Hey, everyone. So, a while ago i had my wisdom teeth removed and it was awful. It didn't hurt, but it was so uncomfortable. I have these coughing fits where i HAVE to cough, otherwise i'll get breathless. I couldn't do it in the middle of the surgery, so i just held it in. It was so uncomfortable i started shaking in the middle of it and even cried afterwards. Four days after that, i start to get sick due to the medication my dentist prescribed me. Everything i felt was in the leaflet except the shortness of breath. Everything went away except the shortness of breath. I CAN'T TAKE A DEEP BREATH WHEN I WANT TO. I went to a doctor who barely looked at me and told me i had bronchitis. Another one told me there was nothing wrong with my lungs according to the x-ray and it was all in my head. He gave me diazepam but even calm i still felt something pushing my chest down and not letting me breath in completely. Another one prescribed me some medicine and more medicine for me to inhale. I feel a bit better, but sometimes i still get out of breath out of nowhere and still feel something pushing down my chest. i'm scared i have pulmonary embolism or something. I know i shouldn't, but i looked it up and it feels like something i could have. I even had some red spots on my leg (it could be due to my tight leggings but idk) The doctors around here are not the best ones, so sometimes i feel like i can't trust them. I'll ask my doctor tomorrow to have my blood tested and all the exams someone can do to see if there's something wrong with me physically. But i'm afraid i have something dangerous and that i'll die till the results come out. Almost everyone around me thinks i'm having anxiety attacks and that's why i feel bad physically but i just don't know what to think anymore. Sometimes when i'm totally calm i get out of breath, i don't think that happens with panick attacks. Sometimes i feel completely fine as if i had never been sick in the first place. I'm not eating right, i can't complete a meal because i feel out of breath. Sometimes i feel like i forgot how to breath right and that's why i'm like this. Sometimes i even think i'm going blind for using berotec too much in the inhaler (This going blind thing has also something to do with my OCD, but i'll have to make a whole another post for it). Even my social anxiety, something that held me back for years, doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. If you tell me to give a public speech to the whole world, i'd probably do it, because i'm so sure i'm gonna die anyway. I feel sad and hopeless
Hi Amy,
First off, there really isn't a chart where you can tick off all of the symptoms people have with panic attacks. There is an article on this site somewhere that lists over 100 symptoms people have described during anxiety attacks. I do not have the typical panic attacks. I don't feel my heart racing or feel like I might die. I get sick to my stomach, sweat, hot flashes, the chills, lump in my throat, odd pains throughout my body, dizziness, hyperventilating, and more. If your main worry right now is feeling like you can't breathe, I can almost guarantee you that your anxiety will manifest itself and make you feel like you can't breathe. That heavy feeling in your chest could absolutely just be related to anxiety. This is why anxiety becomes so debilitating, your body becomes your enemy. Your mind is a crazy powerful tool, it can trick you into believing anything. If you think seeing a second doctor will help you to get answers and ease your mind, then by all means, go see the doctor. It sounds like they did a good job to check that nothing is wrong with your lungs. Another thing I have noticed is that even when my anxiety level is really low, I can still have symptoms that cause my anxiety to get worse. I can have a great day and suddenly feel a pain under my arm and I am certain it is lymphoma. The other day I noticed a bruise on my arm and immediately felt sick thinking I have leukemia or something. Get some therapy and see if you can find a way to control your racing thoughts and constant worry. Learn ways to distract yourself so you do not panic all the time. It really will get better!
Oh, Amy, what a bucket list of anxiety! I'm so sorry you're going through this.
First - a pulmonary embolism is sudden and obvious. It doesn't just creep up on you gradually.
Second - the feeling of not being able to inhale deeply is entirely due to anxiety.
Going blind because of an inhaler? Never heard of that one - do get this into perspective - it has to be listed legally as a possible side-effect, but I bet it's one of the absolutely rarest ones.
Don't spend all your time on google, trying to figure out possible illnesses.
Try to get into therapy instead, and work out what is making you feel so panicky.