Shortness of breath and labor breathing

Purplemountain
Purplemountain Member Posts: 119
edited October 2013 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

I have NPC and the one symptom that make me so tire and weak is the breathing issue.  It seems my breathing is shallow and not filling of the lungs.  Sometimes this will cause me to breathe through the mouth as well which cause me mouth dryness and a dry throat.  I have lost alot of weight and very thin now. Is it the cancer causing my difficulty with breathing or is the my weight issue or both?  I have been able to eat more lately since my food have been blended.

Can anyone fill me in on this symptom and anyting to remedy it?

Thanks.

PM

Comments

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #2
    mouth breather

    PM,

    During treatments if I tried to rely on nose breathing I would have been short of breath too.  I breath through my mouth and (now) drool on my pillow like a Saint Bernard.  Before I started using Xylimelts I had a whole procedure before bedtime.  Swish and spit with saltwalter & soda, Biotene swish & spit, magic mouth wash swish and swallow, jump into bed and sleep (get up and pee, go back to sleep).

    The time when breathing really took front and center was the last week or two of rads. Now that is a procedure.

    Try Mugard, try stoppers 4, try throwing pennies in a fountain.  It is tough you have to relearn (temporarily) many things we take for granted.

    Hang in there; keep at it, maybe someone will hit on something which will work for you.

    Keep breathing,

    Matt

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #3
    I think that

    anxiety can play a part in that feeling that you can't get your breath....even times when you're just thinking about what you're going to put into your next smoothie.  I'm not talking about simply feeling nervous....which can come and go....I'm talking about overall anxiety that becomes an under-lying emotion that accompanies all the regular emotions....sad, happy, nervous....if that makes sense. 

    I mentioned the Breathe-Rite strips before.....my husband used them for years, and had them in the bathroom cupboard.  I thought I'd just give it a try, but didn't really see how they'd help me.....I was hooked after the first night, and used them every night for the duration of treatment and for at least a month after.  My objective wasn't just trying to get more air....the bleeding mouth sores would drive me to my knees when I first woke up (the combination of them and dry mouth....holy moly) but if I breathed through my nose, my mouth wouldn't get bone dry in the night.  Before I discovered the strips, I was trying to sleep in a recliner, with my hand propping up my chin to keep from breathing through my mouth....the strips were far more successful.

    p

  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103
    #4
    Nasal rinse

    I didn't have NPC but the last time (November 2012) with my eye removal and radiation directed at eye and sinus, I ended up with an abcess in my sinus.  After yet another surgery (and a week off of chemo and rads) I was advised to use a sinus rinse.  I couldn't figure out the Neti pot but Medirinse has a squeeze bottle and there is a battery operated one from Waterpic, Sinurinse (that's the one I use).  It takes awhile to get used to, gagging in the beginning but it really cleans out the sinus and you can breath through your nose.  Do not use tap water, boil the water first and then let it cool down.

  • Purplemountain
    Purplemountain Member Posts: 119
    #5
    Breathing issue

    Thank you everyone.  I have been using the sinus rinse with the squeezing bottle.  Yes, that help clear the nasal and breathe easier.  However, I still feel a shortness of breath.  I recently used the strip for the nose two times now.  For me, it helped very slightly but I still breathe through my mouth and nose tring to get more air.  Perhaps, anxiety may be the culprit.  But I feel like my trachea is somehow narrowed.  Could radiation cause that since the esophagus do get constricted.

    PM

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #6
    Purplemountain said:

    Breathing issue

    Thank you everyone.  I have been using the sinus rinse with the squeezing bottle.  Yes, that help clear the nasal and breathe easier.  However, I still feel a shortness of breath.  I recently used the strip for the nose two times now.  For me, it helped very slightly but I still breathe through my mouth and nose tring to get more air.  Perhaps, anxiety may be the culprit.  But I feel like my trachea is somehow narrowed.  Could radiation cause that since the esophagus do get constricted.

    PM

    breathing

    PM,

    I don’t know if my trachea is narrower from radiation, but it feels far less flexible.  I am breathing through my nose right now, but in a few minutes I’ll be breathing through my mouth and with the Xylimelts I just popped in, about an hour from now I’ll mess up my pillow case.

    I take care of one side effect and cause another.

    Good night,

    Matt

  • Ladylacy
    Ladylacy Member Posts: 773 Member
    #7
    Breathing

    You should definitely have this checked out by your doctor.  I know that after my husband went thru radiation and chemo for laryngeal cancer, he started having problems with breathing.  His ENT looked down his nose into his throat and down and said that one side of his vocal cord was paralyzed and that he needed a trach.  He also did a biopsy which showed that his cancer was back and he needed surgery.  During radiation, he couldn't swallow at all after 2 weeks due to the fact that the radiation caused the back of his throat to be closed off due to radiation damage and during the laryngectomy they had to reconstruct the back of his throat.  They did the trach during the biopsy and his breathing was so much better. 

    Radiation is a gift that keeps giving and causes different side effects for everyone.  I will say though that it was our ENT who found the paralyzed vocal cord not the oncologist who said his breathing was okay.  

    Wishing you the best -- Sharon

  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    #8
    Hello PM !

    So much with recovery causes so many other issues in our systems.  Please have a talk with your primary on this issue though.  Depending on what you've been through also plays a big part in this.  If your lungs are o.k. and everything else checks out, there are breathing excersises that you can do to help.  Keep us posted !  Katie 

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #9
    katenorwood said:

    Hello PM !

    So much with recovery causes so many other issues in our systems.  Please have a talk with your primary on this issue though.  Depending on what you've been through also plays a big part in this.  If your lungs are o.k. and everything else checks out, there are breathing excersises that you can do to help.  Keep us posted !  Katie 

    Medical issue

    My feelings are that breathing issues should be addressed by a pulmonary specialist or, at the very least, your primary physician. There are things to help and if left unattended can become serious.  Why be miserable with something treatable?

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #10
    Purplemountain said:

    Breathing issue

    Thank you everyone.  I have been using the sinus rinse with the squeezing bottle.  Yes, that help clear the nasal and breathe easier.  However, I still feel a shortness of breath.  I recently used the strip for the nose two times now.  For me, it helped very slightly but I still breathe through my mouth and nose tring to get more air.  Perhaps, anxiety may be the culprit.  But I feel like my trachea is somehow narrowed.  Could radiation cause that since the esophagus do get constricted.

    PM

    the short answer is

    Yes it can.  I'd bring this up fairly soon to the doctor.  If this happens while you are asleep it is not anxiety related.  Being SOB has many causes including restriction of the trachea, heart problems, you name it.  So I'd just get it evaluated.  Better safe than sorry.

     

    Pat

Discussion Boards