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What Causes Shortness Of Breath And Anxiety?
Question: You have answered a Pulmonary question for me sometime back and it related to shortness of breath. anxiety and niumerous PFT test that are basically normal except for the FEF 25/75. That is not terrible but not great, it responds well to nebulizer but very little to a inhaler. I have been informed that I have no COPD but do have Small Airway Disease, had it since first PFT 17 years ago. Oh I quit smoking in 2000. What might I expect with SAD/, do i just need a good LABA and still to quell the anxiety?
Brief Answer:
Supportive care
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for getting back to me
Small air way disease is a broad term and there are hundreds of etiologies behind it. Usually infections and insulting environmental pollutants like smoke and allergens are the cause. Less rare are autoimmune disorders and connective tissue diseases. Treatment is mostly dilated. The main problem behind it is smaller sizes of 8th generation of airways ( 8th time division of main stem bronchus) that level size should be more than 2 mm but in SAD, the sizes are low and easy obstruction is the result. In other words we call it bronchiolitis.
You need good long acting bronchodilator, a very good anxiolytics as anxiety triggers the symptoms as well, FEF of 25 / 75 are not that bad. Take some anxiolytics, avoid allergens, and try to keep your symptoms managed supportively as the work up road to find the cause behind it is long and very hectic and not worth it when treatment is just supportive with efforts to keep the airways patent.
I hope it helps. Consult your pulmonologist frequently and let them decide what is best for you.
Take care
Khan
Supportive care
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for getting back to me
Small air way disease is a broad term and there are hundreds of etiologies behind it. Usually infections and insulting environmental pollutants like smoke and allergens are the cause. Less rare are autoimmune disorders and connective tissue diseases. Treatment is mostly dilated. The main problem behind it is smaller sizes of 8th generation of airways ( 8th time division of main stem bronchus) that level size should be more than 2 mm but in SAD, the sizes are low and easy obstruction is the result. In other words we call it bronchiolitis.
You need good long acting bronchodilator, a very good anxiolytics as anxiety triggers the symptoms as well, FEF of 25 / 75 are not that bad. Take some anxiolytics, avoid allergens, and try to keep your symptoms managed supportively as the work up road to find the cause behind it is long and very hectic and not worth it when treatment is just supportive with efforts to keep the airways patent.
I hope it helps. Consult your pulmonologist frequently and let them decide what is best for you.
Take care
Khan
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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