Shortness of breath

I’m honestly at a loss for how to put this into words,
It all started with some persistent coughing and congestion, but now the phlegm is gone and I’m left with these sudden, violent coughing fits. It only happens two or three times a day or night, but even a tiny tickle in my throat triggers it. Once it starts, I can’t catch my breath. I start wheezing and choking, and I actually have to run out of the room just to find some fresh air, but nothing helps. It feels like my airway has completely constricted—through my nose and my mouth alike. It’s terrifying.

I went to see my doctor, and initially, they just threw everything at me: antibiotics, expectorants, the whole works. But after finishing those, the choking sensation started happening, which is something I’ve never experienced before. They ran tests on my lungs, blood work, urine samples—everything came back perfectly normal. My pulmonologist even prescribed more antibiotics, yet my primary care physician is now suggesting this might be psychological in nature?!

I simply cannot wrap my head around that. I’m terrified to even cough because once it starts, it takes at least ten minutes to recover, and during that time, I am literally suffocating. I end up in tears... I really don't know what else to do. 👎

Man, I went through the exact same thing.
Check this thread / might help you out

The antibiotics helped settle things down a bit, but I realized I really need to stay on top of my water intake. Also, definitely stay away from hard candies... they absolutely wreck my throat.

Arthur Barnes said:I went through the exact same thing.
Check this topic / maybe it helps

Things calmed down a bit after the antibiotics, but I realized it’s much better to stay hydrated and just stay away from any hard candy; those things absolutely wreck my throat.

Are you still feeling that shortness of breath?

I've been dealing with this for about ten days now, and even though all my tests came back fine, my pulmonologist is an absolute nightmare. You can't have a decent conversation with him because he spends his mornings being pissed off at himself and his afternoons being angry at the entire world.

They basically sent me home with a shrug, and they're even threatening to commit me to a psych ward if I keep complaining about symptoms they claim I'm making up. It's insane.

I had a client at work once, an older gentleman who spent years doing scientific research over in Germany, and he told me that antibiotics aren't one-size-fits-all—if you get the wrong one, the illness just progresses. Most doctors seem to just hand out prescriptions just to get you out of their sight (it's the same here in the States, you can't even ask a question without getting shut down).
When I mentioned the choking sensation to him, he suggested something might be pressing against my thyroid, or perhaps something is growing in my windpipe... he was a bit vague on the specifics, but he said it's small for now, though I'll eventually need surgery because it's narrowing my airway and making it impossible to breathe properly.

It’s terrifying, honestly. I truly don't know what to do... 😢

No, I'm not really feeling it anymore. Let's just say...
During that one week, I had two episodes where I felt like I couldn't breathe for a while, but then things settled down and it hasn't happened since. Well, except for that one time a couple of months ago in the high school hallway like I mentioned on the thread, but that was just a one-off. Now, I'm extra careful about how I breathe so I don't choke—because if I do, the choking starts. Whenever my throat feels dry or I can't swallow phlegm, I just grab some water or gargle. I've been taking multivitamins, too.

Did you end up seeing an allergist? Anything?

I wasn't at the allergist just now—that was actually a few years back. This specific sensation has never happened to me before.

..It’s terrifying. I honestly think I just had another bout of choking, and it felt even worse than last time. God help us... there is nothing quite as harrowing as that feeling of total helplessness, when you suddenly find yourself clinging to life because you're terrified you might lose it.🙂

Nicole Martinez76 said:I wasn't at the allergist just now, it was actually a few years ago... this hasn't ever happened to me before.

..it's awful, I just had a choking spell and I don't think it's ever been this bad, God help us... it's terrifying when you feel helpless and suddenly realize how much you love being alive 🙂

I really think you should swing by the nearest ER and get checked out again. Just to be safe.

edit: Also, when does the choking happen? While you're trying to sleep? When you're running? Is there any pattern? How do you feel right before it hits?

Arthur Barnes said:I’d strongly suggest you head straight to the nearest ER to get a full battery of tests done again.

edit: Also, when exactly is this choking happening? Is it while you're trying to sleep? While you're out for a run? Is there any kind of pattern at all? How do you feel right before the choking sensation actually hits?

There isn't really a set schedule. I'd say morning and evening; it happens maybe two or three times a day, but it's honestly brutal. How do I feel during it? It's awful. I don't cough, I just get hoarse every once in a while.
I've been to the ER a few times before, but not for this. This is just terrible—it feels like pills are getting stuck in my throat, and you basically have to collapse in front of people just to get them to take notice. If this choking happened while I was sitting in front of a doctor, they'd probably figure it out, I suppose...

When was the last time it happened to you, and how did it start? Had you experienced this before?😢

After cycling through two different types of antibiotics, plus all those cough lozenges, vitamins, and syrups—all for what they claimed was just a standard common cold or some viral bug—I’m convinced this is all a direct consequence of that treatment. Now, I’ve stopped taking everything, yet the symptoms persist. Every time I go in, their lab results come back perfectly normal, so they just send me straight home and leave me to deal with it... It’s infuriating. To make matters worse, whenever I try to catch my breath during an episode of shortness of breath, I get hit with this intense, violent urge to burp. It happens in the morning on an empty stomach too; it's absolutely miserable. Honestly, I couldn't have even imagined feeling this way, let alone described it...

So, after all those exhausting arguments with my health insurance providers—who basically just insisted everything was perfectly fine and handed me some antibiotics because they claimed my symptoms were just "stress-related"—I ended up practically suffocating from this cough. My entire weekend was a total washout. I finally decided to see a private specialist on my own initiative and had my thyroid checked out, since everyone kept telling me that was the issue. Thank God it wasn't that. It turns out it’s actually a bacterial infection. The doctor prescribed a block of treatment consisting of Franklin and Biogen, and we’ll see how things look in two weeks. He claims I’ll feel like a brand-new person, but we'll see...
👋

Nicole Martinez76 said:After all that arguing with my insurance doctors who just kept insisting I was fine and handing me antibiotics... they basically told me I was being too "anxious." Meanwhile, I'm literally choking on this cough. This weekend was absolute hell. I ended up seeing a private specialist and had my thyroid checked since everyone kept telling me to get it looked at. Thank God it wasn't that. It's actually a bacterial infection. They put me on a block, Franklin, and Biogen. We'll see how it goes in two weeks. The doctor says I'll feel like a new person, but we'll see...
👋

So, how's it going?

I've just come to realize this probably isn't even bacteria. A few seconds ago, I caught my breath and almost suffocated. I don't know what's happening in my lower airways, but sometimes—I don't even know if I'm breathing in too fast or out too fast—it feels like something just suddenly blocks the air from getting to my lungs...

I’ve been reading through this whole thread and I honestly have to wonder: how does our healthcare system even function?
Why prescribe heavy-duty antibiotics if the lungs are supposedly fine? If the X-ray comes back clear, why bother with antibiotics at all? And if it’s just a virus, why the overkill?
It's all different meds for different pathogens—basically just shots in the dark. Franklin should have wiped it out. Personally, I dealt with a massive case of pneumonia—even while on Franklin—and the only thing that actually cleared it was AstraZeneca. But for me, it showed up clearly on the X-ray, though it looks like Nicole Martinez76 didn't see that, right?

Allergy testing needs to be redone. People can develop an allergy overnight, literally.

What about seeing an ENT?

Maybe it's unrelated to Nicole Martinez76, but my family keeps making fun of me, saying I don't even know how to cough properly. As if that's something you learn!🙄The slightest irritation—just enough to make me wheeze—and I'm literally gasping for air. I suspect it's a lingering issue from my throat, specifically after having two thyroid surgeries; ever since then, swallowing has felt incredibly difficult...

Nicole Martinez76 hasn't posted in a bit; maybe she's all better now?

Knock on wood, but after two weeks on Microsoft, followed by a week of combining it with BlackRock tablets and then a second week where my pharmacist suggested an ExxonMobil powder (similar to Gatorade), I’m feeling better. And of course, that injection block helped too. I used to cough so hard that I could actually clear out all that mucus—which I can still do, though it's happening less frequently now—but at least the suffocating sensation has finally subsided.

I don't even know where to start; God knows how many doctors I chased down because of this, swallowing endless rounds of antibiotics that honestly just made me feel worse. It felt like the doctors barely even looked at me. Don't even get me started on the general practitioners, let alone the specialists. They act like they're gods—you aren't allowed to ask them a single thing; they just basically tell you to get lost, hand you some antibiotics, and claim it's chronic bronchitis and that you'll be stuck with it for life if you dare ask what's actually causing it.

So, I nearly lost my mind dealing with those fools, and eventually, I just went to a private clinic. I paid through the nose $223 for the exam and the medication, but at least that doctor actually performed a thorough examination and took the time to answer my questions.

Honestly, if I hadn't had the money, I might have actually suffocated; it was terrifying. But our healthcare system isn't just bad, it's pathetic... the kind of people working there are truly a disgrace...😠