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I’ll Begin By Saying That I’m A 31 Year Old
Question: I’ll begin by saying that I’m a 31 year old male. I’m quite overweight but I also have a lot of muscle mass from past activities such as martial arts. However, I don’t eat particularly unhealthily. I try to eat plenty of vegetables and avoid saturated fats and cholesterol as much as I can. I live a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I work from home, which includes a lot of sitting. When I go too long like that, my feet and ankles tend to swell a bit. When I eat really healthily or make a point to be more active, that swelling goes away entirely. So that aspect really seems to depend on my level of self-care. I felt this was important to note.
I’ve smoked cigarettes here and there, off and on, but never smoked a lot of them. Maybe one or two a day most of the time. There was a brief stint (maybe two months) that I would smoke more if I was out with friends. That being said, I currently very seldom drink any alcohol. I’ve never made even a habit from drinking.
I switched to vaping some time ago. And I vaped a lot. Anything I vaped always had the lowest level of nicotine in it before 0. I started feeling some discomfort in what I feel was my throat or esophagus because, I assume, I was vaping too often. So I began to slow down. This is when the breathing change started to happen and has persisted for nearly 3 weeks. It began once it started getting warmer out and humid. I chalked it up to that, as it’s happened before in high humidity.
I consider it shortness of breath. But I’m not sure if that’s really what it is. I breathe at the same XXXXXXX I did before. I just feel the need to take deep breaths more often. There’s always that urge to take a deep breath. Sometimes I can get a fully satisfying deep breath, and other times I can’t. It’s annoying to say the least. I quit vaping six days ago entirely, after cutting back substantially. Some days the breathing isn’t as irritating, and other days it is. It can be worse at night, but I’m not sure if that’s because all of my medicine that I’ve taken, such as MucinexD, are wearing off. By the way, my lungs do produce some mucus but not terribly much by any means. I never cough it up. More of a throat clearing kind of a thing.
Otherwise, I feel entirely normal. In good spirits. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life, so that’s still there, and I’ve had a couple of anxiety attacks in the past week, but otherwise, I’m pretty much feeling normal. Just went out with friends two nights ago and did a lot of moving around and had fun. I really wasn’t bothered by the breathing. Sometimes, for brief spurts, I even forgot all about it.
I’ve had good energy. Been sleeping very well. Drinking lots of water and only water (probably close to 100 oz a day). It’s just this breathing thing. I read things online, and in true typical fashion, I feel like I’m going to drop dead any second or I’ve got this horrible condition. But I’ve seen maybe one or two other people online describe their symptoms once they quit vaping and they sounded so much like mine that I felt I had written it myself. They claimed to have gotten x-rays and EKGs and other tests. They said everything looked fine for them. They couldn’t explain the breathing.
I know that to get all the actual answers I need to physically see someone. But any insight here would be appreciated. I don’t know if maybe I just had abused my lungs by smoking cigarettes and switched right to vaping for so long that this is the process of my lungs healing themselves? I don’t know. But it’s very frustrating to live like this for the past few weeks. I don’t know if I developed asthma, if I have bronchitis or a chest cold of some sort (despite basically no other symptoms and it taking forever to go away), or if my heart is going to explode out of my chest like an Alien, I don’t know.
Hopefully someone here can be of some help. I really appreciate it and thank you in advance.
I’ve smoked cigarettes here and there, off and on, but never smoked a lot of them. Maybe one or two a day most of the time. There was a brief stint (maybe two months) that I would smoke more if I was out with friends. That being said, I currently very seldom drink any alcohol. I’ve never made even a habit from drinking.
I switched to vaping some time ago. And I vaped a lot. Anything I vaped always had the lowest level of nicotine in it before 0. I started feeling some discomfort in what I feel was my throat or esophagus because, I assume, I was vaping too often. So I began to slow down. This is when the breathing change started to happen and has persisted for nearly 3 weeks. It began once it started getting warmer out and humid. I chalked it up to that, as it’s happened before in high humidity.
I consider it shortness of breath. But I’m not sure if that’s really what it is. I breathe at the same XXXXXXX I did before. I just feel the need to take deep breaths more often. There’s always that urge to take a deep breath. Sometimes I can get a fully satisfying deep breath, and other times I can’t. It’s annoying to say the least. I quit vaping six days ago entirely, after cutting back substantially. Some days the breathing isn’t as irritating, and other days it is. It can be worse at night, but I’m not sure if that’s because all of my medicine that I’ve taken, such as MucinexD, are wearing off. By the way, my lungs do produce some mucus but not terribly much by any means. I never cough it up. More of a throat clearing kind of a thing.
Otherwise, I feel entirely normal. In good spirits. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life, so that’s still there, and I’ve had a couple of anxiety attacks in the past week, but otherwise, I’m pretty much feeling normal. Just went out with friends two nights ago and did a lot of moving around and had fun. I really wasn’t bothered by the breathing. Sometimes, for brief spurts, I even forgot all about it.
I’ve had good energy. Been sleeping very well. Drinking lots of water and only water (probably close to 100 oz a day). It’s just this breathing thing. I read things online, and in true typical fashion, I feel like I’m going to drop dead any second or I’ve got this horrible condition. But I’ve seen maybe one or two other people online describe their symptoms once they quit vaping and they sounded so much like mine that I felt I had written it myself. They claimed to have gotten x-rays and EKGs and other tests. They said everything looked fine for them. They couldn’t explain the breathing.
I know that to get all the actual answers I need to physically see someone. But any insight here would be appreciated. I don’t know if maybe I just had abused my lungs by smoking cigarettes and switched right to vaping for so long that this is the process of my lungs healing themselves? I don’t know. But it’s very frustrating to live like this for the past few weeks. I don’t know if I developed asthma, if I have bronchitis or a chest cold of some sort (despite basically no other symptoms and it taking forever to go away), or if my heart is going to explode out of my chest like an Alien, I don’t know.
Hopefully someone here can be of some help. I really appreciate it and thank you in advance.
I’ll begin by saying that I’m a 31 year old male. I’m quite overweight but I also have a lot of muscle mass from past activities such as martial arts. However, I don’t eat particularly unhealthily. I try to eat plenty of vegetables and avoid saturated fats and cholesterol as much as I can. I live a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I work from home, which includes a lot of sitting. When I go too long like that, my feet and ankles tend to swell a bit. When I eat really healthily or make a point to be more active, that swelling goes away entirely. So that aspect really seems to depend on my level of self-care. I felt this was important to note.
I’ve smoked cigarettes here and there, off and on, but never smoked a lot of them. Maybe one or two a day most of the time. There was a brief stint (maybe two months) that I would smoke more if I was out with friends. That being said, I currently very seldom drink any alcohol. I’ve never made even a habit from drinking.
I switched to vaping some time ago. And I vaped a lot. Anything I vaped always had the lowest level of nicotine in it before 0. I started feeling some discomfort in what I feel was my throat or esophagus because, I assume, I was vaping too often. So I began to slow down. This is when the breathing change started to happen and has persisted for nearly 3 weeks. It began once it started getting warmer out and humid. I chalked it up to that, as it’s happened before in high humidity.
I consider it shortness of breath. But I’m not sure if that’s really what it is. I breathe at the same XXXXXXX I did before. I just feel the need to take deep breaths more often. There’s always that urge to take a deep breath. Sometimes I can get a fully satisfying deep breath, and other times I can’t. It’s annoying to say the least. I quit vaping six days ago entirely, after cutting back substantially. Some days the breathing isn’t as irritating, and other days it is. It can be worse at night, but I’m not sure if that’s because all of my medicine that I’ve taken, such as MucinexD, are wearing off. By the way, my lungs do produce some mucus but not terribly much by any means. I never cough it up. More of a throat clearing kind of a thing.
Otherwise, I feel entirely normal. In good spirits. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life, so that’s still there, and I’ve had a couple of anxiety attacks in the past week, but otherwise, I’m pretty much feeling normal. Just went out with friends two nights ago and did a lot of moving around and had fun. I really wasn’t bothered by the breathing. Sometimes, for brief spurts, I even forgot all about it.
I’ve had good energy. Been sleeping very well. Drinking lots of water and only water (probably close to 100 oz a day). It’s just this breathing thing. I read things online, and in true typical fashion, I feel like I’m going to drop dead any second or I’ve got this horrible condition. But I’ve seen maybe one or two other people online describe their symptoms once they quit vaping and they sounded so much like mine that I felt I had written it myself. They claimed to have gotten x-rays and EKGs and other tests. They said everything looked fine for them. They couldn’t explain the breathing.
I know that to get all the actual answers I need to physically see someone. But any insight here would be appreciated. I don’t know if maybe I just had abused my lungs by smoking cigarettes and switched right to vaping for so long that this is the process of my lungs healing themselves? I don’t know. But it’s very frustrating to live like this for the past few weeks. I don’t know if I developed asthma, if I have bronchitis or a chest cold of some sort (despite basically no other symptoms and it taking forever to go away), or if my heart is going to explode out of my chest like an Alien, I don’t know.
Hopefully someone here can be of some help. I really appreciate it and thank you in advance.
I’ve smoked cigarettes here and there, off and on, but never smoked a lot of them. Maybe one or two a day most of the time. There was a brief stint (maybe two months) that I would smoke more if I was out with friends. That being said, I currently very seldom drink any alcohol. I’ve never made even a habit from drinking.
I switched to vaping some time ago. And I vaped a lot. Anything I vaped always had the lowest level of nicotine in it before 0. I started feeling some discomfort in what I feel was my throat or esophagus because, I assume, I was vaping too often. So I began to slow down. This is when the breathing change started to happen and has persisted for nearly 3 weeks. It began once it started getting warmer out and humid. I chalked it up to that, as it’s happened before in high humidity.
I consider it shortness of breath. But I’m not sure if that’s really what it is. I breathe at the same XXXXXXX I did before. I just feel the need to take deep breaths more often. There’s always that urge to take a deep breath. Sometimes I can get a fully satisfying deep breath, and other times I can’t. It’s annoying to say the least. I quit vaping six days ago entirely, after cutting back substantially. Some days the breathing isn’t as irritating, and other days it is. It can be worse at night, but I’m not sure if that’s because all of my medicine that I’ve taken, such as MucinexD, are wearing off. By the way, my lungs do produce some mucus but not terribly much by any means. I never cough it up. More of a throat clearing kind of a thing.
Otherwise, I feel entirely normal. In good spirits. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life, so that’s still there, and I’ve had a couple of anxiety attacks in the past week, but otherwise, I’m pretty much feeling normal. Just went out with friends two nights ago and did a lot of moving around and had fun. I really wasn’t bothered by the breathing. Sometimes, for brief spurts, I even forgot all about it.
I’ve had good energy. Been sleeping very well. Drinking lots of water and only water (probably close to 100 oz a day). It’s just this breathing thing. I read things online, and in true typical fashion, I feel like I’m going to drop dead any second or I’ve got this horrible condition. But I’ve seen maybe one or two other people online describe their symptoms once they quit vaping and they sounded so much like mine that I felt I had written it myself. They claimed to have gotten x-rays and EKGs and other tests. They said everything looked fine for them. They couldn’t explain the breathing.
I know that to get all the actual answers I need to physically see someone. But any insight here would be appreciated. I don’t know if maybe I just had abused my lungs by smoking cigarettes and switched right to vaping for so long that this is the process of my lungs healing themselves? I don’t know. But it’s very frustrating to live like this for the past few weeks. I don’t know if I developed asthma, if I have bronchitis or a chest cold of some sort (despite basically no other symptoms and it taking forever to go away), or if my heart is going to explode out of my chest like an Alien, I don’t know.
Hopefully someone here can be of some help. I really appreciate it and thank you in advance.
Brief Answer:
Anxiety and withdrawal from vapor might be the cause of your symptoms
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
Because you are short of breath mostly at night and not during physical activity, it is unlikely for it to be due to lung problems. Generally when a patient is having problems with his lungs, he feels tired and may have cough, shortness of breath or even chest pains that are worse during physical activity like running, climbing stairs, etc.
As you mentioned, you almost forgot of the shortness of breath when you were out with friends and moved around a lot.
A possible cause of your symptoms is anxiety as anxiety may cause shortness of breath at night and not related to exercise. Anxiety may be due to vaping withdrawal but may also be independent of it. If it related to stopping nicotine it will probably be better in another couple of weeks.
To conclude:
- very likely you do not have a serious lung condition causing your symptoms.
- the cough might be due to smoking cessation (vaping) and should improve soon
- the shortness of breath, if related to vaping cessation, will take another couple of weeks to settle
- if the anxiety is unrelated to vapor (lasts more than 2 more weeks), or your shortness of breath is really bothersome to you, then you will need to see your doctor and possibly treatment might be needed. SSRI drugs like sertraline or citalopram might be started.
- meanwhile try to keep active, going for walks, visiting green parks and spending quality time with friends and family.
- because your work dictates you to stay seated for long, you should aim to stand every 30- 60 minutes, do a walk around the room and stretch and then go back to work after 5-10 minutes. These will help with the circulation in the legs and the swelling. A longer break of an hour in between working hours will help release stress and also improve your productivity.
- any worsening or if no improvement, you will need to see your doctor.
I hope this answers your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General and Family Physician
Anxiety and withdrawal from vapor might be the cause of your symptoms
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
Because you are short of breath mostly at night and not during physical activity, it is unlikely for it to be due to lung problems. Generally when a patient is having problems with his lungs, he feels tired and may have cough, shortness of breath or even chest pains that are worse during physical activity like running, climbing stairs, etc.
As you mentioned, you almost forgot of the shortness of breath when you were out with friends and moved around a lot.
A possible cause of your symptoms is anxiety as anxiety may cause shortness of breath at night and not related to exercise. Anxiety may be due to vaping withdrawal but may also be independent of it. If it related to stopping nicotine it will probably be better in another couple of weeks.
To conclude:
- very likely you do not have a serious lung condition causing your symptoms.
- the cough might be due to smoking cessation (vaping) and should improve soon
- the shortness of breath, if related to vaping cessation, will take another couple of weeks to settle
- if the anxiety is unrelated to vapor (lasts more than 2 more weeks), or your shortness of breath is really bothersome to you, then you will need to see your doctor and possibly treatment might be needed. SSRI drugs like sertraline or citalopram might be started.
- meanwhile try to keep active, going for walks, visiting green parks and spending quality time with friends and family.
- because your work dictates you to stay seated for long, you should aim to stand every 30- 60 minutes, do a walk around the room and stretch and then go back to work after 5-10 minutes. These will help with the circulation in the legs and the swelling. A longer break of an hour in between working hours will help release stress and also improve your productivity.
- any worsening or if no improvement, you will need to see your doctor.
I hope this answers your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General and Family Physician
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Brief Answer:
Anxiety and withdrawal from vapor might be the cause of your symptoms
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
Because you are short of breath mostly at night and not during physical activity, it is unlikely for it to be due to lung problems. Generally when a patient is having problems with his lungs, he feels tired and may have cough, shortness of breath or even chest pains that are worse during physical activity like running, climbing stairs, etc.
As you mentioned, you almost forgot of the shortness of breath when you were out with friends and moved around a lot.
A possible cause of your symptoms is anxiety as anxiety may cause shortness of breath at night and not related to exercise. Anxiety may be due to vaping withdrawal but may also be independent of it. If it related to stopping nicotine it will probably be better in another couple of weeks.
To conclude:
- very likely you do not have a serious lung condition causing your symptoms.
- the cough might be due to smoking cessation (vaping) and should improve soon
- the shortness of breath, if related to vaping cessation, will take another couple of weeks to settle
- if the anxiety is unrelated to vapor (lasts more than 2 more weeks), or your shortness of breath is really bothersome to you, then you will need to see your doctor and possibly treatment might be needed. SSRI drugs like sertraline or citalopram might be started.
- meanwhile try to keep active, going for walks, visiting green parks and spending quality time with friends and family.
- because your work dictates you to stay seated for long, you should aim to stand every 30- 60 minutes, do a walk around the room and stretch and then go back to work after 5-10 minutes. These will help with the circulation in the legs and the swelling. A longer break of an hour in between working hours will help release stress and also improve your productivity.
- any worsening or if no improvement, you will need to see your doctor.
I hope this answers your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General and Family Physician
Anxiety and withdrawal from vapor might be the cause of your symptoms
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
Because you are short of breath mostly at night and not during physical activity, it is unlikely for it to be due to lung problems. Generally when a patient is having problems with his lungs, he feels tired and may have cough, shortness of breath or even chest pains that are worse during physical activity like running, climbing stairs, etc.
As you mentioned, you almost forgot of the shortness of breath when you were out with friends and moved around a lot.
A possible cause of your symptoms is anxiety as anxiety may cause shortness of breath at night and not related to exercise. Anxiety may be due to vaping withdrawal but may also be independent of it. If it related to stopping nicotine it will probably be better in another couple of weeks.
To conclude:
- very likely you do not have a serious lung condition causing your symptoms.
- the cough might be due to smoking cessation (vaping) and should improve soon
- the shortness of breath, if related to vaping cessation, will take another couple of weeks to settle
- if the anxiety is unrelated to vapor (lasts more than 2 more weeks), or your shortness of breath is really bothersome to you, then you will need to see your doctor and possibly treatment might be needed. SSRI drugs like sertraline or citalopram might be started.
- meanwhile try to keep active, going for walks, visiting green parks and spending quality time with friends and family.
- because your work dictates you to stay seated for long, you should aim to stand every 30- 60 minutes, do a walk around the room and stretch and then go back to work after 5-10 minutes. These will help with the circulation in the legs and the swelling. A longer break of an hour in between working hours will help release stress and also improve your productivity.
- any worsening or if no improvement, you will need to see your doctor.
I hope this answers your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General and Family Physician
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.
A couple of updates I’ve noticed. First, my breathing now seems to do a little better at night. Worse during midday. And best when I’ve just woken up.
Yesterday, I had to put salt in my water filter for my house. Had to lift 40 pound bags repeatedly. This got me out of breath and I feel like perhaps the activity made it worse for a number of hours until eventually it relaxed and I went back to “normal”, which is still a state of breathlessness, just not as bad.
Today, I feel fairly decent. But I’ve noticed that I’m much more prone to anxiety attacks lately. And my anxiety manifests in different ways since this all happened, often making the back of my head feel like it’s burning (to me, not to the touch I don’t think).
If I had to say, I’ve either gotten a tad bit better, or not better. I’ve tried doing things to reduce my anxiety, but it’s strong as of now. Still haven’t vaped, however.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks again.
A couple of updates I’ve noticed. First, my breathing now seems to do a little better at night. Worse during midday. And best when I’ve just woken up.
Yesterday, I had to put salt in my water filter for my house. Had to lift 40 pound bags repeatedly. This got me out of breath and I feel like perhaps the activity made it worse for a number of hours until eventually it relaxed and I went back to “normal”, which is still a state of breathlessness, just not as bad.
Today, I feel fairly decent. But I’ve noticed that I’m much more prone to anxiety attacks lately. And my anxiety manifests in different ways since this all happened, often making the back of my head feel like it’s burning (to me, not to the touch I don’t think).
If I had to say, I’ve either gotten a tad bit better, or not better. I’ve tried doing things to reduce my anxiety, but it’s strong as of now. Still haven’t vaped, however.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks again.
Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.
A couple of updates I’ve noticed. First, my breathing now seems to do a little better at night. Worse during midday. And best when I’ve just woken up.
Yesterday, I had to put salt in my water filter for my house. Had to lift 40 pound bags repeatedly. This got me out of breath and I feel like perhaps the activity made it worse for a number of hours until eventually it relaxed and I went back to “normal”, which is still a state of breathlessness, just not as bad.
Today, I feel fairly decent. But I’ve noticed that I’m much more prone to anxiety attacks lately. And my anxiety manifests in different ways since this all happened, often making the back of my head feel like it’s burning (to me, not to the touch I don’t think).
If I had to say, I’ve either gotten a tad bit better, or not better. I’ve tried doing things to reduce my anxiety, but it’s strong as of now. Still haven’t vaped, however.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks again.
A couple of updates I’ve noticed. First, my breathing now seems to do a little better at night. Worse during midday. And best when I’ve just woken up.
Yesterday, I had to put salt in my water filter for my house. Had to lift 40 pound bags repeatedly. This got me out of breath and I feel like perhaps the activity made it worse for a number of hours until eventually it relaxed and I went back to “normal”, which is still a state of breathlessness, just not as bad.
Today, I feel fairly decent. But I’ve noticed that I’m much more prone to anxiety attacks lately. And my anxiety manifests in different ways since this all happened, often making the back of my head feel like it’s burning (to me, not to the touch I don’t think).
If I had to say, I’ve either gotten a tad bit better, or not better. I’ve tried doing things to reduce my anxiety, but it’s strong as of now. Still haven’t vaped, however.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks again.
Brief Answer:
Further recommendations below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Thank you for the reply and the updates.
I think it is normal for you to feel a little short of breath with exercise, like lifting heavy bags, this is mostly due to your overweight. I do not know how much your BMI is exactly, but if a person is overweight he does not lift only 40 pounds of weight when he works but all the extra weight he has as well and this might contribute in easily getting fatigued.
As for anxiety, I think it may still be due to withdrawal from nicotine so it might be good to observe it the next 2-3 weeks.
If you feel you are not improving or you are getting worse then you will need to have some counseling and medications. If you should start with counseling first and then take the medications if needed, this depends on the severity of your anxiety which is best evaluated through a questionary a doctor can ask you to fill in his office.
After that, the doctor might advise you only on counseling if it is severe, or both medications and counseling if it is moderate to severe.
To conclude:
- Very likely the fatigue and shortness of breath after lifting some weight is normal, especially in the case of overweight
- some anxiety may be due to the withdrawal of nicotine and if you continue with the symptoms for more than 2-3 more weeks you will definitely need to get treated.
- in this case, you will need a visit with your doctor to have your anxiety evaluated and depending on the severity you may start with counseling alone or both counseling and medications (SSRI like citalopram or sertraline)
- also avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and smoking is important as these may make anxiety worse
- keeping active and being involved in sports and going for walks and relaxing is helpful.
I hope this is helpful and answers your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Further recommendations below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Thank you for the reply and the updates.
I think it is normal for you to feel a little short of breath with exercise, like lifting heavy bags, this is mostly due to your overweight. I do not know how much your BMI is exactly, but if a person is overweight he does not lift only 40 pounds of weight when he works but all the extra weight he has as well and this might contribute in easily getting fatigued.
As for anxiety, I think it may still be due to withdrawal from nicotine so it might be good to observe it the next 2-3 weeks.
If you feel you are not improving or you are getting worse then you will need to have some counseling and medications. If you should start with counseling first and then take the medications if needed, this depends on the severity of your anxiety which is best evaluated through a questionary a doctor can ask you to fill in his office.
After that, the doctor might advise you only on counseling if it is severe, or both medications and counseling if it is moderate to severe.
To conclude:
- Very likely the fatigue and shortness of breath after lifting some weight is normal, especially in the case of overweight
- some anxiety may be due to the withdrawal of nicotine and if you continue with the symptoms for more than 2-3 more weeks you will definitely need to get treated.
- in this case, you will need a visit with your doctor to have your anxiety evaluated and depending on the severity you may start with counseling alone or both counseling and medications (SSRI like citalopram or sertraline)
- also avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and smoking is important as these may make anxiety worse
- keeping active and being involved in sports and going for walks and relaxing is helpful.
I hope this is helpful and answers your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Brief Answer:
Further recommendations below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Thank you for the reply and the updates.
I think it is normal for you to feel a little short of breath with exercise, like lifting heavy bags, this is mostly due to your overweight. I do not know how much your BMI is exactly, but if a person is overweight he does not lift only 40 pounds of weight when he works but all the extra weight he has as well and this might contribute in easily getting fatigued.
As for anxiety, I think it may still be due to withdrawal from nicotine so it might be good to observe it the next 2-3 weeks.
If you feel you are not improving or you are getting worse then you will need to have some counseling and medications. If you should start with counseling first and then take the medications if needed, this depends on the severity of your anxiety which is best evaluated through a questionary a doctor can ask you to fill in his office.
After that, the doctor might advise you only on counseling if it is severe, or both medications and counseling if it is moderate to severe.
To conclude:
- Very likely the fatigue and shortness of breath after lifting some weight is normal, especially in the case of overweight
- some anxiety may be due to the withdrawal of nicotine and if you continue with the symptoms for more than 2-3 more weeks you will definitely need to get treated.
- in this case, you will need a visit with your doctor to have your anxiety evaluated and depending on the severity you may start with counseling alone or both counseling and medications (SSRI like citalopram or sertraline)
- also avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and smoking is important as these may make anxiety worse
- keeping active and being involved in sports and going for walks and relaxing is helpful.
I hope this is helpful and answers your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Further recommendations below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome back,
Thank you for the reply and the updates.
I think it is normal for you to feel a little short of breath with exercise, like lifting heavy bags, this is mostly due to your overweight. I do not know how much your BMI is exactly, but if a person is overweight he does not lift only 40 pounds of weight when he works but all the extra weight he has as well and this might contribute in easily getting fatigued.
As for anxiety, I think it may still be due to withdrawal from nicotine so it might be good to observe it the next 2-3 weeks.
If you feel you are not improving or you are getting worse then you will need to have some counseling and medications. If you should start with counseling first and then take the medications if needed, this depends on the severity of your anxiety which is best evaluated through a questionary a doctor can ask you to fill in his office.
After that, the doctor might advise you only on counseling if it is severe, or both medications and counseling if it is moderate to severe.
To conclude:
- Very likely the fatigue and shortness of breath after lifting some weight is normal, especially in the case of overweight
- some anxiety may be due to the withdrawal of nicotine and if you continue with the symptoms for more than 2-3 more weeks you will definitely need to get treated.
- in this case, you will need a visit with your doctor to have your anxiety evaluated and depending on the severity you may start with counseling alone or both counseling and medications (SSRI like citalopram or sertraline)
- also avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and smoking is important as these may make anxiety worse
- keeping active and being involved in sports and going for walks and relaxing is helpful.
I hope this is helpful and answers your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Answered by
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