To think my GP should offer me something? Pregnant & upset

[ABabyPanda]

I’m 21 weeks pregnant and for about a week and a half suffering from breathing difficulties. One day it was so bad my chest was hurting, I struggle to get a ‘big’ breath so I’m yawning all the time to try to get one but even then it’s usually a half-yawn. I’m huffing and puffing (with no exertion - I could be in bed or on the sofa and it’s still bad).

I saw my midwife last week who took bloods for low iron as I’d mentioned I’d read that this could be a factor. My iron is fine. She told me to get a GP appointment and go to A&E if it’s really bad.

Last week I phoned for an appointment and had a telephone appointment this evening. They have basically said there’s no such thing as pregnancy related asthma and they can’t do the asthma test due to coronavirus, he doesn’t feel it’s right to prescribe asthma medication as it could cause other issues (diabetes?!) which right is fair enough. He said he suggests breathing exercises. It’s probably the water round the baby and in worse case scenario they will need to deliver the baby early but he doesn’t think this will happen 🤨

I cannot fucking breathe! I’m only 21 weeks, what if this gets worse? Has anyone else experienced this? I’ve started having my humidifier on during the night but it’s not helping me during the day & it’s such a struggle. I’m seeing my midwife on Friday so I will ask again then but I really feel like something is more wrong that just baby fluid & if I get COVID I’m screwed. I’m really worried 😟

Go to A and E
Ask to speak to another GP for a second opinion

I think it is highly unlikely to be a random onset of asthmas but there are other things that can make it hard to breathe which should be investigated sharpish

Can you go to your antenatal hospital? Is it a new thing? I'd a viral chest infection I couldn't breathe properly for 3 weeks.
Use the steam from the kettle it loosens the chest.

Have you been tested for COVID? Surely its the first thing to check if this is only the last week and a half?

Have you had an ecg to rule out any cardiac causes? Could it be anxiety? I often get breathless with anxiety and then it becomes a viscious circle of being aware of my breathing which makes it harder to breathe the more I focus on it?

I would actually just go to A and E, ask them to rule out a blood clot. They will most likely do an ECG at the same time.

they can’t do the asthma test due to coronavirus

This is literally untrue - it's a peak flow metre and I have done mine every single day since covid started, twice a day, sometimes with a nurse / GP watching via video link

Have you had a Covid test?

GO TO A&E but stay calm xxx

@EmeraldShamrock yes only onset the past week and a half. Did you have any other symptoms with your chest infection?

@3ismylot I haven’t had a COVID test as I don’t have any of the three symptoms. I feel absolutely fine in myself (apart from the lack of being able to take a breath). Nobody has mentioned covid but I could take a test to be on the safe side - even if I have none of the three symptoms can I do this?

@Puddlelane123 just a blood test for iron. My GP hasn’t offered any tests. I was feeling really anxious 6 weeks ago for other reasons but although I am still anxious now it’s not that bad. Weird how it’s not long come on when anxiety started end of September. It’s fine when I’m asleep, it’s not waking me up, so again another possibility. I will mention to my midwife

I suffer from periods of this and especially during pregnancy. After 10 years Iv realised its anxiety and the more I’m aware of it the worse it gets. The euphoria when you take a full deep breath is amazing and yawning is usually the best way. But the frustration from unfulfilling breaths in is infuriating.

Breathing exercises and distraction techniques. Good luck and don’t panic.

@Pandamanium he said because it’s big breathes and infection control. Literally no help to me whatsoever ☹️

@RoseAndRose no I don’t have any COVID symptoms but I may try to get a test to rule it out. I’m 99% sure it’s not COVID but I guess you could be asymptomatic or have none of the 3 main symptoms?

How old are you?
Are you obese? Do you suffer from other health problems?
Do you have any family history of heart disease, heart attacks or Angina?

From the RCOG best practice guidelines...
"All women with chest pain in pregnancy should have an electrocardiogram interpreted by someone who is skilled at detecting signs of cardiac ischaemia and infarction and, if the pain is severe, they should have computerd tomography or a magnetic resonance imaging scan of the chest. A serum troponin I measurement can also be useful."

www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/goodpractice13cardiacdiseaseandpregnancy.pdf

If you need to, get a friend or relative who is HCP or is generally outspoken to advocate for you and get them to quote the guidelines to the GP and insist you are referred.

If you get chest pain again, go straight to A&E or 999 if you are on your own.

Have you tried any of the breathing exercises the GP advised? I'd be inclined to a

• to at least try first and if they don't help then follow up again

I don't disagree with all the other commentsyou should get checked out properlybut from my personal experience, this is exactly what I get when my anxiety is bad. Breathing problems are my main symptom, identical to what you describe. And the growing bump does put pressure on your lungs, which can trigger this feeling too. So, my advice is try not to panic (easier said than done), as scary as it is it's most likely anxiety, but do get checked to be sure. It's very unlikely to be sudden onset asthma (I also got tested for this when my anxiety related breathing issues started). I'd love to tell you there's a magic cure, but even now it comes back when I think about my breathing (or when reading about it... Mines already worse after reading your thread, but it is manageable with time). Slowing your breathing and breathing out for longer can help, and trying to distract yourself from thinking about your breathing so it returns to being a subconscious process. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Yeah, but you can do a peak flow at home - on your own, with a video conference appointment. You don't need to be in the surgery, they just need to prescribe you a peak flow monitor.

I’m so sorry you’re feeling so awful OP, and YANBU to be worried. I had Covid early on in March, quite badly, and the difficulty you’re describing was my main symptom. I appreciate that it’s difficult to get a test if you’re not showing the classic 3 symptoms though.

Ps. GP will suggest breathing exercises, but (for me at least), that just makes it worse.

I had this around 18 weeks pregnant. Found breathing very difficult and was constantly gasping for breath. Even to the extent that I was told to go home from work as people were concerned and it was noticeable. I saw the doc who did blood tests and my iron etc were fine, but they sent me to the hospital to rule out a blood clot. After lots of tests it was confirmed I didn’t have one and we were back to square one. I managed to cope with it and found it came and went rather than being constant, so struggled on. At about 25 weeks I had a call from my midwife as my iron levels had dropped just under 100, which is considered quite severe, and I was put on tablets. These helped the breathing and the racing heart I had been experiencing and the rest of the pregnancy went by without issue. I do actually have asthma but the issue I experienced was nothing like my usual asthma symptoms. In hindsight I wonder if my iron was already dropping at 18 weeks. I can’t actually remember what the levels were at that point but it was within normal but lower than it had been at the start of my pregnancy. Maybe get some floradix (sp?) and give that a go for now? I took that as well as tablets at the beginning to try and up my levels quickly.

You need a COVID test - shortness of breath is a symptom. You also need to go to your antenatal triage and be checked for pulmonary embolism, as well as having an ECG.

Have they checked your b12 levels. Mine were extremely low in my last pregnancy and I couldn't breathe and often fainted. I ended up in a and e several times. 6 injections later and I was fine.
I know they've checked your iron but its worth asking about b12 specifically. It took me 4 hospital trips and numerous bloods before my regular midwife suggested it.

Sorry you are feeling unwell. Whilst I don't disagree with a lot of the comments above about seeking help (you know your own body best), what you're describing was a normal part of pregnancy for me. To be honest it only got worse as the baby got bigger. I could hardly talk on the phone, couldn't walk far (which made my daily commute into London hell) and night times were awful for both me and my partner who had to listen to me trying to breathe all night.

Sorry that's probably not what you wanted to hear.

@shesyourlobster

Sorry you are feeling unwell. Whilst I don't disagree with a lot of the comments above about seeking help (you know your own body best), what you're describing was a normal part of pregnancy for me. To be honest it only got worse as the baby got bigger. I could hardly talk on the phone, couldn't walk far (which made my daily commute into London hell) and night times were awful for both me and my partner who had to listen to me trying to breathe all night.

Sorry that's probably not what you wanted to hear.

Forgot to add that the relief was pretty much instant after birth, so I have no doubts over what was causing it. He was just crushing my lungs.