am not anxious to start with, although when the tightness happens then i become a bit anxious. but in the past, when i have had anxiety attacks with pressure on the chest, it did not feel the same way as this. and these days i am very calm to start with...

i had worse, but less frequent episodes of this sporadically during the peak of the allergy season, accompanied by deep cough. one in particular where i had chest pain and a sense of throbbing/burning when i inhaled.

the cough has been life-long but i had never had the pain/tightness that i can recall. nor shortness of breath except after coughing non-stop for a half hour and then who isn't short of breath.

when i saw my mdoc i told him the tightness and shortness of breath were new symptoms that sometimes occurred with or before the cough, and that the cough per see was not new but these things were. however, yesterday and today i have had several episodes of this without coughing any.

mdoc referred me for a chest xray and spirometry which are now scheduled for August 25th, but he did not listen to my heart or breathing or do anything besides sit behind his desk and turn out scripts.

i am not sure what to do. i have no reason to believe this has anything to do with the Zoloft.

my mother is concerned it could be heart rather than breathing. that occurred to me too. i don't know what to do. it is scary that it is becoming more frequent and also i feel tired/weak when it happens.

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,

These sound worrying.
It is not likely to be heart, but in the event it is the heart, you need an mdoc or ER type place. Do you have what we call Urgent Care here?

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/women/symptoms.aspx


M.

Here is a another link:

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/f...a-heart-attack



M.

Dear Waves,
 

:hug: :hug: :hug:

Did you change meds recently? I know you went to the mdoc and you mentioned getting a 'script.
You mention that it is more frequent that in the past. How recently has this become more frequent?

What a jerk!


I thought of something when you mentioned something the other day about once possibly nicking the shell of an extending release pill.
Is there a change you are over dosing on the Zoloft?


http://www.healthyplace.com/other-in...on/menu-id-72/
How about Serotonin Syndrome?
I'm tossing things out because I can't really come up with anything else.

Urgent Care seems like a good idea.
That is my suggestion.


(I have to go out. When I come back I will look for an update.)
'Wishing you wellness.

M.

I vote with Mari.

Good luck Waves.

I don't have any ideas.

Donna

i haven't looked up panic attacks but i keep on thinking panic attacks...
and not zoloft....i could be so easily wrong. I usually don't react to drugs much so maybe that is why i am playing zoloft down. i haave had a lot of shortness of breath and chest tightness and have gone to cardiologist and pulmonary doctor and had a lot of tests.....anxiety and overweight...and i am a lot older than you...
maybe you can get the tests done earlier..i know i was greatly relieved when i found out the results...even though the symptoms didn't go away and there was no medicine they could give me.
love
bobby\
What are panic attack symptoms and signs?

As described in the first example above, the symptoms of a panic attack appear suddenly, without any apparent cause. They may include

•racing or pounding heartbeat (palpitations);



•chest pains;



•stomach upset;



•dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea;



•difficulty breathing, a sense of feeling smothered;



•tingling or numbness in the hands;



•hot flashes or chills;



•trembling and shaking;



•dreamlike sensations or perceptual distortions;



•terror, a sense that something unimaginably horrible is about to occur and one is powerless to prevent it;

Zoloft
 

Dear Mari,

i did look at Zoloft side effects. no there is no chance i am overdosing - i am using a pillminder and taking 50mg. also the symptoms do not really match... i don't have rapid heart rate or any sort of agitation/nervousness/tremor. nor cold sweating or stiffness nothing that would suggest serotonin syndrome.

the breathing thing may have happened before, without coughing, but i have tightness with it now. there were times i felt subtly out of breath and figured it was in my head. the noticeable spells i had with pain and shortness of breath (plus cough) all predated any Zoloft.

the implication for the Zoloft, just out of common sense, is that i am not going to increase it until i either feel better or pdoc says it's ok and he has never had me increase meds when i was sick for any reason, so i doubt he will.

i am going to call pdoc when he gets back on monday, and talk to him about all this, and ask if he feels i should suspend the Zoloft altogether (even if it is not the likely culprit). if he says i should then i will. i hope he says it's ok to keep it though. i need to feel better in that sense too.

~ waves ~

Mari, thanks for all the info...

yes it is the shortness of breath that made my mom think it could be heart.

there is ER, but no intermediate type services like urgent care.

i can still breathe(!), so i am just trying to take it easy. :confused: i am supposed to go for a CT of my sinuses tomorrow. i think one of my parents will go with me. that is important too... doesn't seem like post-nasal drip could cause all this, but it could aggravate whatever is going on.

the scripts i got were for meds i was already taking, and other than the nasal spray they are prn - not things i take 24/7. i tried suspending the nasal spray... now come to think of it i can't remember though if i had the breathing problem or just sinus. heck. i will go back to regular dose. i have been double dosing the spray because my sinuses got so bad after i suspended it. it should be topical and not affect the bronchi, but... hmmmmmmm..... :rolleyes: but i did double dose for a while, a couple months ago, to get things under control, and did not have these problems.

my mdoc is basically incompetent but we have to go through him to see any other doc through the national health care. the system works a bit like an HMO plan, but it is even more stringent. no other docs were available in town (they have a "capacity") and i can't afford private care. he has used his stethoscope a couple of times on me, only because i insisted. both times i had bronchitis. duh. (that was over a year ago, though.)

i have done a bit of checking on mayo clinic symptom checker too... and it comes up with a bunch of respiratory conditions but at the top of the list were

- asthma
- anemia

heart attack was also on there. :(

now if my BOZO mdoc had, on my labs that i just had done, included a CBC, we would KNOW if i was anemic!!! grrrr. :mad: and ya know, it's not rocket science to think to at least RULE OUT anemia when a woman goes in complaining of light periods and asking for a hormone profile! :mad: i mean there were general well-being tests too, cholesterol etc....

who does a blood workup without doing a CBC?????? :mad:

~ waves ~

Dear Bobby

thanks... i am not having a panic attack. i don't have any of those symptoms other than the shortness of breath. and it doesn't even feel the same way as shortness of breath with anxiety.

love

~ waves ~

it is 1.45 am here now. i am doing ok at the moment. i was actually worse off last night.

tomorrow, if i am ok i will go ahead with the CT scan. but ...

if i have more of these spells as soon as i get up, like i did today, i might cancel the CT and go to the hospital. i could go to mdoc again but i kinda think that would be useless. i am a bit worried though here if you go to the hospital you never know what you are going to get. they won't necessarily run tests. i don't know. i may call my aunt who is more experienced with the stupid medical system in this stupid country than me or my parents are.

yes i am a little bit frustrated.

oh and yes i did get a little dizzy/light-headed a couple of times, during the worst ones. but no nausea at all. just really weak. had to lie down. have been having mild headaches too but that could be anything including possibly the Zoloft or sinus or tension or who knows.

~ waves ~

looks like i have to d/c the Zoloft
 

well, i was thinking of suspending the Zoloft (sertraline), just to eliminate a variable...

but i was really hemhawing on it... until i found this:

http://www.drugs.com/cons/zoloft.html#ixzz0vnBC56c5so i guess i should suspend it, at least until heart issues are ruled out. :(

and another thing i'm not going to have any caffeine today either. see what happens. heck. like i really needed this right now.

~ waves ~

:eek: OMG, waves honey !

I hope as Im typing this you are feeling better...

I found this:

Causes of Shortness of Breath
Many conditions and diseases cause shortness of breath. These are the most common:

•anaphylaxis
•asthma
•chest injuries
•carbon monoxide poisoning
•chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
•collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
•congestive heart failure
•heart attack
•hyperventilation syndrome
•pneumonia
•pulmonary embolism

I went to check about "hyperventilation syndrome":



Hyperventilation syndrome (HVS; also chronic hyperventilation syndrome or CHVS) is a respiratory disorder, psychologically or physiologically based, involving breathing too deeply or too rapidly (hyperventilation). HVS may present with chest pain and a tingling sensation in the fingertips and around the mouth (paresthesia) and may accompany a panic attack.

People with HVS feel that they cannot get enough air. In reality, they have about the same oxygenation in the arterial blood (normal values are about 98% for hemoglobin saturation) and too little carbon dioxide in their blood and other tissues. While oxygen is abundant in the bloodstream, HVS reduces effective delivery of that oxygen to vital organs due to low-CO2-induced vasoconstriction and the suppressed Bohr effect.

The hyperventilation is self-promulgating as rapid breathing causes carbon dioxide levels to fall below healthy levels, and respiratory alkalosis (high blood pH) develops. This makes the symptoms worse, which causes the person to try breathing even faster, which further exacerbates the problem.

The respiratory alkalosis leads to changes in the way the nervous system fires and leads to the paresthesia, dizziness, and perceptual changes that often accompany this condition. Other mechanisms may also be at work, and some people are physiologically more susceptible to this phenomenon than others.

Most cases are caused by anxiety or stress. However, medical conditions such as infection, blood loss, heart attack, hypocapnia or alkalosis due to chemical imbalances, decreased cerebral blood flow, and increased nerve sensitivity may also underlie this symptom.

In one study, one third of patients with HVS had "subtle but definite lung disease" that prompted them to breathe too frequently or too deeply.

Many people with panic disorder or agorophobia will experience HVS. However, most people with HVS do not have these disorders.



Do you think this could fit ???

Considering you have been having cough, I would tend to think it could be more lungs related than heart realted... :rolleyes: But that just me !! shez, why I didnt listen to my father when they told me to become a doctor ?

Let us know how are you !!

And something about anemia...

Symptoms of anemia may include the following:

•Fatigue


•weakness


•shortness of breath


•lightheadedness


•palpitations (feeling of the heart racing or beating irregularly)


•looking pale
Symptoms of severe anemia may include:

•chest pain, angina, or heart attack


•dizziness


•fainting or passing out


•rapid heart rate
Some of the signs that may indicate anemia in an individual may include:

•Change in stool color, including black and tarry stools (sticky and foul smelling), maroon-colored, or visibly bloody stools if the anemia is due to blood loss through the gastrointestinal tract.


•rapid heart rate


•low blood pressure


•rapid breathing


•pale or cold skin


•yellow skin called jaundice if anemia is due to red blood cell breakdown


•heart murmur


•enlargement of the spleen with certain causes of anemia

I need to go to sleep, BUT, found that Zoloft can cause pulmonary problems in newborns... :rolleyes:

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com...h-defects.html

Dear Waves,

I'm feeling lost wishing I could help you. :hug: :hug: :hug:
If you feel up to it, I think you might go to the CT scan. You made the appt because you wanted the information that the scan would give you.

I'm wondering if the low vit D could cause shortness of breath and the other things you are experiencing.
Vitamin D is the only thing you have knowledge of being low/ out of balance.
I'm worried about anemia too, but you no have solid info on that.

Do you want to taper off the Zoloft? Or do you consider that you have only been at the 50 mgs dose for a few days?
It will be ok to give up the Zoloft. Giving it up will make you worry less and will not be a big deal to start up again once you have ruled out heart issues. D/C ing will cost you time in your question to be free of depression but you have lots of patience with waiting for depression to ease. :(
Stay patient.

You will miss the coffee but you will be able to observe yourself with one less thing going into your system.

I hope that you find a satisfactory result.

M.

Dear Waves,
 

Give us status reports if you can. :circlelove:
M.

Okay I'm going to weight in here. I would say a lot of what your
talking about sounded like me when I was having problems with
my asthma. When it was untreated. And my allergies were out
of control really bad. When I first went to the doctor, I too
worried that I was having heart problems. She had ruled
out anemia I think about 3 times. And a few other things
like that.

I hope you get some answers.

Donna

Dear Blue,

thank you for all the info... and i would tend to agree with you that it is probably respiratory for the fact that, at least when i first had these symptoms there was cough with or after. i am definitely not hyperventilating - my breathing is not shallow or rapid. And it is not anxiety. i have had anxiety before and trouble breathing/pressure on chest it feels different. i have not had problems with anxiety or panic recently.

Dear Donna

thank you for the input. i had a light bulb in my head regarding cough-variant asthma based on our past conversations ... now that the cough is not always present i feel i am in murky waters though. but it is rather a relief to think asthma (any variant) because it is treatable and not as scary as COPD or cancer or heart attack. i am really ****** that my doc did not put the blood count in my tests. i rather doubt i'm anemic but it can be subtle too so really it should be ruled out.

Dear Mari

thanks for staying with me. I appreciate it.

~ waves ~

quick update
 

going to have CT scan (sinuses). mom going with me.

doing sorta better today... feel out of breath when i do *anything* but hardly any tightness. just a twinge every now and then.

skipped Zoloft for today, which due to its convenient half-life of almost exactly 1 day, will cut my level in half. undecided whether to resume at 25mg (rather than 50) tomorrow or not.

i could see the tightness, but not the breathing, to be related to the Zoloft. one diagnostic problem is this:

the worst days were yesterday and the day before, but especially yesterday. those days are likely days when Zoloft side-effects due to the increase to 50mg might show up. BUT. those are also days 1 and 2 of my cycle. so if the problem were anemia, it would ALSO have been worsened on those days, and especially yesterday. :rolleyes: i am getting madder and madder at my mdoc.

bottom line, if it gets better from today on, it could mean the problem was the Zoloft OR anemia. (or a coincidence, of course.)

ok i need to finish getting ready now...

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,

Thanks for the update.
Good luck w/ the CT.

You are good at figuring out these things.
I hope you breathe better.

Mari

update
 

the CT is done. on the way back i got winded but nothing major and still have not had as bad episodes today. i do have very slight tightness in the chest almost all the time but is only barely perceptible and not a great discomfort like before. the breathing is a little better.

i had to go see mdoc again tonight because i needed him to read something on the script for the xray. so i told him the past couple of days have been having these things without cough and asked if i should go to the hospital and get heart checked. he said i could if i wanted but that he thought it was the same respiratory "syndrome" presenting a little differently. and that he didn't "see heart problems, fortunately, in [my] case."

for all he knows:rolleyes: ... considering that he
- did not ask any questions
- does not have clinical history on me
- has never listened to my heart
- did not even take my pulse or ask me if i had!!!

Oh, Mari... about vit D deficiency ... i don't see it causing these symptoms directly. it could, indirectly, in the sense of contributing to the development of a detectable pathology, like heart disease, for instance.

i still haven't decided about the Zoloft tomorrow. after skipping today, my blood level is about what it would be with repeated dosing of 25mg. i am thinking of continuing it at 25mg just for the 3 days until i can talk to pdoc about it. i don't think just 25mg can hurt much, and from there i can

- suspend symptom free
- increase to 50mg again at any time
- stay put and hope it helps maybe even a little(?)

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,
This doc should send you to a better doc OR something. :mad:

Yes, I understand your logic about the 25 mgs Zoloft. Your plan makes sense to me.

In the meantime, your mdoc did give you the go ahead to go to the hospital if you need.


M.

Right, the scans will reveal us the truth, but in the mean time...

Now that I think about it..., the last time I felt I was having a heart attack was, when I couldnt breath and my arm hurt horribly... Guess what it was ? My gastric ulcer !!! :eek: It was that bad that all my body was sore and, some nerves were being "pushed" by organs and viceversa... :rolleyes:

Do you suffer of any gastric ulcer/gasthitis dear waves ??

:hug:

Okay I have one thought on the anemia.

If we are thinking about the same one. If it were this you would be
prescribed Iron. I hate to even say this, But I don't know that taking
a little Iron could hurt you.

So if you can get some try that.


I also have to admit the many times I had mine checked by my primary.
They didn't catch it was low. It was the specialist that said it was.
They used two different levels.

And I have to admit I've been feeling a lot better. And I've also been
having a lot more energy.

So I take the iron on a permant bases.

Donna:grouphug:

ulcer, anemia, iron
 

Dear Blue

actually the CT scan is for sinuses - i have other problems there, but they include post nasal drip which could aggravate a respiratory problem. the xray and spirometry are on the 25 of august and i don't think i can get them any sooner than that.

ulcer... i don't have any symptoms of one if i have one. no GI trouble at all. no indigestion, no heartburn, no burping, no nothing. but sometimes they are asymptomatic. my dad had one and the first sign of it was .......... drum roll please....

........... anemia!

which they weren't able to correct, and only resolved much later once the ulcer was found/corrected.

Dear Donna

what they give for anemia depends on the cause. for pernicious anemia, B12 is needed because the problem is difficulty absorbing B12. for anemia due to bleeding (as in ulcer), only correcting the bleeding will resolve the anemia.

several years ago i used to take several kinds of supplements, rotating them. only one had iron in it and i only took it every 2-3 days. i stopped ALL supplements 10 days before having baseline bloodtests for meds. even so, the electrolyte profile showed me to be HIGH in iron. so....

i have since avoided iron supplementation. and now living with my parents i eat meat more frequently, so i'm even less likely to be iron-deficient.

too much iron actually will hurt you - it is toxic, producing fatigue and other symptoms similar to deficiency.

what you say about only the specialist finding the anemia is interesting though. but it would be a start if i even had a blood count. :rolleyes: i mentioned to the mdoc that it was missing... he said next round of labs. i might see if pdoc "wants" to request a round of labs. maybe we can say it's for the zoloft. hehe.

:grouphug: thanks you guys :grouphug:

~ waves ~

Yes Waves

I would have pdoc request for zoloft. Because it is also necessary
for that. I do realize there are other kinds of anemia. But i didn't
know the way it worked.


My olest son has the same kind of Anemia has I do but his is worst.

So we are keeping him high on iron. Its working very well for him too.

I am glad you are patient with me. Thank you

Donna

Dear Donna

lol no... thank YOU. you are a dear. :hug:

they never do labs here for Zoloft. i don't think it's really standard even in the US, just for an AD.

but here they don't even do labs for meds on a regular basis even where they technically should be done. the only time they have even done labs without my asking for them was when i was inpatient.

the way it works is:

1. my assigned GP (mdoc) is the only one who can issue lab scripts.
2. the GP will generally oblige if i say pdoc requested them.
3. if i get a written request from pdoc (or any specialist), then the GP has to issue the scripts.
4. my pdoc will oblige if i make a reasonable request. also my pdoc doesn't blow me off.

i could have lied to my mdoc and got the bloodcount saying pdoc requested it, and probably could have gone to the lab today. but i want to talk to pdoc about all this stuff - maybe even wait till i see him wednesday, show him the labs that did get done, and see if he thinks there are any other tests, in addition to the bloodcount that would be useful or prudent.

when this is over i might see if pdoc will help me with the Vitamin D.


~ waves ~

I personally think you have a good idea.

Donna

well
 

i am feeling impatient about all this.

i am also feeling sorta better.

i'm thinking of trying 50mg Zoloft again as of tomorrow. that is still a low dose so i'm thinking it won't hurt much either, regardless what the issue is.

if perchance the Zoloft was causing these problems, they should show up again with about the same timing. if was the Zoloft, they're likely to go away if just keep taking it, but also, i can probably dampen them a little with a benzo. i had been reluctant to try lorazepam if it was a primary respiratory problem. but if it's due to the Zoloft that will be fine.

as for the respiratory tests ... those needed to happen anyway... i had been meaning to go to the doctor since spring when i started having the pain/shortness of breath with the cough. (i had been putting that off. sigh. :o)

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,
I can see going back to 50 mg Zoloft.

Are you impatient about getting the Zoloft up to a therapeutic level and then for it to kick in?

I'm glad you are better.

M.

thanks Mari. :)

yesss!!!

i would just keep it at 50mg for a while. 50mg really might work as i haven't been on any antidepressant for any length of time for a couple of years now.

i was debating whether just 25mg might work also... even though it's not "technically" considered a useful dosage, because i feel a little better, spirits-wise too. i really wonder whether they've done any clinical testing on bipolars using lower doses of antidepressants, instead of giving them the usual doses and then going, "LOOK! Agitation!" or worse, "EEK! MANIA! here! have a mood stabilizer with that!" ;)

~ waves ~

Waves
I have forgotten, Are you taking 50mg twice a day, or once a day.

Donna

Ps, glad you are feeling better

Dear Donna

Zoloft is once a day. and thanks. :)

friday i skipped it (had taken 50 for the 5 days before that) and today i took 25mg.

we'll see what happens. i hope *nothing* happens. ;)


oh btw, Mari... up the thread some place you had asked about the OD that we thought was due to a nicked extended release coating. i forgot to answer ... that was with Tegretol. Zoloft/sertraline does not come in extended release.

~ waves ~

wow i am feeling so much better with the breathing.

it's funny. it got so subtle at times, i started wondering if i was imagining things.

but now that i can breathe so much better, i know i wasn't imagining it. i have not been right the past few days.

but what is weird is if i breathe deeply in and out through my mouth, and cup my hands to my ear... towards the end when i exhale (but not when i inhale!) there is still that tiny squeaking sound. i noticed that when i was having the problems too. but now i can breathe like woww, and i thought the squeaking would be gone. but it is still there. maybe everyone squeaks a little that way maybe it's normal.

i wish my stupid doctor wasn't stethoscope-impaired.

~ waves ~

OMG! I signed up on this forum just because I googled "breathe zoloft" and it came up with this--then I saw this post was made recently!!

Okay, so I'm an 18 year old male and I started Zoloft two weeks ago, took it for a week, then decided to stop because taking a SSRI makes me anxious knowing I have to take one (and it also increases my anxiety, anyway). I noticed what you were talking about and when I stopped Zoloft it went away and I never thought twice about it. Now it has come back...

I feel like my chest is tight, almost numb. My heart races at times, especially when I think about it. It just feels like my lungs aren't expanding to get a good breath, you know? So I take a deep breath and it doesn't help at ALL even if I feel that I got a good breath. When I had an anxiety attack, it felt nothing like this. At all. And, like you, my BP and pulse is fine. I have found NOTHING about this ANYWHERE online... I'm so glad I found this to know I'm not alone!! I don't intend to stick around on this forum, but I definitely want to PM with you or talk with you here to discuss how we feel! I'll definitely keep checking for the updates to all of your tests!!

Dear Starstruck

thank you for sharing... i am sorry for your experiences - difficulty breathing is awful no matter what the cause. :(

i would encourage you to talk to your doctor about these symptoms since they are new for you, as is the Zoloft and SSRIs in general. s/he needs to advise you whether to continue treatment. sometimes meds have side effects during the initial period which then go away. your doctor may also wish to give you another med, "on the side," to help you get through these symptoms.

if you cannot talk to the prescribing doctor, talk to your GP. you have said you feel anxious about taking an SSRI. you also say you felt like your heart was racing... that does suggest anxiety to me, but a doctor needs to see you in person to evaluate that.
(i did not feel my heart was racing btw, i just checked my pulse because it seemed sensible to do so.)

--- my situation with Zoloft and with these symptoms is a little different -----

1. i had respiratory problems before starting the Zoloft. these symptoms were slightly different than what i usually experience in that usually i have a severe, deep, dry cough as well, and this time and only occasional light coughing nothing much.

2. i am very familiar with Zoloft. this is the FOURTH time i've taken it... and i have in the past i remained on it for years at a time. i never had anything similar happen with it before, and nothing to suggest to me that this is due to the Zoloft now. because of the timing, and the fact that these symptoms were a little different (more frequent and no cough), i could not rule out the Zoloft completely. similarly, i started having concerns with regard to safety of taking the Zoloft, if the cause of these episodes was a different unidentified problem - even not caused by the Zoloft.

take care - i wish you luck... this med was a Godsend to me in the past so really, i hope it works out for you.

~ waves ~

Hey Waves. It sounds like some of my symptoms. Tightness in the chest,and sometimes various pains that are in different areas of my chest. I have the tight pain in the middle of my chest when I get upset.

I have allergy attacks,and cough deeply for a couple of hours,and sometimes taking a shower sets off the allergy attacks. I cough deeply. Sometimes I feel a tightness in my chest. I don't know what all of this is. BF:hug::hug::hug:

Dear Steve,

i've wondered before when you've mentioned your cough if we might have something similar because i have always had a nasty deep cough that happens due to allergies, or irritants like smoke or certain chemicals. i don't get it with steam but it does sound like you have sensitive airways. have you ever talked to a doctor about your cough? maybe you could ask about cough-variant asthma?

now i tend to think the pain in the chest could have different causes when you get it with the cough as opposed to when you are upset. with the cough i would think respiratory, the upset i would think anxiety but you should talk to a doctor about it if you haven't. :hug:

in the past when i have had anxiety attacks or high anxiety i have had pain/pressure in the chest and a sense of gasping for air even though there was clearly nothing wrong with my airways. this time, i didn't feel at all upset or anxious, and i wasn't coughing either, so i was confused/concerned.

i feel better. i did have a bout of coughing yesterday, and i had some pain but that happened when my mother grilled chicken and filled the house with smoke! :eek: :rolleyes:

~ waves ~

I know what you mean. Sometimes I just have a tightness,or a discomfort in my lung areas. Sometimes It lets up without a coughing event within a short period of time.

I do have allergies,and went to a specialist,when I had insurence. I have many allergies to molds,mixed trees,and mixed grasses. I used to get allergy shots,and they helped.

I have air purifiers in every room in my part of this house. Rag weed has started to bloom in this area where I live,and I'm very allergic to it. My coughing started to intensify about five days ago. When I start coughing,it gets on my nerves. I cough,and cough until it subsides. Sometimes it's a very deep cough. BF:hug::hug::hug:

Steve,

yeah... the more i think about it, the more it seems like it had to be respiratory. i hope it is something they can figure it out though, so i don't get stuck with whatever it is, because it's obviously getting worse.

it must suck not having insurance. i used to have a really good PPO... i miss that. here, we have socialized medicine.. it's better than nothing but it isn't completely free either. the bureaucracy is awful and a lot of docs don't really practice they just push papers (that's what my gp mostly does). also no matter how good the doc, they have their hands tied as to what is allowed to be prescribed and what tests are allowed to be done and how (in)frequently. once i was asking my pdoc about the terrible level of care here... i was confused because i have seen papers by local people - and not few... he told me all the good doctors and researchers pick up and go to the US because here they don't pay them. he is staff with one clinic, and has does psychotherapy on private basis, but he also has ambulatory hours with another clinic - he told me how much they pay him per hour for that - it was peanuts... i was shocked.

my mom went to the doctor one time to ask for a physical. he said ok, and gave her a script for a blood workup. and only a very basic one. that's it. no temp, no weight, no bp, no actually looking or listening to any of the body. sigh.

~ waves ~