Pregnancy Breathing Trouble - Repost - NOBODY Responded!?

K.:

I am SO sorry you feel abandoned by us (the rest of the Mamasource community). On behalf of all of us, I apologize - you are never alone.

That said, I know I personally didn't respond to your first request because I didn't know what else to tell you. You are in constant contact with your doctor, which would have been my primary suggestion. You know your body best... keep pushing until you feel better.

Again, that said, I reread your post. You're not losing your mind. There are times when I feel like I just cannot get enough air in. I don't have asthma, I don't have breathing problems, my allergies are minimal at best and I'm NOT pregnant. But there's times when I feel like I just can't get enough air into my lungs. I'll take a deep breath, somewhere between the start of a big sigh and a deep yawn, and yet I still feel like I need to take another right after, like I just didn't get enough air in the first time.

So here's what I do when it happens. It's not a solution, but maybe it will help until the problem is uncovered. When you can't get in enough air, I find myself sitting up straight, I'll literally place my hands on the arms of the chairs, elbows up (like a desk chair as if to open my lungs more). I'll take a deep breath through my mouth and hold it, swallowing once in the middle before I let it out slowly. It's best to do sitting down because you might get light headed but it's a temporary fix for me. Mind you, when I feel this way, I find myself doing this multiple times a day but the feeling eventually subsides.

Again, keep in touch with your doctor. I wish you the best.

B.

I am so sorry that you are experiencing this! I had similar symptoms with my first--I was out of breath all the time! I had to stop twice just to get up a flight of stairs! I had a lot of morning sickness (we called it baby sickness because it was all day for eight to nine months) and my body really made way for the tiny little thing growing in my belly. It seemed like my lungs were not allowed to expand, even from an early stage. I was working 14 hours a day most of the time, sometimes longer and cut back to 12 during my pregnancy. After my son started to get some good space, about the time I started showing, my body found it's groove and I could breathe a lot better. Your body may just be doing the same thing and making too much room at the beginning. I'd recommend staying in touch with your doctor with your symptoms and be certain not only get plenty of rest but be sure to get up and walk as much as you can. I know it sounds like the opposite of what your instincts are but your body will learn to fatigue just above that of your normal activity so the more rest you get, the more likely you will be to fatigue with exertion. By all means, make sure you make time to sit down, put up your feet, take a nap, meditate, whatever helps you relax and breathe easier--just don't give up movement all together as it will hurt you on the other end. The more you think about it, the worse it will be. What you are feeling is real, even if the doctors can't give you a medical reason.

Is there anything in your house that could be effecting you? I know that when I got pregnant I became sensitive to some things to which I normally had no reaction. Is it only at your home or any time you go out as well? Try to keep track of when you have the most pronounced symptoms to see if a pattern emerges or there is an indication of something environmental.

Good luck!

I';m sorry that you are going through this. I don't know what to tell you.
I did expeiriance breathing issues during my pregnancy, though it was around the 5 or 6 month time. My OB (now KNown as Dr Quack) told me that was part of being pregnant. I went to my massage therapist and she told me that my daughter was positioned incorrectly (which was later verified by my anistisioligist(spelling?) when he could not place the epideral. She was able to aline me again, but I had to have it redone every week until several weeks after birth.
I don't know that this is the same thing. I felt like she was sitting on my diaphram. I could breath, but it took a consentrated effort. Which turned out to be the case, as I never experianced the frequent urination that most pregnant women complain of.
I hope that yoiu find an answer. Good luck.