Having some problems with breathing

[Rolan]

So the last week has been pretty poor, the first moment in about a 5 weeks where I've felt reasonably crappy. My main issue has been breathing. It's not a congestion issue, but it's this weird feeling not having full, satisfying breaths through my nose. Every 30s-1 minute I feel like i'm having to take a stressful intake of breath through the mouth and that feels wrong. My stomach feels quite tense and....stretched? Not sure how else to put that. Feel alot more stressed and tense this week also. I don't know what could be the cause, perhaps dairy

I tolerate dairy really, really well - BUT I don't know what else could be the cause of this. Perhaps too much liquid. It's only just happened this week. I've had this feeling before I started Peating, but only briefly and sporadically. Not enough for it to be anywhere near a problem in other words. It's pretty much interfering with everything I do. Meditation is impossible without proper breathing, and even exercise is difficult - which has never been the case before. Just walking I'm finding my breathing is unnatural. My skin(on my face/my body skin has never looked better or felt smoother ) is also looking a little uneven and the dark circles have returned.

My diet is pretty much the usual; Cheese, milk, raw carrot, potato, butter, liver, some meat, OJ, Lemonade, eggs, salt, coffee. It's disappointing to have been feeling so good for weeks and weeks, to suddenly feel like way off-kilter.

 

[jyb]

If you haven't already done so, you should do bag breathing. It's a powerful way to reset your breathing rhythm to a slower, deeper breath, which is better since it increases your CO2.

For example two or three times a day, 5 minutes with head firmly covered in your bed sheets, trying to breath as slowly as possibly without a stress response. Your head will get a bit sweaty, but circulation will improve (your fingertips become more colored) and the your breathing rhythm change.

 

[Rolan]

Yes I might try bag breathing, although breathing has generally never been a problem before. Gee it's stressful. I actually just went outside for ten minutes, swigged on some OJ with Bicarb soda and a pinch of salt, and my breathing feels more normal now.

I'm determined to get this health thing down.

 

[j.]

Breathing discomfort I think in some cases can originate from the gut. I speculate that increased dairy could increase gut bacteria, and maybe a daily carrot would kill a few. Maybe add coconut oil or vinegar to the raw carrot to enhance the anti-bacterial effect.

 

[Beebop]

I had breathing problems that sound very similar, and Ray helped me figure out it was endotoxin. I then had to work out which foods were causing me problems.

I found that bag breathing didn't help at first as it increased a panic feeling, but steaming my throat with hot water and a towel really helps get the same result - slow breathing, and relaxation too (plus extra CO2). Maybe my initial bag breathing experience was just an anomaly, as I can do it ok now.

If you tolerate dairy really well, why do you think it's that? It's probably something else, if you feel it agrees with you. For me it was potatoes and OJ, although I'm hoping to re-introduce them at some point. I noticed that when I ate potatoes my body would stop feeling hungry after a few mouthfuls and I couldn't eat any more. Cutting them out helped immediately - within hours.

I wouldn't expect you to have a problem with the exact same foods though! Just thought I'd share. It could also be a new supplement or some wierd exipients. Did you introduce anything new, food or supplements, that coincides with the start of the breathing problems?

Good luck.

 

[pyttsan]

I have the same problem and I begin to suspect dairy is what's causing it. I couldn't tolerate normal dairy products at all but I get all sorts of allergic reactions to lactase-free products as well..
This really sucks as it consists such a major part of an RP diet.. Don't know what I'd swap it for.

 

[Vinero]

Do you guys also experience pressure like feelings in your head?
I am having some disturbing sensations also like: not satisfying breaths, involuntary muscle twitches, pressure inside head, feeling anxious and scared.
I never had this before Peating so I think I am reacting to one of the peat approved foods.
OJ, dairy, aspirin or something might be causing these issues.
My health was fine 2 years ago or so when the majority of my diet was meat with starches (potatoes and white rice). Since discovering Ray peat and making dairy and sugars my main source of calories, and also popping aspirins everyday, my energy increased a lot. But lately I am having these very disturbing body sensations so I can't continue this, it causes me not to be able to fall asleep at night.

 

[Swandattur]

Do you eat coconut oil? I noticed trouble with catching my breath and decided it must be an allergic sort of reaction to coconut oil. Can't seem to find one that doesn't bother me. I had the problem sometimes before doing any sort of dietary change, though. I haven't had it since skipping the coconut oil.
I think people become more sensitive at first when they eliminate most PUFA, because it has been suppressing the immune system. It seems to be true from my experience and from what others say. Maybe someone else looking at this knows more about it.

 

[Vinero]

Coconut oil! I totally forgot about that. Will fry my meat in butter now.
I have to find what food is causing my symptoms. I will eat meat and starches now, and when my problems are gone I will add peat friendly foods one food at a time.

 

[Swandattur]

That sounds like a good strategy to get things sorted out. It sure can be confusing trouble shooting.

 

[Rolan]

I actually cut out pufa's, unless it's in eggs, about 3 years ago. So I'm really not sure. It must either be the OJ or the Dairy. Haven't had milk in two-three days but have had cheese, so it's still a problem and Dairy is still in the diet. Like now, it's just very difficult to breathe satisfyingly.

I can't think why it's happening now, when everything was going so well.

 

[Vinero]

I am having it too now.. I really hope we can solve this because I find it kinda frightening. I have been to the docter for this and they just wrote it off as anxiety and said I'm fine. Can you sleep normally at night Rolan or do your symptoms cause you to be awake?

 

[Rolan]

Sleep like a baby, and I don't have anxiety or that pressure you speak off. Anxiety and inability to handle stress were demolished when I took on the diet.

 

[Swandattur]

That is strange to have this come up out of the blue. Maybe, something has been an irritant in the digestive tract and it just took it a while to make enough trouble to manifest itself. I kept eating food with added pectin thinking it didn't bother me, but when I got this run of insomnia while eating a bunch of guava paste with added pectin for a few days, I decided to cut it out, and I did start sleeping better.

 

[Rolan]

Could be pectin, yeah. Strongly doubt it's the dairy, although that could be cognitive dissonance

My body still feels good, mind a little stressed. I love this W.O.E so much, don't wanna give it up, especially not the OJ and Milk. Will keep a tabs on it.

 

[Rolan]

Ah, I think I may have found the culprit here. It's EITHER orange juice, but more likely the combination of Bicarb Soda + orange juice.

Yesterday morning I had some OJ and Bicarb and again felt difficulty in breathing. At lunch I had some ice cream and whole Milk(hadn't had that in 5 days due to circumstance and refusal to drink poor quality). By the afternoon my breathing had returned to normal, more or less. I could breathe properly for the first time in over a week. No more OJ/Bicarb that day.

Today I didn't have any OJ in the fridge, so I subbed in real lemonade - amazing stuff :) - And all day my breathing has been perfect, even during training. One hour after training, I had some eggs and OJ/Bicarb. Almost immediately my breathing deteriorated. So!

I'm gonna have some OJ tomorrow morning without Bicarb, and see how that feels. I think I've only recently introduced Bicarb into my OJ - I definitely did not do it for the first month. As an aside, Lemonade will probably replace OJ for about 3 days a week, due to Oranges being so expensive and from different continents.

 

[Swandattur]

Could it just be something wrong with the orange juice itself? What kind of quality is it? If it's not fresh squeezed, it could have allergenic stuff in it. Do you put the baking soda in the lemonade?

 

[charlie]

Rolan, thats great you were able to work through it! I LOVE me some lemonade, YUM!!

If I had myself pulled together enough, I would log everything I ate and put into my body. That way it would be much easier to spot the adjustments that made a difference whether good or bad. However, I am not that well put together yet.

 

[Swandattur]

For a long time I was trying to keep a food journal, but I always seemed to miss putting in things that I later wanted to check on.

 

[Rolan]

Could it just be something wrong with the orange juice itself? What kind of quality is it? If it's not fresh squeezed, it could have allergenic stuff in it. Do you put the baking soda in the lemonade?

No bicarb in lemonade although I should try that tomorrow. It could be the OJ - I either buy the stuff from innocent, Tropicana or M&S...neither of them are from concentrate and all are basically just 100% oranges, but obviously squeezing would be ideal. I can only get oranges from S.Africa and I will not do that. Spain is ok, a different continent is not.