What could my husband be suffering from?

amother

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 9:29 am

This is the most appropriate section I could find to put it in.

My husband recently has been suffering something with interesting symptoms. every minute he would make an exaggerated sigh. this could go on for 2 4 hours. It is best when he stands up or is asleep but he even wakes up with it. It began around 2 months ago and comes up every week or so. He went to get it checked up and they checked all his levels and said everything was fine and have no idea what it is.

The reason I am quick to dismiss that it's a panic attack is because he isn't catching his breath it sounds very different and also he can't think of anything that would cause this. His life is actually very stress free at the moment 6 months ago his life was way more stressful. It is really bothering him and I am really worried for him.

He was thinking it could be food related as he thinks every time he had it he had some cheese that day but he also has cheese sometimes and it doesn't happen. He also thinks maybe when he over eats like he got it on Sehvouas and on Shabbos and yesterday we went out to eat.

Healthwise he is mildly asthmatic and slightly overweight. He exercises but is weak and gets out of breath fast. His asthma level was fine when he went to check it out last time so it's not that.

Does anyone have any experiences with this or perhaps can help me with what specialist he should go see. There are so many knowledgeable people here I am sure someone is familiar with this.

Please please share your knowledge as it is driving me insane!! I really want him to be OK.

Thanks so much!!

amother

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:25 am

Just a shot in the dark here - my husband has Tourette's syndrome. Cases that you see on TV, where the person yells and swears involuntarily are not the only way you can have it. For my husband it's little tics, and they change from time to time. Sometimes it's a shake of the head, sometimes it's throat clearing, it could be anything, the key is that he repeats it a lot, and it gets worse if he's tired or stressed. There isn't much to do for it, but knowing what it is is helpful.
Hatzlacha, and I hope he's OK!

amother

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:28 am

amother wrote:

OP here. It really doesn't seem like it as it's not like he changes different symptoms the whole time. This is something that has come up 2 months ago. He also doesn't necessarily suffer from it when he is under stress or overtired.

Thanks for the suggestion but I really don't think this is what it is.

mazelandbracha

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:37 am

Does he feel like he has to catch his breath? Or is it more like heartburn?
If he's out of breath, it could be something like sleep apnea, where it's hard to breathe when you lie down (does he snore?). If it's just heartburn he could try Zantac after he eats when it happens, and see if it goes away.

amother

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:40 am

MorahSara wrote:

Very good question. He is actually getting a lot of heartburns recently. And he doesn't feel like he needs to catch his breath it just happens. He takes tums the whole time. What is Zantac is it stronger?

acccdac

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:41 am

the only thing I would suggest is to start a journal.

Document everything.

how much sleep, what he ate, incidents (how many times per hour), what stress he had that day that day, what exercise he did that day, and any other information you think would be needed.

when you go to the next doctor you'll have documentation for the doctor to look at and find a pattern

amother

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:43 am

acccdac wrote:

Thanks we are trying to do that. We are more looking at his eating patterns. what else should we record? He is seeing the Dr again on Monday about this. These incidents happen approximately 7-10 days apart. He just had one yesterday so it's likely he wont have one again before Monday.

amother

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 10:47 am

MorahSara wrote:

Zantac is specifically for heartburn, where Tums is for all kinds of tummyaches. You can get it in two strengths. You might want to have him check with his doctor first, but it's just OTC - find it in any store. Hope this helps him!

We live in Europe so I am not sure if they have it here. But I will look into it.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 8:33 pm

My DH does the exact same thing, and he has really bad heartburn all the time.

It sounds like he's moaning and groaning in misery, but when I point it out to him he's not even aware he's doing it! Oddly enough, he manages not to do it in shul (thank goodness), but at home it's pretty much non stop. Very annoying.

FranticFrummie

Mon, Jul 18 2011, 9:38 pm

life'sgreat wrote:

I just want to mention, that to me, it does seem like panic attacks. And you don't have to be experiencing higher stress in order to have anxiety/panic attacks.

Very true. I can get panic attacks when laying on the couch reading a book - just out of the blue for no reason. It turns out that I have mitral valve prolapse (heart murmur), and the two conditions often go together. Doctors can't agree whether the panic attack makes the heart flutter, or if having your heart flutter is causing your body to panic. If I can use accupressure to get my heart rate stable, the panic usually goes away.

Still, my panic attacks are very quiet, and nobody would ever be able to tell just by looking at me. I don't gasp or sigh or anything like that, I just feel my pulse really fast and weak at the same time.

Bodies are weird! Confused

Kayza

Tue, Jul 19 2011, 1:10 am

amother wrote:

Sleep, and environmental factors- where was he, who was around him, etc.

amother

Tue, Jul 19 2011, 2:08 am

life'sgreat wrote:

I just want to mention, that to me, it does seem like panic attacks. And you don't have to be experiencing higher stress in order to have anxiety/panic attacks.

What else causes panic attacks then? And it has never happened to him before, he is in his late 20's. The reason why I dismissed panic attacks was because he is not catching his breath. Panic attacks are when a person is breathing very fast sort of hyperventilation but his occurs every 6 seconds or so with an exaggerated sigh.

amother

Tue, Jul 19 2011, 3:37 am

I had a panic attack that was similar to that.

first time, in my mid thirties.

at first it was that I could not catch my breath, over many many weeks. I just felt my breathing was off and I would be breathing very strange.

I also have asthma and a little overweight.

then it kept getting worse until I started hyperventilating over two days. went to the hospital, did many tests, basically they said that it was a panic attack. at that point, BH, I had nothing stressful in my life. but 2 months before, dd was hospitalized for about a week. and realized that it was my body's way of dealing with that stress.

amother

Tue, Jul 19 2011, 3:40 am

amother wrote:

OP here this sounds very similar to my Dh as he did go through a stressful time a few months prior to these incidents. What did you do about it? Did you go on meds or therapy? I am not sure if therapy is the right route if nothing is bothering him during his attacks. I have a close family member who does get panic attacks and he usually knows why so he is going to therapy to help him deal with that but with my Dh that isn't the case if anything these incidents come up at the most peaceful and relaxing times.

amother

Tue, Jul 19 2011, 3:41 am

amother wrote:

life'sgreat wrote:

I just want to mention, that to me, it does seem like panic attacks. And you don't have to be experiencing higher stress in order to have anxiety/panic attacks.

op here I meant every SIXTY seconds not 6!!