shortness of breath
 

Has anyone experienced a shortness of breath with PCS? It seems like this comes and goes for me, but is almost always there during the day and sometimes at night. I'm confused as to where this symptom might be coming from . . . I did have an EKG that was normal. I wonder sometimes if this has something to do with either:

1. Generalized anxiety
2. Some sort of problem with my endocrine function now
3. Some sort of mild brain stem damage? (My scans have all been normal).

This is one of my only remaining symptoms, but is still bothersome and confusing. Are there any diagnostics that can be run that would help me with this? I also have to say that I have been able to keep cycling/running since my accident--and it seems like my lung capacity is normal. The shortness of breath mainly bothers me when I'm either at rest or just doing daily activities.

Thanks for any input!

In sifting through some older Neurotalk posts (and I realize that a lot of us end up here because of cycling/bike racing accidents!) I think what I might be experiencing is some sort of cervical issue and this is what is causing my breathing issues. I am going to have a Cranial-Sacral procedure done at KCOM, which is the founding place of Osteopathy and they are pretty good there. Hopefully that will help me.

I am 6 months into this and determined to get this figured out.

Hi Seth,
Let us know how you get on with your Cranial-Sacral procedure.
Anxiety can affect breathing and make a person feel as if they can't catch their breath.

I experience shortness of breath from fatigue on days I do more than I should. But if you are back to your usual exercise schedule that probably doesn't apply to your situation

I also used to get short of breath from my chest muscles being locked up due to anxiety. the things that helped were yoga - it opened up and relaxed my chest muscles and also acupuncture. Therapeutic massage might help too so you can be more comfortable while you figure out whether its anxiety or neck issues

Thanks, yes, I really need to think about trying yoga. I'm working on some guided visualization currently to help with the anxiety that still exists about my symptoms. Really, there are really two that still get the better of me most days--my disequilibrium and odd vision stuff and also my sensitivity to fluorescent lights. They all seem to be linked and of ocular nature. At 6 months, though, these have improved little over the last few months, which concerns me.