Shortness of breath with anxiety?

Hi everyone!

I've been following all your posts as a guest over the last few days and decided to jump in for some advice.

I recently started suffering from some anxiety symptoms in relation to an upcoming kidney donation (which has since been canceled) and an illness that landed me in the ER. There, after blood work, some IV fluids, an ultrasound, and EKG, they determined nothing is wrong and later, my primary care doctor said it was anxiety. My chief complaint being that I was unable to get a deep, cleansing breath.

He put me on .25 of Xanax, which helped, but quickly became ineffective when I was talking it everyday. I even split the pill at times out of worry about addiction. He also started me on 25mg of Paxil, which I suffered horrible side effects right away and switched to .25 of Zoloft a week later. I've done two sessions of acupuncture, which I feel has helped a little bit.

Now, here I am, 6 days into my Zoloft doses. My breathing has gotten a little better, although when I'm not occupied with something, I do find myself gasping for air more often. My one side effect from the Zoloft has been horrible insomnia.

Not sure if anyone else has had a similar experience with the shortness of breath and then been prescribed Zoloft and had positive results. I'm trying to stick it out till my next doctors appointment on August 12, but I'm not sure how long I can go with the 1-4 hours of sleep I've been getting every night.

Welcome Elizardbeth, I'm happy you decided to join us, this is an awesome community that really cares and above all else understands what it is like to live with anxiety.

Shortness of breathe is a normal symptom to anxiety, and you should practice some deep breathing techniques to conquer it. I'll post a link on the bottom for one breathing technique, but there are others out, just do a youtube search on breathing techniques.

As far as the zoloft goes, are you taking it at night or in the morning? If you are taking it at night you might want to switch to morning if it is giving you insomnia. Understand that all AD's usually come with start up side effects, most of which will wear off after 2-3 weeks. If they persist or get worse then call you doctor and have a chat with him about whats going on.

Zoloft is a great medication, in fact we have several members currently on it, but it does take time to get the the full therapeutic dose, which is usually 6 to 8 weeks. So stick with it if you can.

Take a look at our resources for a lot of helpful self help coping skills, it is the top thread on the forum. You'll find a lot of coping skills there to use and other information on anxiety like a list of symptoms that anxiety can cause.

Again, welcome. Please post with us anytime regardless if it is to ask a question or for support or simply to vent, we are here for you and we are listening. I look forward to getting to know you better.

www.ehow.com/video_4405003_breathing-exercises-panic-attacks.html

AngelLisa -

Thank you so much for the welcome! This forum has been a great resource for me and has kept me off of Google, which I'll admit, I have been checking excessively. It helps to have real advice from real people who are going through the same things.

I'm planning on sticking it out on the Zoloft until my appointment on the 12th and will try as hard as I can to stay off the Xanax, which did make me drowsy when I first started taking it, and try to manage my symptoms. I'm hopeful that I will start seeing some positive results soon!

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I had the shortness of breath all the time when I was going through my anxious bout. It is a terrible symptom to have!! I did not go on Zoloft, but considered getting on lexapro.

I had the shortness of breath symptom for quite a long time. But with a low daily dose of Xanax, I was finally able to start feeling better. The thing that helped me the most was keeping myself occupied so I didn't think about my breath. That was pretty difficult.

The insomnia should be a temporary side effect of the Zoloft and should subside in the next two weeks. Once you start sleeping better, I'm thinking you will feel a lot better:) If it gets to be too much , ask your doctor if you can cut back to 12.5 mg for a week or so.

Good luck!!

Fingers crossed that you get some sleep!!

My insomnia was terrible during my bout. I would wake up just about every night at 4 am, no matter what time I went to sleep. What really helped me was to listen to guided meditations on YouTube. There is a guy on there that's named Jason Stephenson that had a really soothing voice and he got me back to sleep most nights.

If you are having trouble falling asleep, you might want to ask your doctor about taking melatonin or Benadryl.

Hoping your insomnia ends soon!! When I got my sleep under control, I felt that I could really start fighting my anxiety.

E.,

Just wanting to add my welcome and encouragement!

Looking foward to getting to know you better! Keep posting.;)

Scaredy Cat

E.,

You are wise.to check interactions with Rx's and supplements! There are some sites you can use online...but often they are confusing and tend to err on the side of caution...which is good...but also could result in limiting your choices drastically.

For a final word, check with your doctor...or if you prefer...often your pharmacist can advise you very well!

Best wishes in finding your winning combination:)

S.C.