hyperventilation?!
Mar. 13th, 2003 12:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baratronNow that was... not what I was expecting.
My doctor reckons that 90% of the symptoms I've been complaining about are due to something called hyperventilation occulta, or unseen hyperventilation. I am unconvinced. Exceedingly unconvinced. But reading about it on the web, it does seem to be a real thing.
I didn't think I hyperventilated, but apparently you're only supposed to breathe 12-14 times per minute. What? I normally breathe at least once per second. You mean that's not normal? I'm sitting here now trying to breathe only through my nose, and finding it really damned hard - I think normally I breathe through my nose and mouth together. I feel as though I'm not getting enough oxygen, and desperately wanting to open my mouth and gasp for breath, but apparently that's the worst thing I could do.
How am I supposed to learn to breathe a different way? (Semi-rhetorical question - one of the links above talks about a course for people with asthma to learn to stop hyperventilating). Huh.
My doctor reckons that 90% of the symptoms I've been complaining about are due to something called hyperventilation occulta, or unseen hyperventilation. I am unconvinced. Exceedingly unconvinced. But reading about it on the web, it does seem to be a real thing.
I didn't think I hyperventilated, but apparently you're only supposed to breathe 12-14 times per minute. What? I normally breathe at least once per second. You mean that's not normal? I'm sitting here now trying to breathe only through my nose, and finding it really damned hard - I think normally I breathe through my nose and mouth together. I feel as though I'm not getting enough oxygen, and desperately wanting to open my mouth and gasp for breath, but apparently that's the worst thing I could do.
How am I supposed to learn to breathe a different way? (Semi-rhetorical question - one of the links above talks about a course for people with asthma to learn to stop hyperventilating). Huh.
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Date: 2003-03-13 05:14 am (UTC)The nice thing about this as a possible diagnosis is that there's apparently a simple, non-invasive treatment for it. If it works, great! and if it doesn't work, you haven't lost anything but some time. Even if it doesn't turn out to be the total answer to your symptoms, learning slow/deep breathing techniques is still likely to help your ability to relax when you're anxious.
Deep, slow breathing shouldn't make you feel like you're suffocating. If you're not comfortable breathing through your nose only (I'm not), it's okay to also breathe through your mouth. Just try to slow down the rhythm. Don't hold your breath, and don't drag it out so long that your chest hurts. Maybe you might want to start out trying to slow it down to one breath every two seconds, and then slowly extend that.
Your doctor should refer you to someone who can teach you breathing exercises. If he doesn't, or can't, let me know and I can give you more detailed and specific practice suggestions.