Sighing all the time? Am I crazy??

[gqmom]

Hello all.....well, I cant seem to stop sighing. I know it sounds so weird! Just had my exchange surgery a week ago and I thought maybe that had something to do with it, but yetvit continues! I had a checkup with my oncologist just last week and she says all if my bloodwork looks fine....tumor markers fine, lungs sound clear. Now I didn't say amything about this sighing issue because I didn't think much of it at the time. Now all I do is think about it but I'm so anxious about it now that I'm afraid to go to the doctor because. of course I'm terrified it could be a sign of lung mets. Just so you all know, I do have chronic anxiety and I always have. I feel mostly fine at work and can also still exercise. So sorry to ramble.....any thoughts? I just feel really scared.

[SoCalGal]

It's hard to carry all the worry and fear. When I have a lot on my mind, and it is heavy, I sigh quite a bit. Probably the body's way of releasing. Try some slow deep calming breathing. And try to learn other ways to "contain" your stress instead of keeping it in your body. Writing, art, dancing, cooking, gardening etc. Hope you get help with the cancer aftermath. It is a process to learn to live life fully after your diagnosis, to learn how to cope with fear, especially if you have anxiety to begin with. Ask your oncologist for advice - they are supposed to treat the whole person, not just the cancer parts :-)

[linn65]

Ido take deep breathes just to calm myself inside. I think when diagnosed we grasp at everything we can to get through it and a few deep breathes through your nose and out of your mouth is calming. hang in there!

[Jackie07]

There're some scientific experiment being done on sighing ... (No, you're not crazy!

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...r-just-a-sigh/

[CoolBreeze]

That was interesting, Jackie, thanks.

GQMom, sighing is not a sign of lung mets. In the years I've been involved with metsters, I've never once heard anybody complain about sighing as a symptom. You admit to having anxiety and I am guessing your sighing is part of an anxiety syndrome.

It's shameful how nobody teaches people to get well after a traumatic experience like cancer. They amputate a body part or two, they put us through a poisoning system, they tell us that it could come back any time and we aren't safe for years, if ever, and then say "good-bye." So, we are left with these new bodies, and every ache and pain or odd thing we imagine is cancer returning.

They really need to teach us how likely cancer is to return (not very) and what to look for and how to relax and not think every ache and pain is cancer. And, that it takes a long time to get used to or heal our bodies, and stuff like pain in the hips and lower back is normal after chemo. Sighing could be a sign of low red counts still, or it could be anxiety. And, the more you pay attention to these aches and pains, the more real they become and the more they bother and hurt.

I think most cancer survivors need a little PTSD therapy as I think most suffer from it. And, who wouldn't? You go through the wringer and then are left alone.

Your symptom is not a symptom of mets. The truth is, a lot of us don't have symptoms when we are diagnosed. It's found incidentially (as mine was). I have symptoms now but that is two years of a tumor growing in my liver to feel it. Common symptoms would be extra fatigue or weight loss. Cancer has to take up a lot of your lungs to cause coughs and shortness of breath so it is usually not going to have the kind of symptom you describe.

However, if it is coming back, it will make itself known. My liver mets were found, even though I had zero symptoms, no tumor markers or anything. Most people have the same experience. And, remember, finding mets is not like finding early stage cancer. The quicker you find it, does not mean you will live longer. At that point, it responds to tx or not.

Please try to enjoy this time you have. Please tell yourself every day that you are a Survivor, that you made it, that you will live a long life. Tell yourself that every morning and tell yourself that every night and tell yourself that with each sigh. Enjoy these beautiful days you have. Don't let fear imprison you. If you find that it is, get some help - there is no shame in that. The reality is cancer can come back - the reality is also that the odds are in your favor that it won't. So try to mentally put yourself there. Even if it did come back, you would never regret doing that.

*hugs*

[Mary Jo]

Ahhhhh......cancer and anxiety. They go hand in hand and as one of my favorite cancer nurses said to me...."Mary Jo, this is your new normal." I wanted to scream...."but I don't want a new normal........" LOL!

I am at 7 years out now and the anxiety is gone. I remember getting to about year 3 and most days thought I had one form of a recurrence or another. One day I just got sick and tired of living this way. Being a woman of faith......I said to myself.....'ENOUGH." "Today you don't have cancer. You are alive and healthy today. Enjoy today and leave tomorrow for tomorrow." From that day on, I lived worry free of cancer recurrence.

Just sharing what worked for me.

Mary Jo

[CoolBreeze]

Mary Jo, that is a good way of doing it. We have to change our mental "talk" to ourselves. It's natural to be scared but it is not a good way to live life. So, telling yourself you are healthy, you will be okay......today you are fine...that's a good way of living I think.

Even as a metster I do that. Today, my pain is minimal. Today, I am out of bed, with my family, enjoying the things I do. Today, I am managing. I don't worry about tomorrow.

[gqmom]

Hi everyone,
Thank you all for...well, just being there. I feel really alone sometimes and I know I don't post a lot, but I know I can come here when I'm lonely. Thanks again.

['lizbeth]

Perhaps it is time for a visit to your acupuncturist? Frequent sighing could be a liver disharmony. I received regular acupuncture during treatment and it was wonderful.


Liver Patterns

Etiology

Emotions

According to Five Element theory, anger and other related emotions such as resentment, unfulfilled desires, frustration, etc. are attributed to the Liver. The relationship between an organ and its corresponding emotion is reciprocal. The Liver for instance, is responsible for the free and smooth flow of Qi, which has a deep relationship with a person's emotional state. Conversely, anger, repressed emotions, etc. affect the Liver organ itself, and disrupt the smooth flow of Qi in the body.
If Liver is functioning well, and its Qi is flowing smoothly, the emotional state will be happy, and "relaxed" or "free and easy". Emotions will be freely expressed. When Liver Qi does not freely flow, stagnation of Qi occurs, and affects the emotional state. This causes anger and irritability. Over a long period of time, stagnation of Liver Qi impairs circulation of Qi and can cause emotional states of constant low level anger, depression, and resentment. These may be transferred to and appear in the physical body, such as the chest, breasts in women, hypochondriac region, epigastric region, or throat. Stagnation of Liver Qi, therefore, produces feelings of tightness in the chest and hypochondriac region, often with frequent sighing, pain and swelling of the breasts, tension in the stomach, the sensation of a lump in the throat.

Liver Qi may "rebel" upward and cause Liver Yang to rise. Symptoms include irritability, headaches, and the propensity to lose one's temper.
Diet
Excessive greasy and hot foods can cause Liver Fire. Examples of hot foods are lamb, beef, curry, and other spices. Examples of damp or greasy foods are deep fried food, and alcohol. Not enough warming foods, such as meat and grains, can contribute to inadequate Blood production and Blood Deficiency. Blood Deficiency, in turn, can lead to Liver Blood Deficiency. Women are particularly prone to Blood Deficiency especially at puberty, after childbirth, and somewhat after each period.

Liver Qi Stagnation

Signs:

• Distention and pain in the chest and hypochondriac region
  Areas coursed by the Liver channels
• Frequent sighing
  Releasing Stagnant Qi in the chest
• Depression, moodiness, melancholy, unhappiness, and a general tense feeling
  Flow of Liver Qi affecting the emotions or vice versa
• Sensation of a lump in the throat with trouble swallowing
  Internal branch of the Liver channel ascends along the neck and throat
• nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, reduced appetite, sour reflux, belching, awareness of pulsating (abdominal aorta) in the epigastric region, a sensation of the Stomach churning
  Liver invading the Stomach
• Abdominal distention, borborygmus, diarrhea
  Liver invading the Spleen
• Alternating Constipation and Diarrhea, irregular elimination
  Liver Qi stagnating in the Intestines
• Irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, premenstrual breast tenderness, PMS
  Liver channel is closely associated with menstruation

Tongue

• Normal tongue body

Pulse

• Wiry pulse

Notes

This is an extremely common pattern. Wide range of symptoms, which typically fluctuate considerably in proportion to the amount of stress the person feels. the patient will have periods of depression with worsening of physical symptoms, and times when symptoms improve. Women during the premenstrual time are naturally more prone to stagnation-related problems, since at this time Blood is collecting in the uterus and Qi levels are diminishing.
Stagnation of Liver Qi over a long time induces stasis of Liver Blood
Etiology/Pathology

Emotional disharmony, especially repressed anger, resentment, frustration, over a long time, which impairs the circulation of Liver Qi.
Treatment Principle

Disperse the Liver and regulate Qi
Points

• LIV-3 (Taichong)
  Regulates Liver Qi and especially effective when the throat is involved
• GB-34 (Yanglingquan)
  Regulates Liver Qi and especially useful when the hypochondriac region in involved
• LIV-13 (Zhangmen)
  Regulates Liver Qi in Middle Jiao, especially when it affects the Stomach
• LIV-14 (Qimen)
  Regulates Liver Qi in the Middle Jiao, especially when it invades the Spleen
• SJ-6 (Zhigou)
  Regulates Liver Qi and especially affects the sides
• P-6 (Neiguan)
  Regulates Liver Qi and is especially good when emotional problems are major symptoms

[llertoosa]

Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force. But I am not sure that can help me in my case. I got serious problems after operation and now my friend suggests me to use acupuncture https://biopulse.org/. Have you ever use this treatment technique? Does it work?