Daytime breathing

[masterpkpk]

hey ya'll. Ive been using apap for a couple of weeks now. Yesterday I noticed it felt like I had to work a bit harder to get satisfying breaths. There is no pain.

A bit of background information.
I am 28 years old. Male. 6'4 175 lbs.
Hypochondriac. Anxiety. Depression.
Have had heart conditions ruled out before.
Never had any respiratory issues.

I've read that people can feel sore from chest expansion that they aren't used to, but it doesn't feel sore. I guess it just feels like I'm hyper aware of my chest and breathing.

Thoughts?

[LSAT]

The CPAP machine simply opens your airway to allow for easier breathing while asleep. Your airway shouldn't close while awake.

[Julie]

Go get Covid tested... we'll cross our fingers for you.

[rick blaine]

Hi masterpkpk,

Your history of anxiety and 'heart conditions ruled out before' suggest the possibility of 'hyper-ventilation syndrome'. And the having to 'work harder to breathe' is one of the symptoms.

You can search for info about HVS on the internet. And there's a good book on it by Dinah Bradley, a respiratory physiologist.

Treatment for it – which is effective – is by doing breathing exercises. You can be supervised in these if you consult a respiratory physiologist. Or you can self-treat. You'll find appropriate breathing exercises in Ms Bradley's book.

[raisedfist]

Anxiety can manifest in physical symptoms

[masterpkpk]

So I actually got a chest xray back that shows slight hyperinflation in my lungs. Is it possible that apap can cause this or is it more likely related to over breathing caused by anxiety? I dont smoke and I have no history of asthma. My doctor told me she thinks the apap could be overinflating my lungs somehow and wants me to stop using it for a week to see if i feel better.

[Pugsy]

Cpap pressure at 20 cm won't even blow up a balloon.
I don't see it causing stretching of the lungs at all. All it does is hold the airway open...it doesn't inflate the lungs at all. It's not a ventilator.

[raisedfist]

So I actually got a chest xray back that shows slight hyperinflation in my lungs. Is it possible that apap can cause this or is it more likely related to over breathing caused by anxiety? I dont smoke and I have no history of asthma. My doctor told me she thinks the apap could be overinflating my lungs somehow and wants me to stop using it for a week to see if i feel better.

Aside from the breathing issue, have you felt any other symptoms like a cough, fever, aches?

[masterpkpk]

Nope. Just the breathing.

[chunkyfrog]

. . .
My doctor told me she thinks the apap could be overinflating my lungs . . .

Your doctor is a moron.