Shortness of breath, diet? Pushups?

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So last Week ( Tuesday ) I did pushups for the first time in almost 2 years WITH my daughter on my back. Now I’m overweight, haven’t exercised and did this. Don’t ask why.

The next night, I noticed I was having some shortness of breath and the right side of my chest is very slightly painful when I press down on it, kind of like a bruise?

Now I don’t know if I’m on the right area to post this but I’ve also been eating terribly lately and since the shortness of breath I’ve been eating better, staying under my calories etc etc. The past few days I’ve deemed this as anxiety and that’s what two doctors told me over the phone. But today I noticed the pain when I press there so I’m wondering, is this a muscle pull in my chest? Causing the shortness of breath mainly at night?

Any help will do.

Replies

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Please make an appointment to see a doctor. They can't get this targeted over the phone. "Anxiety" is something they say just offhand and frankly I don't buy it especially since you are having a problem on one particular side. Don't take chances with something like this.
  • jaysanchez4
    jaysanchez4 Posts: 199 Member
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    I’ll give more information, the night after the pushups I was deep asleep and the fire alarm went off in my condo and I shot up, panicking and freaked out and that’s when the shortness of breath started, combined with the pushups the day before, and everything that’s going on right now, I do feel like it’s anxiety. Mainly because during the entire day, I breathe fine and there’s no shortness. It’s almost only at night before I sleep when I think about it.

    Just wanted to see what others thoughts are!

    Thank You!
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
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    You should definitely call your doctor and have them give you some advice over the phone at least. I can tell you I have suffered something that sounds a bit similar but not exactly the same. I had a kidney stone that was so painful it caused me labored breathing and after the stone had passed I was left with a sharp pain in my chest (near my heart) when breathing. Especially whenever I took a deep breath it was a horrific stabbing pain so my doc checked me out and diagnosed me with costochondritis which is an inflammation of the rib cartilage. He said there’s no treatment so I just had to wait until it healed up but said absolutely NOT to do ANY upper body exercise, I could only do lower body exercise (legs) and he gave me the ok to continue walking and running, which I was able to do without pain. But if I wasn’t doing anything, just sitting there and simply took in a slightly deeper breath than normal I’d have the stabbing chest pain immediately. I don’t remember mine hurting any more or less at night/bedtime though. But one thing my doc made clear was that it would seem to get better then it would get bad again, then seem to ease up then return again and continue to cycle like that until it would heal and it could take 6-8 weeks to fully heal. That’s exactly how it went too. I’d feel better for a day, day and a half and think it was subsiding and then it would come back full force for the next few days, again over and over and it did indeed take like 8 weeks to completely go away. Mine was a cartilage injury and not muscle so not sure how that would compare to yours. Many doctors are doing phone and video visits so maybe they can help you remotely. Good luck to you on your fitness journey! :)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    You possibly strained something when doing the pushups. It could affect your breathing indirectly because lots of muscles are involved when breathing.
  • Hollis100
    Hollis100 Posts: 1,408 Member
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    gothchiq wrote: »
    Please make an appointment to see a doctor. They can't get this targeted over the phone. "Anxiety" is something they say just offhand and frankly I don't buy it especially since you are having a problem on one particular side. Don't take chances with something like this.

    I agree with this post. You should see a doctor anytime you have undiagnosed shortness of breath. It could be anxiety. It could also be many other things, from cardiac problems to less serious things -- don't speculate. Get a medical opinion instead of asking strangers on the internet. Your health matters. Good luck.
  • jaysanchez4
    jaysanchez4 Posts: 199 Member
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    Hollis100 wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    Please make an appointment to see a doctor. They can't get this targeted over the phone. "Anxiety" is something they say just offhand and frankly I don't buy it especially since you are having a problem on one particular side. Don't take chances with something like this.

    I agree with this post. You should see a doctor anytime you have undiagnosed shortness of breath. It could be anxiety. It could also be many other things, from cardiac problems to less serious things -- don't speculate. Get a medical opinion instead of asking strangers on the internet. Your health matters. Good luck.

    So I spoke to two doctors over the phone about this and both have attributed it to Anxiety, mainly due to the fact that there’s no pain, no sharpness and seems to only happen at night. It’s tricky as they could not physically see me due to what’s happening right now so I explained my symptoms as best as I could over the phone and they said it is most likely anxiety.

  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,711 Member
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    If there's no pain I'd suspect anxiety as well. I pulled chest muscles a few months ago and it hurt to breathe and do anything but sit with my back supported or lay down. I first felt it when on the stair treadmill right over my heart, freaked me out at first but wasn't too strong until I went and lifted weights and made it worse.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
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    "A dog can have both ticks AND fleas." A strain + anxiety can co-exist :)
  • twiggy1100
    twiggy1100 Posts: 5 Member
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    i suffer from COPD and therefore, right now i am not allowed to work out because they do not want me to stress my self or over work my heart as i can not afford to end up in the hospital.
    any suggestions
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,738 Member
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    twiggy1100 wrote: »
    i suffer from COPD and therefore, right now i am not allowed to work out because they do not want me to stress my self or over work my heart as i can not afford to end up in the hospital.
    any suggestions

    You would probably get more and better replies if you were to create your own thread, with a specific/clear thread title, rather than piggybacking on this one. :flowerforyou:

    I have (very early, very mild) COPD, too, they now think. I read a little bit about exercise and COPD. You might ask your doctor whether it's OK to take easy-pace walks, and if so, how much it's reasonable to do to start, and how to build up duration, if that's OK. Those burn more calories than many people might think, and seemed to be recommended for those diagnosed with COPD, from what I read (but you should seek, and follow personalized advice from your doctors, not something some nutty stranger on the internet like me says they read somewhere. ;) ).

    Best wishes! :)
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    twiggy1100 wrote: »
    i suffer from COPD and therefore, right now i am not allowed to work out because they do not want me to stress my self or over work my heart as i can not afford to end up in the hospital.
    any suggestions

    My suggestion is follow doctor orders. Is walking allowed?