Experiencing shortness of breath. Looking for some guidance
June 4, 2014 1:20 PM Subscribe
On Saturday while kayaking in the bay, I experienced shortness of breath for about ten minutes, which then went away. The last time I’d experienced this feeling was nearly 20 years ago when I was 12, when I last had asthma.
Everything was fine until Monday evening after dinner when I started experiencing the shortness of breath again. I was able to get to sleep but awoke yesterday morning not feeling any relief. I went to the Wellness Center where I work, and they took all my vitals, reporting that my heart rate, oxygen levels and lungs all were fine. They then also performed an EKG, which was normal, as well.
No wheezing was heard but they had me try a nebulizer which did not have any effect. At this point, the nurse recommended I go to an Urgent Care clinic after work.
The doctor at the Urgent Care confirmed that everything seemed healthy (lungs, heart rate, oxygen, etc.) He took a chest x-ray, which was perfect, said everything looked healthy. He said the next step should possibly be to see a cardiologist, or go to the ER if it gets worse.
As of today, I’m still experiencing the shortness of breath. I have no pain except for the discomfort of my breathing and the slight soreness in my chest from this.
What should my next step be? Should I make an appointment with the cardiologist? Go to the ER? I know YANMD but I’m feeling unsure of how to handle this and any suggestions or guidance would be helpful.
Everything was fine until Monday evening after dinner when I started experiencing the shortness of breath again. I was able to get to sleep but awoke yesterday morning not feeling any relief. I went to the Wellness Center where I work, and they took all my vitals, reporting that my heart rate, oxygen levels and lungs all were fine. They then also performed an EKG, which was normal, as well.
No wheezing was heard but they had me try a nebulizer which did not have any effect. At this point, the nurse recommended I go to an Urgent Care clinic after work.
The doctor at the Urgent Care confirmed that everything seemed healthy (lungs, heart rate, oxygen, etc.) He took a chest x-ray, which was perfect, said everything looked healthy. He said the next step should possibly be to see a cardiologist, or go to the ER if it gets worse.
As of today, I’m still experiencing the shortness of breath. I have no pain except for the discomfort of my breathing and the slight soreness in my chest from this.
What should my next step be? Should I make an appointment with the cardiologist? Go to the ER? I know YANMD but I’m feeling unsure of how to handle this and any suggestions or guidance would be helpful.
Any chance it's anxiety?
posted by Raichle at 1:37 PM on June 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Raichle at 1:37 PM on June 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
Does the position of your body affect the symptoms?
Do you have increased symptoms when leaning back/lounging?
Do the symptoms reduce when you lean forward?
I had symptoms of a heart attack, but unlike a heart attack, my symptoms changed with body position - I had pericarditis - Inflammation of the sack around the heart.
The treatment is anti-inflamitories.
Doctors and nurses should be able to hear this when listening to your heart while you are lounging. Untreated this can be dangerous. But for me, I was in a lot of pain - chest, left arm and left side of my neck, and there was no way that I could function based on what was happening.
posted by bonofasitch at 1:39 PM on June 4, 2014
Do you have increased symptoms when leaning back/lounging?
Do the symptoms reduce when you lean forward?
I had symptoms of a heart attack, but unlike a heart attack, my symptoms changed with body position - I had pericarditis - Inflammation of the sack around the heart.
The treatment is anti-inflamitories.
Doctors and nurses should be able to hear this when listening to your heart while you are lounging. Untreated this can be dangerous. But for me, I was in a lot of pain - chest, left arm and left side of my neck, and there was no way that I could function based on what was happening.
posted by bonofasitch at 1:39 PM on June 4, 2014
I'm not a doctor, and I'm certainly not YOUR doctor, but when I went to see MY actual doctor with similar symptoms he diagnosed GERD and gave me omeprazole. It seemed unlikely to me but that took care of it. Do you have a GP with which you have a relationship?
posted by Floydd at 1:40 PM on June 4, 2014
posted by Floydd at 1:40 PM on June 4, 2014
Did they do any tests* regarding clotting? Do you have a GP/family doctor to go to? I would start there (at least, if that's the model where you live). I experienced shortness of breath, thought it was allergies, went to my allergist, and only weeks later did I follow up with GP -- she ordered different tests and it turned out that I had multiple blood clots in my longs. (From BCP, in my case, but there are lots of other causes.)
*My oxygen saturation was never very bad during the whole incident. I think it was the CT scan that found the clots.
posted by kutsushita nyanko at 1:49 PM on June 4, 2014
*My oxygen saturation was never very bad during the whole incident. I think it was the CT scan that found the clots.
posted by kutsushita nyanko at 1:49 PM on June 4, 2014
Did they run blood tests? Severe anemia can present this way.
posted by judith at 1:51 PM on June 4, 2014
posted by judith at 1:51 PM on June 4, 2014
My little sister also had similar symptoms that (surprisingly) ended up being GERD/acid reflux. She treated it with over the counter antacids for a few days and then had no more trouble.
posted by mjcon at 2:02 PM on June 4, 2014
posted by mjcon at 2:02 PM on June 4, 2014
Sometimes shortness of breath is the only symptom of cardiovascular disease. All those tests you list can be fine and you can still be in danger.
Go see a cardiologist. If they say you are fine, ask for an explanation of why they think you are fine. There will be reasons and they should be able to articulate them (the ones I typed for always did this).
Possible tests could include echocardiogram, Holter monitor, sleep apnea testing, plain treadmill test, stress echocardiogram, and so on. They can explain to you what each test would tell you, what it won't tell you, and whether you might benefit from cardiac catheterization depending on those results (or your symptoms, which you may not be fully reporting without knowing it - these folks know what to ask and can ferret out symptoms you may not know are heart or cardiovascular related).
posted by AllieTessKipp at 2:06 PM on June 4, 2014
Go see a cardiologist. If they say you are fine, ask for an explanation of why they think you are fine. There will be reasons and they should be able to articulate them (the ones I typed for always did this).
Possible tests could include echocardiogram, Holter monitor, sleep apnea testing, plain treadmill test, stress echocardiogram, and so on. They can explain to you what each test would tell you, what it won't tell you, and whether you might benefit from cardiac catheterization depending on those results (or your symptoms, which you may not be fully reporting without knowing it - these folks know what to ask and can ferret out symptoms you may not know are heart or cardiovascular related).
posted by AllieTessKipp at 2:06 PM on June 4, 2014
I had shortness of breath when I was pg-turns out I was anemic. Very very anemic. I had no other symptoms other than I couldn't catch my breath for periods of about 10 or so minutes. It was my body trying to get more oxygen. Something to look into?
posted by 58 at 3:03 PM on June 4, 2014
posted by 58 at 3:03 PM on June 4, 2014
I think the prudent thing to do if you have another episode of shortness of breath is to go to your nearest emergency room to be evaluated.
Shortness of breath, as you can see in this thread, can be caused by many different things, and can be life threatening. Urgent care/wellness clinics are not where I would go for this.
posted by scalespace at 3:44 PM on June 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Shortness of breath, as you can see in this thread, can be caused by many different things, and can be life threatening. Urgent care/wellness clinics are not where I would go for this.
posted by scalespace at 3:44 PM on June 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think it is premature to go to a cardiologist when it isn't clear you have a cardiac problem. Your problem could be heart or lung related, or even something else entirely (you haven't had blood work yet, you could have symptomatic anemia).
You should go to the ER, now. Shortness of breath can be a number of serious things. The discomfort with breathing concerns me.
Having a clear chest x-ray and normal EKG is reassuring, but it really doesn't sound like you've had a full workup, and there are no obvious benign explanations for your symptoms to write them off as in the meantime - you don't have any symptoms of infection, you're not wheezing/it's not asthma, you didn't mention anxiety. IANYD/this is not medical advice. Please update with any further developments so we know you're OK.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 3:53 PM on June 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
You should go to the ER, now. Shortness of breath can be a number of serious things. The discomfort with breathing concerns me.
Having a clear chest x-ray and normal EKG is reassuring, but it really doesn't sound like you've had a full workup, and there are no obvious benign explanations for your symptoms to write them off as in the meantime - you don't have any symptoms of infection, you're not wheezing/it's not asthma, you didn't mention anxiety. IANYD/this is not medical advice. Please update with any further developments so we know you're OK.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 3:53 PM on June 4, 2014 [3 favorites]
Treehorn+Bunny is an ER doc. So go to the ER!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:24 PM on June 4, 2014
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:24 PM on June 4, 2014
You could have had a mild asthma incident while kayaking. Shortness of breath from asthma and shortness of breath from an anxiety attack can feel the same. What is worse- a small asthma episode can trigger and anxiety attack.
Lay on the floor and relax your body slowly from your toes to the top of your head. Breathe in through your nose, filling up your tummy with air. Breath out slowly. Do this a few times and see how you feel. Get up very slowly after.
posted by myselfasme at 4:34 PM on June 4, 2014
Lay on the floor and relax your body slowly from your toes to the top of your head. Breathe in through your nose, filling up your tummy with air. Breath out slowly. Do this a few times and see how you feel. Get up very slowly after.
posted by myselfasme at 4:34 PM on June 4, 2014
Posting for the OP here, I'm a friend of hers:
"I do take Cymbalta for anxiety, and so is it possible it's psychosomatic? Sure. I'm turning 30 next week, just bought and moved into my first house, etc. But i've never had an anxiety attack in the past and I don't feel particularly anxious this week.
I've been able to sleep through the past two nights totally fine, if that means anything.
I also talked to my uncle today who is a physician, and he thought it was most likely the new house had kicked up something to trigger asthma or allergies. My mom also told me today she had something very similar occur when she was a little older than me, and it turned out to be asthma, which she doesn't have very often but has had on occasion. I've made an appointment with an allergist for Monday. In the meantime, if I don't feel any better tomorrow I'll probably go to the ER, to be on the safe side."
posted by rbf1138 at 5:27 PM on June 4, 2014
"I do take Cymbalta for anxiety, and so is it possible it's psychosomatic? Sure. I'm turning 30 next week, just bought and moved into my first house, etc. But i've never had an anxiety attack in the past and I don't feel particularly anxious this week.
I've been able to sleep through the past two nights totally fine, if that means anything.
I also talked to my uncle today who is a physician, and he thought it was most likely the new house had kicked up something to trigger asthma or allergies. My mom also told me today she had something very similar occur when she was a little older than me, and it turned out to be asthma, which she doesn't have very often but has had on occasion. I've made an appointment with an allergist for Monday. In the meantime, if I don't feel any better tomorrow I'll probably go to the ER, to be on the safe side."
posted by rbf1138 at 5:27 PM on June 4, 2014
Given that you went to a "wellness center" at work, I doubt you had an EKG, with all 12 leads tested. More likely a 3-lead cardiac monitor.
I agree, the ER is the place for you if it recurs. If not, see a family physician and ask if you should be referred to a cardiologist for an exercise stress test. One does not simply go to a cardiologist. You have to be invited.
posted by megatherium at 6:16 PM on June 4, 2014
I agree, the ER is the place for you if it recurs. If not, see a family physician and ask if you should be referred to a cardiologist for an exercise stress test. One does not simply go to a cardiologist. You have to be invited.
posted by megatherium at 6:16 PM on June 4, 2014
This might have nothing to do with your situation, but it's worth mentioning. I once had a worm composter. I loved it. But after a while I noticed it caused me a day of asthma whenever I gave it scraps. I never had asthma before. The composter triggered it. Once I got rid of the composter the asthma went away. Maybe the new house or something out while kayaking kicked it up?
posted by icanbreathe at 11:12 PM on June 4, 2014
posted by icanbreathe at 11:12 PM on June 4, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:30 PM on June 4, 2014