Difficulty breathing, dizziness, and spikes in blood pressure. What's going on?

Question

I have been having episodes of difficulty breathing and dizziness about twice a month for the past year. They only last about 20 minutes and seem to be more frequent in the fall and the summer. My doctor tested me for athsma; there was nothing wrong with my lungs. Then she gave me a perscription for Xanax, thinking I may be having panic attacks, and that didn't do much.
Today I had an episode, and thinking it might be low blood pressure, I decided to use a blood pressure monitor to check. After a few readings on both arms, standing, sitting and laying down, my average blood pressure was about 150/105. (I used the monitor on my boyfriend and it said his pressure was normal, so I don't think it was a misreading.)
I am pretty young to be having any problems with my blood pressure, and usually my readings are fairly normal.
What could be causing all these symptoms together for short periods of time if it's not anxiety?

Answer 1

it depends...does anything like moving around quickly, any particular movement, exercise or getting up from laying down provoke this condition? do you experience any numbness or tingling when this happens? when you say there is nothing wrong with your lungs, did you have an xray of your chest? do you feel your heartbeat in your chest during these 'attacks'? do you experience headaches at all? this might not be lung related, maybe more related to the heart. it could be nothing, but it also could be a mild to serious condition. i would get a full checkup, maybe check out your heart, or possibly get an mri/cat to determine if there are any abnormalities in your blood vessels or any nerve leisons. so, id go to the doctor again. maybe even another doctor. maybe its just sudden anxiety or panic attacks, maybe you have something like a nasty allergy, maybe even something like a pre-stroke condition or aneurysm (anurism, aneurism, ?) yea the doctor.

Answer 2

3 years ago, I was diagnosed - hypertension with a reading of 160/100. I used to feel dizzy a lot, my legs had awful cramps, and levels were very low in my potassium, causing my fingers and toes to always cramp together. One day I started to feel really faint while I was driving with my daughter in the back seat and I passed out, hitting 3 cars and ending up in a ditch. That moment,I knew I had to do something because my meds weren't working. I heard about this diet from a friend and thought I'd give it a shot. The results have been remarkable. In just 21 days, I honestly can't remember feeling this good, my blood pressure went from 175/110 to 125/70.

Answer 3

It could be a number of things. I wouldn't rule out anxiety...it's possible that your doctor was right with his diagnosis, but Xanax just didn't work for you.

Fluctuations in blood pressure and dizziness could point to a cardiac event - not necessarily a life-threating issue, but more of a nuisance. The next time this happens, check your pulse to see how many times your heart beats per minute. I'm sure it will be fast, but my curiosity wants to know just how fast it is. Anything around 120-140 wouldn't concern me too much, but if it's up over 160 or so, this could point to some type of transient tachycardia (a rapid heart rate that starts and stops on its own). Talk to your doctor. Since this only happens a couple times a month, it may be difficult to monitor, but keep track of what you are doing when it happens, what time of day it is, etc., and share this info with your doctor.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Just because the xanax didn't work doesn't mean it isn't anxiety. It sounds classic for anxiety or panic disorder. You may need a bigger dose of xanax or a different anxiolitic entirely....You might also check into classes for management of panic disorder. There are skills you can learn to control your response. The fact that it goes away after 15 or 20 minutes is key, it indicates that the cause of the symptoms is likely a sudden release of adrenaline from the brain, and adrenaline is self limiting, it goes away in 15 to 20 minutes. I take a low dose of xanax myself, after taking the classes, I didn't need a larger dose, the low dose with the skills I learned control the symptoms.

Answer 5

I'm not sure about you, but when what happened to you happened to me, it turned out to be low blood pressure and something else that's complicated. But i don't know you well, i can't diagnose you with any disease. If that happens again, seek medical help at once.

Answer 6

you are out of shape