I recently had a respiratory issue where I felt like I was suffocating. I had a good volume of air going in and out measured by the Dr. who said it was a good volume even for a non smoker. I smoke. ( presently I have quit 3 days now) She sent me home from urgent care with an inhaler.
What I seemed to have was a very thin coating of very sticky clear mucous coating my lungs. If I was able to dislodge it I would produce only a very small amount but I would get instant relief. I bought a oxymeter to measure my oxygen saturation and it showed between 97% and 98%.
My question is, can co2 levels be high even if oxygen saturation is good. This is what it feels like when I am having the problem. The Dr seemed to shrug this off so I just don't know. The problem seems to have resolved itself since I quit smoking.
While we wait for the clinical docs to wake up and deconfuse us ;), I will provide a “doctors’ doctor’s” (pathologist’s) 2 cents. A common thing I can think of that might cause shortness of breath ( is that what you mean by “suffocating”?) with an adequate O2 sat, as you describe, would be anemia. Did your doc do a blood count?
Another thing could be carbon monoxide, which is elevated in smokers, although it seems unusual that it would be elevated enough by smoking alone to be symptomatic. Any other potential sources in your environment? Maybe something added recently, such as firing up the furnace for the first time since last winter, that could have elevated your baseline CO. (I don’t want to be alarmist, but that’ s an important thing to think about)
I have doubts about the mucus hypothesis (any evidence for that, or just a hunch), as something like that would result in a decreased O2 sat.
And I hate to say it, but it could always be anxiety.
In any case good work with chucking the smokes and since you say things are better now, maybe that was it. I’d still recommend checking your CO detector, or getting one if you don’t already have one.
Thanks for the reply, I have to agree with you on the anxiety thing. Once I bought the oxymeter and saw I had a good saturation of oxygen the anxiety level dropped significantly. I was funny because I had instant relief from the suffocating feeling when I hacked up the thin mucous even though the amount was tiny like the size of a pencil eraser.
Is it possible your passages were in a bit of bronchospasm, and the coughing opened them up a bit - and the mucus was somewhat of a red herring?
I’m asthmatic and coughing is a common symptom, though a bad coughing jag can trigger some bronchospasm. When I’ve got a bad dose of bronchitis going on, the coughing seems to move a bit more air for a bit, and rarely brings up anything - possibly because my passages are just too spazzed out. Now, once the meds (in my case likely antibiotics and a steroid pill) kick in, the pipes open up and then things get NASTY ;).
What inhaler are you on? I’d imagine it’s a shorter-acting rescue inhaler (generic probably albuterol as that’s the most common), possibly one with ipratropium added (atrovent). Or she might have given you a steroid inhaler, or even a steroid + long-acting bronchodilator such as Symbicort or Advair.
Do you notice any relief at all within a couple of minutes of using whatever it is? That’s more likely with the short-acting inhaler, and very unlikely with the steroid or longer-acting inhaler.
Oh - and good for you for quitting smoking. I know it’s only 3 days, but it’s a good start.
As far as carbon monoxide detector: it’s worth checking. One site didn’t mention shortness of breath as a symptom; another one does. When I had what I now think was low-level CO poisoning, it was winter, we’d just weatherstripped the doors / windows (our apartment leaked like a sieve), and my roommates and I spent 2 months feeling exhausted no matter how much rest we got. I don’t recall any particular breathing difficulties.