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[babyjane]

I feel like a right hypochondriac and I apologise but I have become aware that I have a very slow respiratory rate compared to my husband.

Of course, as you do, I have made the mistake of Dr Googling and it said normal respiratory rate for adults over 50 is 12 - 15 breaths per minute.  I take 5 per minute, long, slow breaths with a pause between exhaling and inhaling again and if I try to breathe faster I go all dizzy and feel as though I am not getting enough oxygen.  Of course I looked it up and found that slow breathing can be attributed to hypothyroidism but I have been hypothyroid for decades and have only noticed this recently

It also said it can be indicative of cardiac issues and it is playing on my mind that my father had his first heart attack at 58 and I will be 58 next year so of course I am over reacting which is not helping.

I know you cannot give medical advice and I am not expecting you to, and I have already made an appointment with the GP but can you say anything to stop me getting worked up about this? I know this forum is excellent with peoples fears and never makes you feel silly and I feel a bit silly.

[countrybumpkin]

Wecome to the club!!  I breathe an awful lot slower than my husband as well. Itake about 9-10 breaths a minute but he breathes alot faster and I have noticed when he asleep he breathes twice as fast as I do

Interestingly I have also been hypothyroid on medication for 25 years and as we all know taking the tablets keeps us alive but they aren't replacing eveyrthing that our bhyroid gland does naturally so we are missing the less important hormones and maybe it could be something to do with this??

I think for it to be cardiac related you would need other obvious symptoms like swollen legs etc.

Maybe next time you are at Drs for something just ask, make a joke of it as in the " things Drs get asked that are probably perfectly normal".

[babyjane]

thank you for your sensible reply countrybumpkin, as I said I have made an appointment with the GP for next week.

Dad's heart attack was out of the blue aged 58, he had no other symptoms but he did suffer with anxiety and indigestion, which I do too so I need to break this cycle of panic that is setting in and probably making everything worse.

[countrybumpkin]

Have you read my other post in this section about fast heartbeat??  The consultant I saw yesterday was very sensible although she scared me enough to know I have to make changes or I will suffer the consequences. 
If you have anxiety then certainly for me its easier to panic about whats wrong rather than try and do something about it health wise!!  You can't help your panic setting but as long as you are doing your best with all other factors you have done all you can.

[babyjane]

yes thank you I did.  I suspect one of my main problems is reading too much and scaring myself silly. I need to get to grips with myself.

Health anxiety is a real curse isn't it!

[Millykin]

Hi babyjane
Health anixety is horrible I focus and compare my heart rate, BP, Temp and respiratory rate against members of my family, if they all average in certain days and mines is different I thnk all sorts, I'm 44 and lost both parents few years ago mum 56 dad 58, family members lost with serious illness and if I have any symptons it can be terrifying, I'm sure you will be fine but can understand your concern with your dad, we just tend to think oh no I'm nearing that age I've got this symptom and so on, you done the right thing getting appointment just give you peace of mind. Let us know how you get on
X

[countrybumpkin]

yes thank you I did.  I suspect one of my main problems is reading too much and scaring myself silly. I need to get to grips with myself.

Health anxiety is a real curse isn't it!

I had very traumatic experience as a young child with death and this left me with lifelong anxiety around health. I can safely say it has had huge impact on me and although I have improved since being post meno ( hormones do make it worse) I know I will never be "normal".  Also getting older in some ways helps but can also make it worse as you are at the age where things can start to go wrong   This is whats happening to you with your experience of your dad.  If you ever want to pm me and have a chat about your health anxiety then I am more than happy to listen and if possible help as sadly I understand it all too well and have had decades of experience!

[Millykin]

I think my health anxiety stems from seeing my 22 year daughter go through a terrible time few years ago, without going into too much detail on here she was fine one day the next BP through the roof brain swelling  into coma and having to watch all that is terrfying! You learn too much about medical conditions and can really focus on these things. It's just the past year while she is re learning everything that it has hit me, God only knows how's she copes with things, I think a lot of people out there suffer with some sort of anxiety it's just horrible
X

[babyjane]

millykin I am so sorry to hear that you lost your parents so young, your mum was younger than I am now. I am sure this will have had an effect on you as you say, and your daughter's experience sounds just horrendous. 

countrybumpkin you are very kind, thank you  . It's probably best that I don't dwell on this too much but if I am concerned I will certainly contact you.  It is strangely reassuring that you have had decades of experience and are still here to tell the tale  . I am probably quite healthy physically but my mind and hormones are playing all sorts of mean tricks just now.

I still hope that I can get reassurance about my strangely low respiration rate.

[honeybun]

I breath much much slower than my hubby does, and he is the one who had a heart attack at 50.

I do understand health anxiety so I really sympathise.

I find when I dwell on something it immediately becomes much worse. Breathing is just one of those things we do without thinking about it. If you start to focus it seems unnatural. It's the same with swallowing....you do it without thinking but if you focus it seems all wrong.Another is where your tongue sits in your mouth. If you really start to think about it it seems far too big for your mouth.

I think what I'm trying to say is you have probably just become aware of something that is perfectly natural for you, but now you are focussing on it, it does not seem quite right.

Honeyb
x

[Cassie]

Never thought about that...right time to check my breathing....hubbys pulse rate is much higher...that I do know.

[babyjane]

thanks honeybun, the voice of reason 

Cassie, don't let my hang ups worry you please.  My husband's pulse rate is lower than average (bpm) but he does cardiovascular workout three times a week. 

[Millykin]

We are all different my husbands breathing is faster than mine he's about 18 per min, mines is 14 his heart rate is 45 resting and can't go above 100 workout, mine is 70 resting and just shoots up when I move, my daughter is on meds so all average, we used to have to keep an eye on her BP everyday and heart rate and oxygen so we have everything in house to monitor things, so as you can guess we all have a go which isnt good! In saying that her heart rate was up at 90 resting one day no other symptons turns out she had severe pneumonia so it's good for some things!