Shortness of breath...?

Question

I am a 20 year old female, (110lbs, 5'7) healthy otherwise. I sometimes experience shortness of breath. It seems that i cannot breathe deep enough to feel ok. I get kinda numb, not enough to stop me from doing things, but talking becomes a little difficult as I get winded. I do not have medical insurance so I can't go in as I do not have that kind of money. It happens alot at night too. someone suggested maybe im so thin my spine crushes my lungs, but this is not true since i dont always lay on my stomach. Anyone know what it could be and what I can do about it from home? Any advice is appreciated!

will is wrong. I have hyperventhilated be4 n trust me I'm not doing it now. AND I mentioned I have no money to pay for that kind of nonsense.

** also it is NOT accompanied by hot flashes or any of that**

Answer 1

Listen..Young Lady..it may not be a Respiratory problem, but check it out..If you pass all the test and you are okay respiratory..then you might consider "Anxieties". They effect many people like me, but more frequently to Women. Your shortness of breath is commonly occurring with hot flashes and a rapid heart beat..what you are doing is Hyperventilating. If that's the case..you have three choices. (1) exercise more and vent your stress through controlled anger, crying and such. (2) Try a therapist to relief your stress by discussing openly your problems. (3) Try a Psychiatrist who will prescribe MRI Medications like Xanax and Klonopin..this is what i do, but i recommend trying the others first before becoming reliant on expensive Meds!

Will S

Answer 2

I'm no doctor, but shortness of breath, particularly at night, is pretty scary stuff. It is good that you are trying to figure out what's going on!

To that end, I think a little reading is in order. I would start by looking at the wikipedia entry for dyspnea (the medical term for shortness of breath).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyspnea

As you can see, there are a bunch of different potential causes for the dyspnea.

Reading up, as much as you can, is a great first step. But at some point, if at all possible, you should go see a doctor about it. There are free clinics out there that might be able to help you, if you can't afford a basic doctor's office visit.

For what it's worth, my rule of thumb is that if it you are having a hard time exhaling, it's probably asthma, and if you are having a hard time inhaling, it is probably bronchitis. If it seems like you have fluid in your lungs, it could be something as nasty as heart failure.

The sooner you figure out what your problem is, the sooner you can get it treated. If it is impacting your productivity and general health, it is certainly worth a doctor visit to get closer to the root cause.

BTW, I don't think 110lbs is too light, unless you are starving yourself. If that's the case, you probably have other issues. Some young people are just naturally skinny. If you eat a lot, I doubt your weight is a real problem.

Good luck!

Answer 3

well the first thins you need to do, is go see your dr, when you go to a emergenrcy room, the people who are taken in first are those having chest pain, and those short of breath, so you definetly need to see a dr, it may be somethng or nothing at all, maybe its just your nerves, have you been under alot of stress lately, stress wrecks havoc on your body, i also do not like the fact that you have numb pain, you need to see a dr, your local er at the hospital can not deny you care, if they do ask them where in your area you can get medical attention, possible a clinic, i wish you the best

Answer 4

Sounds like asthma. Inhalers and medication can help. It could be dangerous if you had a serious asthma attack and did not have an inhaler. You should probably go see a doctor. Not being able to breathe is a bad thing...

Answer 5

you could easily be anemic, a common complaint of those that are too thin, and you are too thin. Try taking Iron supplements, it should take about a week before you notice improvement.