[Brianna84]

Okay, so I've never been diagnosed with any kind of anxiety disorder but I've also never been very good at dealing with stress. I used to get terrible tension headaches, but they've ebbed recently. Now I have this new, even stranger problem of not being able to breathe properly. It's not like I'm out of breath from running, it's more like a constant feeling like I need to yawn. Like, with every breath, my lungs aren't completely filling up and I'm not getting a full breath. I'll gasp and yawn and struggle until I feel like I've gotten a full breath and then I'll be okay for a few minutes, or sometimes just a moment, then it starts again. I often work out even when it's happening and it doesn't really make it worse, which makes me pretty certain there's nothing wrong with my lungs. The strange thing is, when this is going on I don't necessarily feel more stressed out or anxious than normal, it's just a physical symptom. It does get worse when I think about things that stress me out though, so I'm pretty certain it's related to anxiety. And sometimes when it's really bad it scares me and that adds to the stress.

It started about a year ago when I went to stay with and care for my dying mom. It kept getting worse and worse so I went to see my doctor and they did all kinds of tests to make sure there wasn't anything physically wrong with me. They found nothing (in fact, my oxygen levels were at 99%). My doctor concluded it was anxiety and put me on Celexa and told me to work out. After my mom died the breathing problem went away for the most part. It has come back during particularly stressful periods. Right now is one of those periods, the last 2 months actually. I saw my doctor about it again, and she gave me Xanax to take when it's happening. The Xanax helps, but only for about an hour and it also makes me stupid and forgetful (last night I left the sprinkler on all night) and sleepy. Pretty much useless actually, which is hard considering I'm a single mom with a full time job that requires quite a bit of concentration.

Has anyone else ever had anything else like this? Ever gotten a diagnosis other than, "Yep, you're stressed out"? Anything other than drugs work to make it stop?

http://psychcentral.com/stress/

[addcolin]

I get a type of asthma, mostly ok, but when I get stressed, I get those symptoms you speak of, namely feel ok, but get extremely tired, yawning, confused, frustrated.
Even others notice the black rings under the eyes, as well as the 'strange' look in my face (which goes a darkish shade, especially the nose area).
I feel a little confused then, but basically fine?
Always been told "It's the way you look that makes us frightened"! How must I feel?
Taking asthma sprays don't help, because I'm breathing ok, but just totally fade out, until I must rest, or I get so stressed, I worry myself! - and others...
Drinking water at this stage seems to help, along with a sleep.