Healthcare professionals/ patients only please… breathing problems?

Alan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:34:12 +0000

Question by *Sara*: Healthcare professionals/ patients only please… breathing problems?
Sorry this is going to be pretty long but I’m getting desperate… Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to read and offer advice
One week ago (Saturday) I started feeling short of breath and felt like I needed to yawn throughout the day in order to get more air in. Sunday was the same, but not bad enough to cause concern.
Monday I went to work and was there for about half an hour and my breathing got worse. I felt the need to yawn every few minutes and my normal breaths felt short- like I wasn’t able to take enough air in.
My husband took me to my PCP Monday morning. EKG was fine, heart sounded fine, lungs sounded clear, PCP could hear air moving through normally.
I had lap band surgery a year and a half ago and he was worried about a blood clot in my lungs… sent me to the hospital for:
CT scan on chest- injected dye for the test- results were negative (nothing in lungs)
Blood oxygen levels checked- blood taken from artery in wrist (OUCH)- negative- results were normal
Basic blood work from vein in arm- all normal
Went back to my PCP Tuesday (took another sick day) PCP did a breathing test where I blew in and out of a little tube- said my results were abnormal but he wasn’t sure why… Gave me script for Albuteral (spelling?) inhaler and Advair inhaler. Neither one of these help at all. PCP mentioned it could be anxiety- but I have not been upset/anxious/ worried about ANYTHING lately and it doesn’t come in “attacks” but I feel this way all day every day.
I used to have sleep apnea before my lap band surgery- PCP said it may be that- but I never had “bad” sleep apnea and I sleep fine- haven’t been waking up even once during the night.
I used to have acid reflux before my surgery too- suggested that… started taking my Prilosec OTC again- does nothing to help.
PCP made another appt. to see me in one week and told me to start on Zyrtec. Zyrtec has not seemed to make a difference- been taking that for 5 days now.
Last night (Friday night) went to a movie w/ my husband and toward the end of the movie my breathing got a lot worse. I was struggling to breathe normally and my need to yawn was increased- I felt like I needed to yawn every 40-70 seconds. I couldn’t yawn right away though- it took several tries and concentration to get enough air in in order to yawn.
Husband rushed me to the ER. I was crying at this point b/c I was scared and very aggravated.
Got a chest Xray- clear, lungs look fine. Lungs sound fine. Gave me a breathing treatment and steroids through an IV- felt a tiny bit better laying there with the steroids in me but as soon as they took my IV out my problems came right back.
ER doctor gave me a script for Methylprednisolone steroid tablets. Just started them today- not sure how long they take to work but so far no change.
If anyone has ANY suggestions or advice as to what this may be or what could be causing it please let me know. I live in Louisville, Kentucky and the allergies are terrible this time of year- I’ve never really had allergies before but this just seems like way too much to just be allergies- but then again, I’m no doctor.
Meds I’m on now: Prozac (been on it for about 10 years) Wellbutrin SR (been on it for about 1 year and a half/ 2 years) Zyrtec (every morning for the past 5 days) Prilosec OTC (every morning for the past 4 days) Advair inhaler (twice a day for the past 4 days) Rescue inhaler as needed (does nothing to help) Methylprednisolone 6 day/ 21 pill pack (just started today)
THANK YOU for any help you can give me. If you know what this might be or have experienced this please let me know- I’ll take anything I can get at this point- I’m desperate to find out what’s wrong with me, it’s effecting every aspect of my life now.

Best answer:

Answer by JT_Grogan
Well, I’m no doctor, but when I had those same symptoms it turned out to be pneumonia. But if that were the case then they obviously would have picked up on it the first time you went to the hospital. I work in a hospital and I’ve never heard of anything like this that didn’t turn out to be pneumonia or some other easily treatable respiratory issue. Seems to me like you’ve got one of those mystery, doctor House type cases. But, if I were to venture a guess as to what you should do, I would say give it time. According to you it’s only been a week, so perhaps the medication just needs some time to become effective. Obviously if you think you’re going to die or the problems persist for a long time then go to the doctor, but it may well be that you’re already on the path to being fixed up.

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Does the United Healthcare Choice Plus insurance plan cover pre-existing sleep apnea CPAP treatments?

Alan — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:12:28 +0000

I have been on a CPAP for 18 months now, and acquired United Healthcare Choice Plus insurance several months ago. Will they cover my masks, CPAP and future sleep treatments?

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Healthcare professionals/ patients only please… breathing problems?

Does the United Healthcare Choice Plus insurance plan cover pre-existing sleep apnea CPAP treatments?