Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group ASphixiating

I had chronic asthma from the age of about 11 to 25 - then it mysteriously went away (and possibly merged into another disorder). Now I feel like my lungs are clear, but for some reason, they don't want to breathe when I sleep! Not sure why I do this, but I have to remind myself to breathe at points - or I stop breathing for 30 seconds, and then gasp.

I did a sleep test a week and a half ago...will hopefully get the results soon. It may very well be an AS symptom.

Hi Jimmy,

Sorry you had to get the rude awakening that way. I haven't looked at any other responses before typing my own, but I can guarantee you with 100 percent certainty that you are going to get plenty of them that say, "Yep, I definitely have lung issues thanks to AS." And, unfortunately, I am certainly in that "oh great, another fun AS problem" group.

My problems come solely from how severe my kyphosis became before I had my spinal osteotomy surgery; even after the excellent results I had with the surgery, I am still bent over quite severely, The main area that is still affected extends from the middle of my thoracic region up into my cervical spine, where the kyphosis is still quite severe (I elected not to have a second osteotomy because the risk of nerve damage or other big side effects were too too high for me to justify).

Because I was so severely bent over for so long before having the surgery, my doctors have told me that my internal organs have shifted around and adopted to having much less room than normal in which to operate. The lungs, being the largest organs, can't shift around all that much, but they have been affected in other ways, primarily a fairly large reduction in function. I've had breathing tests similar to the one you had at your mom's, and I always score very low. Quite simply, there just isn't room in my cramped chest cavity for my lungs to fully expand and take in a nice deep breath of air. So far, I've managed to get by without having any drastic breathing problems, but I always say a nice, loud, "knock wood."

I totally realize that my reduced lung capacity could cause big problems at any time, both in my day to day life and in case of an emergency surgery or other medical procedure. When I had a viral-induced case of congestive heart failure back in 2000 or 2001, the problems caused by my AS made it even harder to catch my breath than it normally would have if I had been battling just the CHF. Lucky for me, my heart failure miraculously healed up, although the doctors really didn't have any reason why, as the damage caused by CHF is almost always permanent. In the end, it was simply a case of "idiopathic CHF" that I managed to recover from.

I have no idea how fused your spine is, Jimmy, nor do I know how much curvature you're dealing with if in fact you do have fairly severe fusion. From the sound of your breathing test, If the results of your breathing test worry you, or if you find it harder and harder to catch your breath or take a really deep breath, then I would encourage you to ask your family doctor about seeing a cardiopulmonary specialist to do more extensive testing.

I know some of these responses involving your lungs and problems breathing can seem scary as you-know-what, but honestly, this is one case where you can't let those tales scare you too badly. Pay attention to what you learn from them, sure, but don't overreact every time you have trouble taking a really deep breath. Fact is, other than that one bout with the CHF, my breathing capacity has remained rather constant and does not show any signs of getting worse at this time. As happens with so many other things associated with AS, you just learn to live with it as time passes.

Brad