Taking a deep breath isn't satisfying - what on earth is this?

[Offloadontome]

This is probably going to sound really weird, but here goes. Normally if you take a nice deep breath, or sigh / exhale for air, you feel satisfied with the air you've got - I can't think of any other way to describe it.
Well lately, now and again I feel the need to take a deep breath, but I don't get that sharp, satisfying feeling of getting enough air, and then feel like I need to take another one.
Sometimes is does feel satisfying like I've got enough air, so it's not every time. But it almost feels like my chest can't quite expand enough right at the end sometimes. I've then made my chest hurt a bit from trying to take deeper breaths and feeling unable to!

I wondered if anyone has ever had the same thing, and knows what might be causing this?
I have (likely) ADHD and initially wondered if it could just be a sensory thing.
I also wondered if it's triggered somehow by anxiety or worry - as once it's happened I then worry about it - but not until after it's already started happening!
But then also I don't want to ignore this if it's actually something I should be worried about!

Can anyone help? Has anyone had anything similar? Any idea what this is? Sorry I know this sounds so odd and it's really hard to describe. The feeling is as if I've not got enough air for whatever reason like I've been sat down and taking small breaths for ages, and usually that's resolved with a deep breath, but now for some reason it's not?

Me too! I went to the doctors about exactly this today!

OMG I’m so pleased to see this thread. I get this one and off and have done for years. I went to the GP about it probably 20 years ago and they practically laughed me out the consultation room. I do suffer from reflux and take iron tablets sometimes (I donate blood and sometimes I’ve not been able to because my iron is too low). I’ve been finding it happening lately and my reflux is worse so I’ll start taking my iron again to see if it helps.

This is massively putting my mind at ease 😂 I went to my GP the other day too - health anxiety got the better of me 🙈 now I'm saddled with going for a chest x ray tomorrow but honestly I feel like it's improving.

I know a friend who had a bad chest infection a few weeks ago, had antibiotics and steroids, no shifting it. Took time in the end. Wondering if we just have a mild dose.

I had this a few months ago. I think it was stress. It went away after about a week. I did see my GP, but she didn't find anything obviously wrong and accepted my suggestion of stress.

Take 200mg iron every other day for six months and then get another blood test. 15 is incredibly low.

I was just going to mention silent reflux as I just tried the deep breath and couldnt quite get that satisfaction but it bought on feelings when my chest has a lump in it like refluxy and Ive just eaten some crisps and a biscuit which Im not meant to eat.

I'm being driven a bit crazy by this at the moment. I have bloods and an ECG booked next week as I've been struggling with anxiety and palpitations, doctors are wondering if my iron is low or my thyroid meds are too high.

I've had it occasionally for years, I think it's partly an anxiety thing, but I think for me there's a hormonal component too - I struggled with it in early pregnancy and also went through a phase of regularly getting it in the second half of my menstrual cycle

Ive been told to get a chest x ray too, but im going to take spa tone again just in case it is that. I hope you feel better soon!

Oddly, I do but only in my left buttock / glute 🤣 which I think is probably unrelated and more to do with me sitting down too much this week. I did have a bout of diarrhea yesterday and I've felt knackered since then, so you're possibly right in that I've maybe had something viral... Weird!

For those saying treat the anxiety, I'm actually the least anxious I've been for a long time as I've recently started on sertraline and having some CBT and tbh I feel very on top of it now. But obviously I think I am an anxious kind of person and naturally this does feel worse now that I've been focusing on it and worrying what it is all day! I know sometimes your body tells you things before you realise it too, so will keep an eye on my anxiety levels.

I'm going to get an early night, try some meditation and see if it improves over the weekend, and definitely will get a blood test whether through my GP or privately to check ferritin on Monday. I've ordered some nutrition geeks iron+ which also have vitamin C and B12 so hopefully that will help!

I also checked the spatone I take and it's only 36% of your recommended daily intake of iron, so probably not making much of a difference!

I get this occasionally too and it’s reflux related. You aspirate tiny particles on gastric juices (yummy) and they irritate the bronchi. I also get a cough and mucousy too. I take omeorazole and it settles after a few weeks. Not sure what else can be done 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had this for years - from when I was a child.
Got a full blood panel last year and my ferritin was 15. Dr said it was normal. after doing some research I bought Ferrous Fumarate from the chemist - appears I've not been asthmatic for decades and barely need an inhaler these days.

I’ve had that a few times. No idea what caused it.

You can buy Ferrous Fumarate online/OTC - its cheaper than a prescription cost. Ask your dr for a blood test to check your levels, 15 is within range but is right at the low end, optimal is 100. I was very shocked when my levels were 8 and my husbands were well over 100! No wonder I felt dreadful!

Oh wow. How long did you have to take it for before you felt a difference? I've read it can take months x

Take it every 48hrs with a high strength vitamin C tablet, two hours before any food or drink.

I took mine at 5am when I got up to exercise then I was OK to have coffee at 7 on the school run.

It is much more effective this way. My GP told me to do this.

A couple of days - but to be honest I noticed when I woke after the first day of taking FF that my breathing had improved.
I need to get retested next month as it's been six months since I've been on FF. It wasn't prescribed so I did tell my GP I was taking it, and that it had massively improved my breathing. I wasn't aware breathlessness was a sympton and neither did he seem to be either.

Pelvic floor tension?? That stops a full deep breath.

I had this in and off from childhood. As well as iron check magnesium levels. As pp’s have mentioned it can be: low iron, low magnesium, stress, lack of sleep effecting oxygen levels, smoking damage, asthma.
The magnesium was something I only discovered recently- that’s what really seemed to help me.

Thank you. I have thought about it a lot and I've researched private blood tests, and decided to fork out on some comprehensive tests that look at iron levels, a load of other things that can contribute to fatigue, and lots of vitamin / mineral levels as well to check for any deficiencies.
Hoping I can get that done tomorrow, I've found a walk in private blood clinic near where I work. then I'll see my GP if any of the results are worrying. I've got some very good iron supplements that have arrived today too!
I have found that when I'm thinking about it it's worse, and when I'm busy I don't notice it as much but it's definitely not in my head and it's probably worsened by worrying rather than caused by it!
I'll update when I've had bloods done, in case it helps anyone else!

Just wanted to update! I had a private blood test on Monday, and got all my results back on Tuesday. I paid about £200 for a really comprehensive test that looked at pretty much everything including hormones, cortisol, iron, magnesium and loads more. Everything was normal and about middle of the range of the "normal" levels, except for:

Ferritin levels were 16.
Iron, haemoglobin etc were all ok.
And I have high cholesterol! But that's probably unrelated!

I've not bothered seeing my GP, I'm going to give the new iron tablets a try for a few months and see if it has any effect on the breathing thing, and I'll redo the private test (only the ferritin and the cholesterol this time) to see if levels have changed. I've joined a gym as I've realised how little exercise I've done this year - I do wonder as well whether that could be anything to do with the breathing thing.

My SpO2 levels are fine (I have a home OBS kit as part of my work) and I don't have any other lung problems, i don't have a cold or anything like that. So I'll just see! Hope that's helpful.

I can update again in a few months to let people know if it's gone away! I'm starting to think a little bit that it's maybe to do with stress / anxiety, as I have definitely felt it's been worse when I've been focused on it, and I'm constantly trying to deep breathe - but other times of the day while busy or distracted I haven't noticed a thing and I've been fine. I also CAN take a satisfying deep breath. It just isn't EVERY time.

It's so, so so weird!

Very interesting OP

I have just practised with a deep breath again. I doubt I have any deficiencies as I take a lot of supplements but will have some checks again in around 6 months (i use medichecks not sure who you used)

But I posted earlier on this thread that I thought it was about my GERD that I couldnt do one and interestingly, for various reasons I havent eaten properly since Tuesday lunchtime, I have only had tea, water and one can of soup

This morning Ive managed a nice deep breath properly. I suspect mine definitiely was due to GERD, the symptoms have gone off a bit as Im not eating properly. Hopefully I can eat today and tomorrow and we'll see if it changes.

Oh that is interesting. I have had GERD in the past, I think - and it resulted in an irritating throat clearing that did go away with medication (I think it was omeprazole?). I have definitely not been eating well lately, and obviously my cholesterol levels reflect my admittedly high intake of sweet treats at the moment. So you could well be onto something there! I also struggle with very fatty foods since I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and I feel absolutely awful if I have anything really fatty, like fish and chips, deep fried stuff or super creamy buttery pasta sauces. I don't tend to eat that stuff but I am a real sucker for chocolate and cakey treats. I think you can get over the counter medication. Maybe I'll try fasting for a day and see what happens!

Either way, I am drastically cutting down on the sugary and fatty foods, starting more exercise and fingers crossed this helps too. X

Do you have allergies? It could be, hayfever/asthma like symptoms reducing your air flow. Your GP/nurse can check your breathing capacity.

Well I am doing a live experiment for you

I managed to get down some soup this morning, it was chicken and I do struggle with meat proteins at times. I got a bit of indigestion while eating it (Ive had WLS so its one of the issues that can crop up)

And guess what, I now cannot do the breath.