Has anyone else experienced shallow breathing as a constant?
I feel like something is holding my ribs in place. If I try to take a deep breath I can. But my normal breathing doesn't seem to be as deep as it should be.
I first realized how shallow my breathing was when I started using my CPAP machine. When I take it off I feel like something sucks out my air and breaths are shallow again.
It gets worse when I lay down. In fact I make a point not to lay down unless I'm using the CPAP.
I looked up Pleurisy. I don't have pain when I breath, at least not often. My experience is with both lungs all the time. But it's something to look at.
This is the first time anyone has told me a humidifier was a bad thing. Both my dentist and ENT made it clear I needed to use the humidifier. Without it my throat and mouth gets very dry. My throat swells and I had a terrible time with thrush for a while. This may be one of those things where I'll have to decide which problem treat and which I have to just live with.
My rheumy told me its rare for Sjogrens to effect the lungs, but I think mine does. Any time I get sick and my lungs are involved it takes months and months for them to heal.
Josh, do you have GERD or a hiatal hernia? If so that can get bad enough that it makes ones breathing shallow. I have been getting worse with the breathing also and I finally looked up both and I think this may be my problem. I intend to talk with a doctor about it when I go next.
I have acid reflex and heartburn. None of my dr.s have referred to it as GERD, but it sounds like if fits. I'm on Prilosec an I don't have a big issue with it now. If I stop taking the Prilosec I will have heartburn pretty much daily.
I don't have any hernias.
Thanks for sharing, I didn't know either of these could cause shortens of breath.
I've had this before. No pain. But going up stairs would wind me, and reading to my son was hard, as I couldn't get full breaths. It seems to have been part of a flare, and it went away the same way that it came. I've had it happen a few times total, and never lasting more than a month or two. I tried using medication for it (rescue inhaler) but it didn't seem to do much.
All right, I read through the link that you provided regarding CPAP usage. I'm not clear why humidifiers are bad for the lungs of people with Sjogren's. Can you elaborate?
Tez_20 said:
Hello Josh,
Shallow breathing can be down to having pleurisy and it's bad as i've had it several times besides pneumonia but i've also looked up that CRAP machine which some have humidifers built into them and that's the worst thing for our lungs humidifiers are.
Sorry but because i have so much going on i don't remember if you said you suffered with your lungs or not??...if so what do you have and just read this link on the CRAP machine which maybe causing your problem.
Thanks Terri. That totally explains it. I had this happen two years ago. I knew it was inflammation related because of the time of year, but couldn't make good sense. It was also before I was diagnosed with Sjogren's. . . At that point I was just diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Lots of testing turned nothing up, and it went away after a few months, thankfully.
Sharon
Tez_20 said:
Josh i also found this info for you regarding your lungs and breathing :)
Lungs. Breathing problems may develop (you may feel like you can’t get enough air) Infiltration of the lung tissues makes the lungs stiffer and this reduces lung volume and makes it harder to take a full breath of air. Cough and tendency to infections may be noticed from dryness of the mucous membranes lining the tubes to the lungs.
I haven't been online for several days. I'm not hurting as much, thank goodness. But my office env. is sooo draining right now. Plus I've been trying to exercise more (walking/swimming), which takes time and energy. I do like swimming because it doesn't really hurt any of my joints. Unfortunately the resistance of the water wares me out quickly.
I digress. Thank you for all your research!!
I really relate to the hardening of the lung tissue. I also think my stress level effects how bad my breathing is. It seems to be better here recently. I've been thinking of going to a lung dr. just to make sure there isn't anything going on that needs to be treated. But that means I have to find a new dr. I have not had much luck with drs. up here.
I read the postings about humidifiers. I think it's interesting that humidified air is considered dry since your putting water in the air. When it comes to the CPAP though the machine is forcing air into your mouth, nose, & airway at a good speed. Just as the car air conditioner will dry out your eyes the CPAP zaps moister out like no bodies business. In my experience the humidifier is the lesser of the 2 evils.
Josh
Tez_20 said:
Josh i also found this info for you regarding your lungs and breathing :)
Lungs. Breathing problems may develop (you may feel like you can’t get enough air) Infiltration of the lung tissues makes the lungs stiffer and this reduces lung volume and makes it harder to take a full breath of air. Cough and tendency to infections may be noticed from dryness of the mucous membranes lining the tubes to the lungs.
Terri- I have all four tear ducts plugged. I can use the air conditioning, but the vents need to be strategically positioned still. Definitely only have bottom plugged first, and see how it goes. My eyes are somewhat teary now, but more comfortable, and less prone to damage.
And my eye doctor plugged my bottom ducts with no big discussion. When I went back 2 weeks later complaining that my eyes were still ridiculously dry, he said that it's diagnostic, that my eyes are VERY dry.
It's a super quick procedure. I was uncomfortable for the first hour or so, and by that night I could feel nothing different.
Did your dr give you evoxac? It’s been working really well for me for dry mouth, but clearly not too much for the eyes. There is research showing that it can increase tear flow though, so why not?
I'm glad to have another guy to relate to. It's hard sometimes to have a condition that's pretty much seen as a woman's condition.
I did a lot of swim/walking. At times it was all I could do to keep moving. I've had the pneumonia shot. The only time I get the flu is after getting the flu shot. So I've stopped getting them. I'm really glad the pneumonia shot I got is good for several years. Less than 2 weeks after getting the shot I was admitted to the hospital for a week with pneumonia. One of the nurses said my Dr. shouldn't have given me the shot because I was already complaining something was not right with my lungs. She said the shot was just one more thing my lungs had to deal with.
I don't understand why your having so much trouble getting your eyes plugged. It seems like a simple procedure and a no brainer for many sjogren's patients. I hope they get you in soon.
Hang in there and keep me up on how your doing.
Josh
Tez_20 said:
Hello Josh,
Lovely to hear from you and can you relate to our new member please (Jro) as he's struggling and needs someone to relate with also...i would appreciate it you being a male member besides :)
The swimming is wearing you out quickly as it tighens the muscles which is good where sjogrens is concerned as my first rheumo suggested it for me having muscle wastage..what a joke when i have seizures and my disability is limited, take it slowly when in the water and pace your body and rest in between while walking.
That's the only trouble when doctor's are no good...now my GP is on top of me and if i don't feel well in anyway i'm up the hospital for tests no messing about...stress will make your body feel worse and add to your symptoms plus you need to have the flu jab and pneumonia jab with our lungs and keep a distance from anyone carrying germs because it makes we really ill.
I know where your coming from regarding air conditioning and if i'm in the car with my hubby he can't use the air conditioning as my eyes fully dry out bad...i'm still waiting to have mine plugged.
I'm actually doing pretty well. My joint pain is tolerable and I'm not quite as stressed at work as I was.
I hope you get your eyes plugged soon.
I'm walking and swimming, though I should be doing it a little more often.
I've been diagnosed with Diabetes on top of everything else. But my blood sugar is getting much lower. I think the Dr.'s going to be pleased if I keep doing this well.
Thanks for checking up on me. I would say you have a good plan of asking your neuro about these new symptoms. They certianly sound like a neuro issue. I hope they go away soon.