Do You Suffer from Hyperventilation Syndrome?
By Jennifer Flaten, for Revive Your Life
Poor breathing can leave you feeling miserable
Suddenly, you become light headed, find it hard to breathe, and experience a tingling sensation in your fingertips. As your symptoms persist, you begin to panic and rush to the emergency room. Thankfully, the test results reveal that you are not having a heart attack. Unfortunately, the doctors are unable to determine the reason for your strange symptoms and you are released only to come back again and again with these same symptoms. Each time you are subjected to a battery of tests, which result in no definitive answer.
Before you lose all hope thinking you may never get relief from these episodes, take a moment to consider whether you may be suffering from Hyperventilation Syndrome (HVS). An estimated 25% of all patients complaining of dizziness and fatigue may actually be suffering from this affliction.
What is Hyperventilation Syndrome?
Hyperventilation Syndrome is an unusual condition that is a result of rapid breathing. During rapid breathing, the oxygen/carbon dioxide balance in the blood is disturbed, resulting in an oxygen level that is too high and a depleted level of carbon dioxide. This deficiency in carbon dioxide causes those suffering from Hyperventilation Syndrome to feel like they are not getting enough air, when actually the reverse is true.
With only limited amounts of carbon dioxide present in the blood, the overall pH of the blood rises creating a condition called respiratory alkalosis. The high blood pH causes the symptoms to become worse, which in turn, causes the sufferer to breathe even more rapidly. Respiratory alkalosis leads to functional changes in the nervous system, causing a wide variety of odd symptoms, some in puzzling combinations. This change in nervous system functioning explains why those who suffer from Hyperventilation Syndrome complain of symptoms such as; fatigue, weakness, insomnia or nightmares, chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, abdominal pain, and excessive nerve sensitivity.
This odd combination of symptoms is what often causes Hyperventilation Syndrome to be misdiagnosed. For example, symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath can easily be mistaken for signs of a heart attack. When no damage to the heart is found, doctors are often at a loss when attempting to explain why the patient continues to complain of these strange symptoms. This leads to frustration on both sides as patients continually return to the doctor complaining of the same symptoms. Even more frustrating is that those suffering from Hyperventilation Syndrome may find it hard to pinpoint the cause as each episode may have different symptoms.
Doctors are now beginning to understand that the myriad of symptoms present are a clue to diagnosing Hyperventilation Syndrome. Once all of the symptoms are considered in conjunction, it becomes much easier to make an accurate diagnosis. For example, a strong correlation has been identified between HVS and mood disorders such as panic attacks and generalized anxiety as well as chronic fatigue syndrome.
Research shows that HVS is an involuntary response to stressful situations. People who suffer from Hyperventilation Syndrome are in no way trying to breathe harder. It has been observed that many patients are not even aware that they are over breathing. However, once the oxygen level increases and carbon dioxide levels decrease, the sufferer may then begin to experience dizziness or blurred vision. The onset of these symptoms only increases the patient’s overall discomfort and causes them to become even more stressed. The body then involuntarily increases breathing, making the situation even worse.
Overcoming Hyperventilation Syndrome
There is good news for Hyperventilation Syndrome sufferers; it is possible to learn to control your breathing and relieve your symptoms in a relatively short period of time. One of the most accurate and complete resources to help one overcome this affliction is an Ebook titled Hope and Help for Hyperventilation Syndrome. One aspect of recovery detailed in this book includes practicing several breathing techniques that will allow your body to learn to breathe more slowly. A watch with a second hand is the only piece of equipment required.
While performing each of these breathing exercises, it is important to use proper breathing mechanics. Hyperventilation Syndrome, caused by short, choppy breaths, is usually the result of inefficient chest breathing. Instead, focus on controlled abdominal breathing.
How do you know if you are using proper breathing mechanics? Lie on your back on the floor and place one hand on your belly, and the other on your chest. When you inhale, you should feel your abdomen rise while your chest remains relatively still. A fluid exhale should follow (don’t hold your breath) which causes the abdomen to lower back to its original position. After a one second pause, inhale again. Nasal breathing provides for a more controlled, relaxed breathing pattern than does mouth breathing, so keep your mouth closed.
The first breathing exercise is referred to as the 7-11 method. The inhalation is timed to last 7 seconds (or counts) while the exhalation is timed to last 11 seconds (or counts). With repeated practice of this method the body will be reset to breathe more slowly and evenly. Soon the body will no longer find it necessary to take quick, shallow breaths.
The second exercise consists of two 5-minute controlled breathing sessions per day. The goal of each of these 5-minute sessions is to concentrate on taking only 3-5 breaths per minute. The breaths should be slow and deliberate. Again, the goal of this method is to retrain the body to see that rapid breathing is not necessary. Practice twice daily, and otherwise forget about your breathing (i.e. do not constantly check on your breathing technique throughout the day as this may add additional stress and worry).
Repetition and regular practice of these breathing exercises is essential to overcoming this affliction. It is important to maintain patience during the breathing retraining process and it should be expected that several weeks pass before noticing positive results. Once the body is retrained to breathe slowly and evenly, the person suffering from Hyperventilation Syndrome should see a dramatic decrease in overall symptoms. Gone should be the lightheaded and dizziness that have become part of daily life. Also, gone will be the accompanying vague and ever changing symptoms of fatigue, memory loss, nerve pain and intestinal discomfort.
Click on to submit this post to your favorite social bookmarking sites such as Digg or StumbleUpon!
Subscribe to receive free updates via the Revive Your Life RSS feed!
Related Posts:
Comments
12 Responses to “Do You Suffer from Hyperventilation Syndrome?”
Share your thoughts with the RYL community!
You can also subscribe to the RYL RSS feed!
Loading ...
Dear Jennifer,
I enjoyed your comprehensive and accurate article on hyperventilation syndrome and hyperventilation treatment. I have a clinic in Pasadena, California called Breathingwise that treats this very disorder (among other functional breathing pattern problems). There is a significant group of people who need extra help with relearning a new breathing pattern and resetting the brain’s respiratory center to accept higher levels of carbon dioxide.
I am pleased you did not mention breathing into a paper bag as this is often what my clients expect to do and there is evidence to suggest this is not a safe practise (due to hypoxia). I do sometimes advise people to breathe into cupped hands if they have got beyond the point of being able to control their symptoms through diaphragmatic breathing - generally this is because of an over-riding panic. The cupped hand breathing is safe, gives sufferes of an acute attack something proactive to do in the event of panic and there is some carbon dioxide rebreathing.
Thanks again for the excellent summary.
[...] consistent flow of histamine can cause significant breathing problems for most allergy sufferers. Short, rapid breathing such as that experienced by hyperventilation syndrome sufferers will create a sense of anxiety and will greatly contribute to chronic fatigue. [...]
these post really cleared out those misconception regarding how to treat hypertension. here in the philippines, most people who suffer hypertension take in garlic to relief themselves from the headache and breathing difficulties. On the other hand, based on this article, one effective way to conquer such illness is to master proper breathing techniques. i’ll share whatever i learned from this post to those people i know that are still believing in the “superstition” of hypertension including the hyperventilation syndrome. good job ms. jennifer!
my friend suffers from this illness. when he has the attack, we usually don’t panic at all, maybe because we’re used to it. we try to avoid overcrowded places when he’s with us, because that’s the time he gets the attack.
its important that people should not surround him while he’s suffering from difficulties in breathing, provide him with enough air by placing him on a well ventilated room.
i dont know why but i sometimes pity on him. that’s one reason that i must be thankful to GOd that he didn’t gave me that kind of sickness. or else it may interupt my daily activities like what it does to my friend.
I have gone through a very rough time specially since I was misdiagnosed with first a brain cyst which later was found to be a blood vessel which is benign, later I was diagnosed with episodes of epilepsy for which I was already under epilepsy medication for about 2 years to “control” the dizziness that was thought to have been caused by the cyst. Being diagnosed with epilepsy and the doctors told me scary things about if something happens while driving and I kill someone that I would be held responsible as if I was driving under the influence. I was completely freaked out and was beginning to panic and had anxiety attacks and had that feeling of impending doom all the time. Now I realize the side effects of epilepsy medicine which was doing nothing but giving me side effects and the anxiety of thinking that you are epileptic was making me breathe harder, be nervous all the time, and for 2 months I was lightheaded and dizzy non stop, from waking up to going to sleep, I was in agony.
Luckily a third neurologist, bless his soul, assured me I do not have epilepsy and also no brain cyst, he introduced me to HVS. He prescribed Luvox which to my surprise is a medication to help control OCD obsessive compulsive disorder and SAD social anxiety disorder. I am not exactly what relation OCD or SAD have with HVS but the second day of taking Luvox my symptoms went completely away, I wasn’t dizzy anymore. I’m guessing OCD is involuntary causing you to do things repetitively and in a pattern like counting or doing things over and over, I believe that the same happens with breathing so this medication stops the problem from the source. I did ask if there was anything else to do to prevent them, any exercises and he said there were but that I should be fine with this medication and he was right. It keeps getting better, the first week I was so relieved, I thought there was gonna be no cure for my symptoms. Now its been 6 weeks and I have been symptom free, no lightheadedness, no dizziness, the only thing i’m still afraid it might happen anytime, but even that is going away. That is just cured with time.
I could not believe it was epilepsy but two doctors diagnosed me as epileptic. I was heart broken. Thank god it was not that, I feel so blessed and appreciate everything I’ve got a whole lot more now. There’s a lot more that I can talk about experiences I’ve had, some good and some very bad, but as of now, I am completely happy, I would like to get in touch with people experiencing this. There is hope. I am back to my usual self. I was so afraid of driving, I have now driven on trips and gone across town on my own, I am gaining my confidence back, I’ve had the most trouble with that, gaining my confidence back. It was traumatic I gotta say that.
Hi Jorge,
Thanks so much for sharing your story! Without a doubt there is a link between anxiety of all forms and HVS. It’s amazing how many doctors overlook HVS and instead make a diagnosis that is much more serious.
Stick with it, you will surely regain your confidence as time passes and if the feelings ever come back again, you’ll know exactly what to do…work on your breathing again!
I continually hear from people that the Ebook titled “Hope and Help for Hyperventilation Syndrome” is the best resource out there for those looking to understand and overcome HVS. Get the word out to others that this resource is available and they can be helped too (just Google the title and you should be able to find it easily, or go to http://www.hyperventilation-syndrome.com).
Again, thanks for sharing!
Jake
I was recently diagnosed with hyperventilation syndrome, but I am still very confused about the diagnosis and more importantly, how to RESOLVE/STOP it.
Several months ago, I took a bad fall out of state and either badly bruised or possibly broke a rib. I was afraid to go to to the ER because I do not have comprehensive medical insurance. I was in a LOT of pain (getting in and out of bed the 1st three nights/mornings reminded me of the day after having a Caesarian). But I did NOT have any breathing problems at that time, so I figured well, I guess I don’t have a punctured lung ( I did a lot of Googling on bruised/cracked ribs) so it wasn’t worth the money for me to go to an ER. Yeah, it HURT, but no difficulty breathing until a few days AFTER the pain subsided.
HOWEVER…sometime after the physical pain subsided, I began to experience difficulty breathing upon any degree of exertion at all. I began to think maybe I’d developed asthma, or maybe it was related to the ribs, even though they no longer hurt. So I went to my primary care doc, who did an EKG on me and also sent me for chest x-rays. The results were negative, so he said that he found no reason to refer me to a cardiologist, especially since I’d have to pay a lot for the visit.
Now, I DO suffer from depression (not to mention well-controlled Type 2 diabetes and somewhat elevated cholesterol - all of which is WHY I have little insurance), but have never experienced any degree of anxiety.
My primary care doc said that the breathing issue was probably psychological anyway, that maybe I got habitually accustomed to breathing shallowly due to the pain of the rib.
My psych doc agreed with that diagnosis and SHE recommended the paper-bag routine, which I have been reading is NOT recommended, so now I’m confused - not that it helps anyway, nor does cupped-hand breathiing.
A while after, I was at the airport when my flight was abruptly canceled, and the airline sent us from one end of one terminal to the other end of the NEXT terminal. They said we had to get there as “FAST as we could” to get reassigned to other flights.
So here I was, lugging a heavy carry-on with me, trying to walk/run, having more and more trouble breathing and the upshot is that I fainted just before I got to the new ticketing area.
The fire department came and took my pulse and put me an oxygen mask on me (I didn’t feel like that helped, but hard to tell since I was now sitting still anyway), and insisted I must go to the local ER by ambulance. They said the airport legally was not allowed to let me leave or fly unless I either took the ambulance or someone came to get me. Since I had no one available, I had to go on the ambulance.
At the ER, they took my history, and in listing my current meds, the MINUTE they heard I took Cymbalta, they said, “OOOHHHH, okayyyy, you have PSYCHIATRIC issues! NOW we understand what the problem is!”.
They INSISTED that it was CERTAINLY psychological, and that I DEFINITELY must have had an anxiety attack (well, maybe I WAS, losing your only flight connection for that entire day CAN be anxiety-provoking, but I STILL think it was running while carrying a heavy carry on).
Anyway, by this time of laying on a stretcher, etc, I was no longer having trouble breathing, so they released me.
They sent a diagnosis of “hyperventilation syndrome” to my doctor, so as far as he is concerned, that is what it is.
But I am still very very confused - and I do not know what to do next.
I already have a $2000 bill from my airport experience, and my doctors won’t refer me anywhere else, so I am at a loss.
Whether or not it IS psychological, it is NOT going away, and the minute I exert myself, I have trouble breathing and dizziness and even lower energy levels than ever before. I really am trying to ignore it, and trying very hard to breathe more slowly and deeper like the doctors tell me to do, but it’s just not making a difference.
I’ve been Googling and researching “hyperventilation syndrome”
all this time, and found your site. I know you can’t give medical advice, but perhaps any other ideas on how I should proceed?
PS - I’ve been taking garlic for years to hopefully prevent colds/flu and to help lower my blood pressure, but I guess it hasn’t helped me with the breathing!
@ Terri O - The resource that is highlighted in the text of this article (Hope and Help for Hyperventilation Syndrome) is very informative. It provides a complete review of HVS and specific steps to start on the path to recovery. It was written by someone who has experienced HVS personally. I hope this helps and I wish you well!
Jake
I was diagnosed with hyperventilation syndrome years ago but I don’t really seem to have the symptoms described for this. I don’t have trouble breathing. My heart beats really hard. I was told my heart is fine. Do I really have this syndrome? I take propranolol which helps but seems to be having a negative effect on my memory.
This e-book is a scam. The author provides no credentials and no contact information for the Author. All we have is “Jake” trolling these comments and pumping the ebook. HVS deserves better than this Pearson charlatan.
@ Doug G - Not surprisingly, you haven’t provided much in the way of alternatives in your comment regarding the HVS resource referenced in this post. Have you read the ebook, or just choosing to write it off as a scam?
I’ve read the ebook (many times) and stand by it 100%. Credentials or not, just because someone does not have an “MD” after their name does not mean they don’t know what they are talking about. Firsthand experience trumps medical school learning any day.
Trolling comments? This is my website, so of course I “troll” the comments in order to respond to my readers when needed. Rather than spout off about your opinion of a book you’ve never read, use the site’s contact form and email me a request to have a copy of the book sent to you. I’ll pay to have a copy sent to so you can ACCURATELY assess the book for yourself and then come back and write an educated review. Fair enough? Great.
Since I see you subscribed to this post and will know I responded to your comment, I’ll await your email requesting a copy of the ebook!
Thanks,
Jake
i seek a medical examination about a week ago because of the shortness of breathing, i undego an ECG, blood test, ect. and found no problem in my heart, so i was like feeling relieve that there’s nothing wrong with me, then last night going home from work, i found it hard to breathe again while driving and suddenlyi felt numbness in my heart and stiffness in my fingers and feet. The doctor injected me an relaxant, now i am still afraid the same attack will happen again, but this article helps me a lot what is the first thing to do when it come back again.
thank you and keep safe.