I'm not asthmatic but I'm having trouble breathing
August 8, 2011 7:06 AM Subscribe
In the past week or so, I've developed a tightness in my throat that makes breathing very uncomfortable. What could it be?
I'm 21 weeks pregnant. Last week, just a day or two after my monthly appointment with my doctor, I started feeling my throat tightening occasionally. It comes and goes, and doesn't seem to be connected with eating anything or any particular activity. When it happens, it feels like I'm breathing through a thin straw. I have no history of asthma, and while this makes breathing uncomfortable, I wouldn't say that I feel like I'm out of breath.
I'm sure the right answer is to see a doctor, but I really hate going to doctors unnecessarily. I'm kind of the opposite of a hypochondriac--I always convince myself that I'm fine, that whatever's wrong is nothing. The idea of setting up an appointment with my ENT, taking time away from work, paying a copay, etc only to find out that nothing's wrong fills me with dread. I don't have my next appointment with my OBGYN until 8/30.
Does this sound serious enough to get over my anxiety and make a doctor's appointment? Does it sound like anything at all?
I'm 21 weeks pregnant. Last week, just a day or two after my monthly appointment with my doctor, I started feeling my throat tightening occasionally. It comes and goes, and doesn't seem to be connected with eating anything or any particular activity. When it happens, it feels like I'm breathing through a thin straw. I have no history of asthma, and while this makes breathing uncomfortable, I wouldn't say that I feel like I'm out of breath.
I'm sure the right answer is to see a doctor, but I really hate going to doctors unnecessarily. I'm kind of the opposite of a hypochondriac--I always convince myself that I'm fine, that whatever's wrong is nothing. The idea of setting up an appointment with my ENT, taking time away from work, paying a copay, etc only to find out that nothing's wrong fills me with dread. I don't have my next appointment with my OBGYN until 8/30.
Does this sound serious enough to get over my anxiety and make a doctor's appointment? Does it sound like anything at all?
litnerd: "I always convince myself that I'm fine, that whatever's wrong is nothing."
Remember that there are two of you to think about in this situation. Please contact your OB asap.
posted by mkultra at 7:28 AM on August 8, 2011
Remember that there are two of you to think about in this situation. Please contact your OB asap.
posted by mkultra at 7:28 AM on August 8, 2011
Best answer: Your OB is used to answering questions by phone throughout pregnancies. Don't hesitate to call and ask for advice. See if you can identify a trigger. Right now, at least in the Northwest, pollen count is especially high. You may be having an allergic reaction to something in particular or to pollen. Pregnancy is weird and you can have strange sensitivities. I had an odd skin reaction to some anti-itch cream for a mosquito bite during my pregnancy. Call your doctor's office now. Trouble breathing is not being a hypochondriac. Both you and your baby need you to breathe. :)
posted by amanda at 7:29 AM on August 8, 2011
posted by amanda at 7:29 AM on August 8, 2011
Seek the attention of a medical professional at this time
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:43 AM on August 8, 2011
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:43 AM on August 8, 2011
Best answer: I had trouble breathing once after I fell off my bike. I didn't think much of it at the time but a few days later, it persisted, so I called an on-call nurse service and they said "Get thee to an emergency room RIGHT NOW!". Turned out I had a collapsed lung and spent 4 days in the trauma ward with a tube sticking out of my chest.
I'm not saying that's you've got a pneumothorax, but yeah, the nurses reaction on the phone basically said to me "If you're having trouble breathing, it's a big deal". Go see a doctor.
posted by Diag at 7:45 AM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm not saying that's you've got a pneumothorax, but yeah, the nurses reaction on the phone basically said to me "If you're having trouble breathing, it's a big deal". Go see a doctor.
posted by Diag at 7:45 AM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Tightness in the throat w/difficulty breathing is how my asthma shows itself. See a doctor and get some medication. The uncomfortableness is not worth it! (My asthma occurred for the first time when I was about 24.)
posted by puritycontrol at 8:02 AM on August 8, 2011
posted by puritycontrol at 8:02 AM on August 8, 2011
Best answer: Please go to or call the doctor. I had a friend whose lung collapsed during pregnancy this spring, for pretty much no reason. Bad stuff can happen, and you are not being a weirdo or paranoid freak if you get a concern checked out.
posted by charmedimsure at 8:32 AM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by charmedimsure at 8:32 AM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Throat tightness could also be caused by a goiter, itself a symptom of a broken thyroid gland (hyperthyroid or hypothyroid). That can cause pregnancy complications, too. Get checked out.
posted by juniperesque at 9:09 AM on August 8, 2011
posted by juniperesque at 9:09 AM on August 8, 2011
Best answer: Call the ob. I had something similar to what you're describing when I was in college and it turned out to be the beginnings of mono. Both times I was pregnant, I got bronchitis, and it started off feeling like a tightness in my throat. Could be lots of things; let the doctor decide how serious it is.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:51 AM on August 8, 2011
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:51 AM on August 8, 2011
And, let us know how it goes. I mean, let us know that you're okay, please!
posted by amanda at 8:49 PM on August 8, 2011
posted by amanda at 8:49 PM on August 8, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your advice and concern. I called my OB's office, and they basically told me that they couldn't do anything for me there, but if I was concerned about it, to see my primary care physician. I have an appointment with a GP tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you guys know what he says, and I'll try not to let my doctor anxiety get the best of me!
posted by litnerd at 6:59 AM on August 9, 2011
posted by litnerd at 6:59 AM on August 9, 2011
Response by poster: Update: my newly-appointed PCP (because I've never had one before because I never go to doctors) diagnosed that it's just an upper respiratory infection, given that a cough started yesterday as well, and possibly reflux. He took throat cultures and blood, but I haven't heard back yet. After reiterating what the shortness of breath feels like, both physically and emotionally, he prescribed an inhaler. Surprisingly enough, my pharmacist mentioned that she suffered from shortness of breath during her second pregnancy--so possibly it's just a symptom? Anyhow, it doesn't appear to be anything serious.
Thanks again for your concern and advice. I surely appreciate it!
posted by litnerd at 4:58 PM on August 11, 2011
Thanks again for your concern and advice. I surely appreciate it!
posted by litnerd at 4:58 PM on August 11, 2011
Glad you got checked out -- honestly, there seems to be no end of whack-a-doodle things that go on while pregnant. Throughout your pregnancy and in the year after (for you, for the baby) you'll be contacting doctors a lot. Don't hesitate and don't worry about being a worry-wart. I've taken my baby to the pediatrician about a dozen times since birth for various cold symptoms and general new baby strangeness. I think it just goes with the territory. Here's to an uneventful rest of your pregnancy!
posted by amanda at 5:11 PM on August 11, 2011
posted by amanda at 5:11 PM on August 11, 2011
"Surprisingly enough, my pharmacist mentioned that she suffered from shortness of breath during her second pregnancy"
This may not be quite the same as what you're experiencing, but I teach at a local college so I lecture (looooooong lectures), and when I was pregnant, I was always running short of air "too soon" in my sentences and sometimes gasping by the time I finished, since I was trying to talk in my normal cadence. As the baby gets bigger, there just isn't as much room for your lungs and you can't draw as deep a breath, especially if you're shorter.
(But yeah, the tightness in the throat, for me, was the beginnings of bronchitis.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:46 PM on August 11, 2011
This may not be quite the same as what you're experiencing, but I teach at a local college so I lecture (looooooong lectures), and when I was pregnant, I was always running short of air "too soon" in my sentences and sometimes gasping by the time I finished, since I was trying to talk in my normal cadence. As the baby gets bigger, there just isn't as much room for your lungs and you can't draw as deep a breath, especially if you're shorter.
(But yeah, the tightness in the throat, for me, was the beginnings of bronchitis.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:46 PM on August 11, 2011
I have asthma but havent had any symptoms regularly requiring an inhaler since I was 10 (unless I end up in a house full of cats). When I was pregnant, there was a period of a few months where I was puffing on an inhaler every couple days with no obvious cause. Hormones and fetuses are harsh on a woman's body, even in the best of pregnancies. Glad you got checked out!
posted by chiababe at 7:06 AM on August 13, 2011
posted by chiababe at 7:06 AM on August 13, 2011
Response by poster: Re-update: after further discussion of symptoms, my doctor's adjusted the diagnosis to reflux. I have a pregnancy-safe prescription, and hopefully all will be better soon!
posted by litnerd at 5:22 AM on August 24, 2011
posted by litnerd at 5:22 AM on August 24, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I totally understand, but remember that going and finding out nothing is wrong with you is a significantly better outcome than not going and finding out the hard way that something is wrong with you.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:17 AM on August 8, 2011