I've posted before about breathing difficulties. I'm still waiting for the lab results on whether or not I have co-infections, but really, they will probably prove to be useless unless positive.
How long can air hunger last? I thought at first maybe it was part of a herx, but whoa, it's been on/off every single day for almost a month now.
Sometimes I have feelings of being suffocated, then I have feelings of not being able to take a deep enough breath. Then I have days where I feel like my diaphragm is giving up on me and I have to remind myself to breathe or I catch myself holding my breath for no reason. Sometimes I can't even talk or have a conversation because I'm so winded!
I'm annoyed, irritated, and scared to death most days. I'd rather have severe fatigue and be in bed all day if it meant that I could BREATHE!!!
Is this all normal? Can this crazy stuff last this long? I swear the Zith stirred these creepy critters up because before taking that I was doing well, no breathing issues at all. I'm off the Zith and doing doxy for the moment.
Some days I just don't see an end to all this.
Posted by suki444 (Member # 4261) on :
Hi Well wiht me air hunger was at one point Babesia...when on Zith it was due to herxing and now after years of taking abx I found out the persistant difficulty breathing it was down to food allergies (eggs).
You need an experienced LLMD that can look at the whole picture to determine what is going on,
best of luck Emma
Posted by Health (Member # 6034) on :
I had it BAD. I mean bad, I thought I was going into complete Respiratory distress syndrome.
A person died from this, it is documented, I printed it out, it was a Medical document. Dont want to frighten you but it is a SERIOUS matter that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. I have an inhaler for emergency and it works ok, not that well. It is not something to be dealt with lightly, it can kill you if it gets too out of hand.
Biaxin and Flagyl completely took it away within 1 week, the first time.
I then went off this combo after 7 months and wanted to get well with natural therpaies. WRONG move, I had the air hunger return by the 2nd month. This time it was accompanied by
a full blown sgrodens syndrome, it was simply horrifying, and had it like this for about 1.5 weeks and would have been dead had I not gone back on antibiotics.
This time I was put on the Azithromycin and Flagyl, then I relapsed after 2 months on it, and was put on Doxycycline, and the air hunger got better.
I also had breathing problems later that got better from Babesia treatment, the clindamycin and quinine.
I am in Bartonella treatment now, but my breathing has not fully healed like it was before,
I would def do the babesia treatment if you can.
I read that Dr J, the lyme DR for children said that bartonella can cause asthma, and if you get the bartonella better, not asthma for some.
I know the feeling of how terrible it can be,
I have a little rife, and I rifed and it helped the air hunger. I had this dream actually told me a rife # and low and behold, it helped me very much for about 4-5 months or so.
Rife, got rid of my air hunger before when I was off antibiotics and it came back, but I would not rely on rife to get me well, antibiotics did me the best.
Rife is something I will do, and need a better machine even while on antibitoics.
Trish
Posted by surg (Member # 6937) on :
When I had the air hunger and it was so bad I thought I was going to the ER I found that diflucan helped. I don't know why but it does. So, I carry it around in my purse for emergencies of air hunger, 100mg. It takes about an hour to work.
Posted by tailz (Member # 10014) on :
I forget who on here said this already, but my guess would be food allergies. I have an egg allergy at the very least - the only blood-proven one. I had to be given oxygen several times in the ER. Still the doc told me it was just anxiety. Nope - food allergies.
In fact, I only recently restarted my antibiotic (Ceftin - I gave up on Diflucan for now anyway after one pill), and my breathing problems have been MUCH better just by changing my diet - even before antibiotics were initiated.
I would start with eggs. Then maybe weed out a few more culprits. Dairy in general gives me wicked reactions.
Just don't wait like I did to figure out your food allergies. There were nights my gums were blue and I was so weak I'd lay down, only to wake up abruptly when I ran out of air.
I would also recommend filtering the chlorine out of your shower water. Though my air hunger improved drastically through diet, it improved even more so after getting the chlorine vapors out of my lungs.
Posted by Lymied (Member # 6704) on :
I had it very badly too. Inhalers didn't touch it. I had it really intensly a couple years before my diagnosis...took me to the ER a couple of times.
Then, when I relapsed I got it again...went on Mepron/Zith for Babesia...treated it...took zith and doxy for months - and flagyl - went through intense herxing for six months...treatment for longer...now I have finally kicked it.
I feel for you - for me it was the Babesia.
Take care and hope you can kick it to the curb soon!
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
Are you going to be treated clinically for babesia and Lyme? You know the tests are far from accurate and your should treat based on your clinical situation.
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
For your consideration:
Tiotropium is an anti-cholinergic bronchodilator that can be taken once a day for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
PMID: 16749321
Effects of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Inflammatory Markers in COPD*
Conclusion: We suggest nutritional support with an omega-3 PUFA-rich diet as a safe and practical method for treating COPD. Chest. 2005;128:3817-3827.
Unfortunately, it appears in lyme, the Omega 3s (long chain fatty acids) are being downregulated.
To restore energy production to damaged cells in the lungs and relax bronchial airways, the following nutrients are suggested:
� Coenzyme Q10: assists in cellular respiration and acts as an antioxidant
� Alpha-lipoic acid: functions as a cofactor in energy production, acts as a free radical scavenger, and helps regenerate the effects of other antioxidants
� Acetyl-L-carnitine: transports lipids into the mitochondria to be used in the production of cellular energy
� Taurine: may improve breathlessness and increase cardiac blood flow
� Magnesium: is a cofactor in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body and relaxes bronchial muscles
� Potassium: weakness and fatigue are symptoms of deficiency. Consult your physician for blood testing.
Reading this I think I just found out that my shortness of breath might also be due to an egg allergy.
One of these IgG (or IgE?)-tests found out that I was allergic to eggs and I stopped eating them for more than 6 months. Then, according to the lab, it was okay again to reintroduce them in my diet.
With more than 40 symptoms coming and going I couldn't see any difference at the time when I didn't eat eggs. But now I just compared my notes of symptoms and in fact - during these 6 months I had NO shortness of breath. Since I started eating eggs again, they are back!
Yesterday night I got shortness of breath again and I thought, but no! I didn't have any eggs! But then I realized that there had been an egg in the Sauce Hollandaise. And this afternoon I got it again. One more time I thought, no! This time you didn't eat eggs. Wrong: I had Lasagne with eggs in the pasta.