Re: can't breathe--pulmonologist says its asthma, I think otherwise.

hmm, reading up on all this business with the adrenal gland has me thinking. I know for a fact that with my severe anxiety disorder I am using up every last bit of adrenaline in my body (and then some) on a daily basis. it leaves me absolutely exhausted and my brain is foggy. plus, I'm highly addicted to xanax so I'm constantly walking around in basically a dream-like state.

you really think that would be causing the breathing difficulties? I wish I could really explain what it feels like. there's this sensation that I constantly feel in my chest that's next to impossible to put into words. it's almost like I'm plugged into an electrical outlet or something. like there's something very uncomfortable surging in my chest. it feels like my lungs are constantly being emptied and I'm fighting against it to breathe, swimming upstream basically.

I definitely have a lot of allergy problems. I'm allergic to my dogs, I'm allergic to dust, I'm allergic to pollen, and I'm sure I'm allergic to a ton of other things. but there's pretty much no time of the year that I feel completely clear. I always have post-nasal drip, mucus in my lungs, a stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy lungs, itchy eyes, etc.

all I know is it's awful to be so terrified and uncomfortable at only 23 years old. breathing should be the least of my worries. I should be back to exercising every day and getting in shape.

and to answer a couple of those questions, yes I am overweight. I actually lost 46 pounds recently and somehow it's harder to breathe now than it was when I was heavier. and no, I don't notice any weird coloring to my skin or fingernails or anything like that. and I've had blood tests done, oxygen levels show up, don't they? no doctor has ever said I didn't have enough oxygen or anything like that. I've yet to get lung function tests done, though. I just do the peak flow meter daily, and it's always within or above the normal range. so I just don't know.