shortness of breath?

[deano89]

what is shortness of breath? a strange question i know! but i have had asthma for 26 years! so do have times of difficulty but recently since realising my mitral valve has got worse( severe regurg) i find i concentrate on my breathing particulary when sitting quite and i find its strange is the best way to describe it! ( its sort of a tightness at the back of the throat and breathing through my nose seems harder,but breathing through my mouth seems okish) , but when i am walking, cycling ,climbing stairs or on a cross trainer for 1/2 hour i cope ok and it seems alls well .
i am still waitng for the TEE and fair to say still finding it difficult to function with this surgery cloud over my head
i have a peek flow meter for asthma control and can always blow 600-650 .would the peak flow meter show sob due to mitral valve? or could it be anxiety?
sorry its a bit of a ramble but wanted to add as much as possible.

 

[lynnconnolly]

Hi Deano, for me, sob entails feeling like I can't quite inflate my lungs as much as I should and even slight exertion has me panting like a race horse. When I get an accumulation of fluid around my 'middle' it gets worse and I can feel like I'm sob just sitting.

It gets worse for me at those times when I'm lying down too - I literally feel like I'm suffocating. It also goes hand in hand with the urge to cough repeatedly and I have to sleep propped up just to get enough air to make the sensation go. It's a bit like when you have a polo neck jumper on and the neck's too tight; as if you have to pull it away from your neck to get air.

I would imagine that combined with asthma it would be difficult to say which is the bigger protagonist - asthma or your mitral valve, and it's maybe only a question that you'll have an answer to once your valve's fixed.

I too most often breathe through my mouth and yes, anxiety could well be playing a part but it's kind of hard not to be a tad anxious when your body's going 'erm, excuse me, short of oxygen here!'

Hope that helps in some way but probably everyone's experience of sob will differ slightly in how it affects them.

Good luck with everything!

Lynn

 

[Freddie]

Hi there Dean,
I can only explain how I felt when I experienced sever SOB and it only happened once. Panting like a race horse or like a dog in heat. Breathing thorough the mouth and not being able to really get any 'air' deep into the lungs. Each quick breath that I took just stayed in the upper chest........until I layed down and heard gurgling around the caller bone.

 

[Bina]

Dean, I had the exact same as you.
Sitting quietly, I would be trying to breathe with my mouth open to get more air.
I also had Chest tightness and dizzyness during activity.....these are symptoms not to be ignored.
Best wishes.

 

[Eva]

..... , but when i am walking, cycling ,climbing stairs or on a cross trainer for 1/2 hour i cope ok and it seems alls well .
i am still waitng for the TEE and fair to say still finding it difficult to function with this surgery cloud over my head........

Dean,

In my case, when I went upstairs or downstairs I had to catch my breath, and when I walked, I had to catch a breath after 8 minutes! and in all breathed through my mouth those moments. And just before the surgery, I had to catch my breath on and off while sitting down doing nothing (which was the symptom my surgeon was stressing on).

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[CThrock]

I had the same thing before my double valve replacement. I was on oxygen 24/7 and still had SOB. After the surgery no problem at all did'nt need anything, had no SOB. Good Luck and let us know when you are having surgery.

 

[deano89]

thanks for your personnal experiences as when i have searched google for sob its very vague .i dont seem to experience any noticeable problems when exercising or lying down only whilst sitting and its really hard to describe the sensation the polo top i can identify with regarding a tighness in the throat
thats why i find it strange as i would think the more i do the more sob i would get!
i should have my TEE in the next 4 weeks so will raise it there and keep you posted .
thanks
Dean

 

[abbanabba]

I almost feel like I'm trying to breathe through a couple of layers of fabric... no matter how hard or deep I breathe, it still never seems like enough air is getting through. Having always been a nose breather, I now find I'm breathing through my mouth most the time since it seems to deliver more air to the lungs.

One of the other things which is almost amusing is that if I'm talking (especially walking and talking) all of a sudden I find myself gasping for air and having to shut up for a second so I can catch up on my breath. Oh the indignity!!!


A : )