Breathing Issues...

[[bo...]]

Hi All,

 

Just wondering, I've been experiencing a lot of shortness of breath.  It seems as if I just can't get enough air or something, but when I check my blood oxygen levels, it's pretty good.  Is this common with Lorazepam withdrawal.  Have you all experienced it too?  This seems to come and go for me.  Some days are worst than others.  Some days are ok.  Do you know anything that can help with these issues?

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

- tony

[[Su...]]

It's common w/any benzo w/d... I hate this sx so bad...I'm 9 months off and I've gone a whole week now w/out it...I'm hoping it's gone for good...it has not been constant, it has waved in and out the last 9 months.

[[bo...]]

Ah. Ok.  What do you mean by "sx" by the way?

 

It's common w/any benzo w/d... I hate this sx so bad...I'm 9 months off and I've gone a whole week now w/out it...I'm hoping it's gone for good...it has not been constant, it has waved in and out the last 9 months.

[[Su...]]

sx is just an abbreviation for symptom and sxs is for symptoms

[[bo...]]

Gotcha. thanks.

 

sx is just an abbreviation for symptom and sxs is for symptoms

[[Su...]]

Your welcome. 

[[Fl...]]

Sounds like a side effect of anxiety. I had moments where it felt like I wasn't able to breathe properly but it was always in conjunction with a wave of anxiety where I had the actual physical sensation of pressure in my chest.

[[St...]]

This happened to me too, I felt like I wasn't getting enough oxygen but I was. I just tried to relax and do abdominal breathing. This feeling came and went, it can be a little scary though, I know.

 

Here's a section in the Ashton Manual about it.

 

Heart and lungs. Palpitations, pounding heart, rapid pulse, flushing, sweating, and breathlessness are usual accompaniments of panic attacks, but may occur without panics. They do not signify heart or lung disease but are simply the expression of an overactive autonomic nervous system. Slow deep breathing and relaxation, as described under panic attacks, can do much to control these symptoms. Do not worry about them: they would be accepted as normal if you were running for a bus, and will do no more harm than if you really were!

 

 

[[De...]]

These are my main two symptoms left to go, the chest pressure and trouble breathing, and it really gets me down sometimes. I don't notice it too much at work but sometimes I do, its when I'm relaxing that it gets bad surprisingly... Also for some reason my breathlessness gets worse when I try to do deep relaxing breaths. Its like as soon as  I try to control my breathing my body fights back....hrm...

[[Pe...]]

I hate this one!  I always feel like I can't get enough air, although it has improved a lot since hitting my fourth month.  During the first three months it would hit especially hard for 5 hours straight every morning and was pretty frightening.  I would also feel like my torso was being squeezed which made it even harder to breath.  This would then increase the anxiety I was already having creating a vicious cycle.

 

Now in the mornings at 5 months it feels mostly feels like I can't take satisfying breaths and throughout the day I get easily winded when I do any activity that requires physical exertion, like going up stairs.  I do still have times where my torso feels like it is being squeezed, but it is happening less frequently.

[[Be...]]

Hi boloni,

 

On top of benzo dependance, I also have organic breathing issues, so this shortness of breath you speak of is definitely familiar! When I was off benzos this last time (made it about 6 months), I definitely had huge improvements in my breathing. That's the good news about this crud. The not so good news is that I don't think there is much you can take to effectively negate this. You can try some of the many supplements discussed on the site, but I'm not sure how a natural substance can stand up to an industrial grade zombie drug...

 

I'm sure this isn't as dangerous as it feels, so just know what you're dealing with is benign... Even if it is pretty scary!