How to naturally address issues with shallow breathing or “air hunger”, a common but overlooked problem in those suffering from thyroid problems or adrenal dysfunction.
Every single tissue in the entire body has thyroid receptors. This means that the thyroid, if not functioning properly, can cause a wide variety of symptoms beyond what we would normally consider.
It is most common to question the health of the thyroid in cases of fatigue, constipation, weight gain, chilliness, and dryness.
However, it is also very common in cases of depression, fibromyalgia-like muscle aches, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and even foggy brain.
The thyroid is one endocrine organ in a delicately and intricately related chain of hormone-producing glands.
Although it may be one of the easier glands to measure, others in the chain, i.e. the hypothalamus, the adrenal glands, and the gastrointestinal system have a major effect on the thyroid’s function.
In one two-week period alone, I treated three unusual cases of thyroid dysfunction.
- One was an 8-year-old girl with Hashimoto’s auto-immune disease.
- Another is a 22-year-old male who looks like a bodybuilder.
- The third was a 14-year-old very slender female.
None of them fit the picture of a typical thyroid patient…but if you don’t test you never know!
Common Misdiagnosis in Conventional Tests
When testing the thyroid you must test several markers to understand if the thyroid is working properly:
- TSH
- T4 total
- Free T3
- Free T4
- T3 uptake
- Free thyroxine index
- Thyroid antibodies
Laboratory ranges are very wide on the thyroid and, sadly, do not reflect optimal functioning in the real world.
It is very common for conventional doctors to just order a TSH and say your thyroid is fine when it really isn’t.
The reason is most doctors treat all thyroid conditions the same – give enough Levo-thyroxin until the TSH blood level is within normal limits.
This conventional approach only works for one kind of thyroid dysfunction!
There are six different types of low thyroid function with at least 22 other bodily dysfunctions resulting in a suboptimal thyroid.
How Other Organs Affect the Thyroid
I will give you a few examples of how other organ systems affect the thyroid.
If you have positive antibodies TPO or TGB, you really have an auto-immune disease where your own immune system is destroying thyroid tissue.
Shockingly, it is estimated that at least 75% of hypothyroid cases are auto-immune in nature.
This problem can really be helped by clinicians who understand the relationship between thyroid, gut, immune system and brain.
Attention should be directed to these areas:
- Resolve food allergies
- Measure and optimize Vitamin D levels.
- Heal leaky gut
- Balance the two arms of the immune system Th1 and Th2 is very important.
Pitfalls with “Immune Tonics”
Common health food store “immune tonics” such as echinacea and maitake are Th1 stimulators while caffeine is a TH2 stimulator.
If one is Th1 dominant they will frequently complain that echinacea or other Th1 stimulants make them feel bad.
It is important to realize that your individual body may not fit the common marketing scheme currently advocated in medicine or natural health care.
Buyer beware!
Iodine Can Sometimes Make Things Worse
There are other tests such as cytokine testing or TH1 and 2 challenges to get this system balanced.
It is paramount to understand that those diagnosed with Hashimoto’s or showing positive antibodies will be made WORSE with iodine supplementation.
Free T3 is the real workhorse of thyroid hormones. It is what your cells use, yet only 6% of T3 is made in the thyroid.
The vast majority is converted from T4 in the liver and from the bacteria in the GI tract. Can you start to see how important the GI tract is and the importance of fermented foods, prebiotics, and probiotics?
Thyroid and Adrenal Dysfunction Usually Go Hand in Hand
It is rare to see thyroid dysfunction without seeing adrenal dysfunction. The adrenals are the glands that deal with stress.
In our culture, most people are just worn out…usually all the time!
This leads to the under-conversion of T4 to T3.
It frequently leads to blood sugar issues which dampen communication between the hypothalamus, pituitary, and thyroid glands.
Shallow Breathing aka “Air Hunger”
Again, these problems are made worse by people skipping meals, eating low-protein or vegetarian diets, and using stimulants such as caffeine to increase the adrenal output of hormones.
I always use nutrients and whole food diets emphasizing higher protein and healthy fats for this condition.
One of the most important treatments is breathing exercises to remedy air hunger.
It is common to find people that suffer from shallow breathing when endocrine conditions present.
Shallow breathing is characterized by breathing from the chest up without using the diaphragm.
Put another way, shallow breathing involves breathing without expanding out to allow the diaphragm to create a vacuum in the lungs.
It is impossible in a short article to completely explain the thyroid gland. My goal is rather to show you the many facets of thyroid dysfunction and testing.
As in all my writings, my goal is to help you connect the dots between one particular system and its relationship to the whole body.
I hope to convey the message that if you are chronically ill and your doctor has only tested your TSH please ask for more.
Do not take over-the-counter formulas for your thyroid unless someone is specifically monitoring your case as what makes one type of thyroid condition better can aggravate another type.
Again Iodine is a very individual nutrient for certain thyroid types and not for others!
More Information
Thyroid Disease as a Psychiatric Pretender
6 Little Known Signs of Adrenal Fatigue
This is Your Body (and Brain) on Gluten
Hi Dr. Frank,
I gained weight from bad eating habits, and now I have shallow breathing at night that is sometimes alleviated by propping myself up on pillows.
I am diagnosed with heital hernia and gerd due to being overweight, and my pulmonaryologist thinks the shallow breathing could be due to constricting airways from acid reflux when lying down. I never get shallow breathing while standing, it’s only when I’m in a deep seated chair or lying down, and some nights I’m lucky and don’t have breathing troubles.
It seems there’s a correlation between what I eat as well. Tonight I had a lot of Pad Thai noodles and some chocolate and my breathing is extraordinarily shallow. I took two Zantacs within 6 hours but am still burping up the peanut oil from the pad thai I had 9 hours ago, as I ate too much of it. My gastrointestinal doctor said that my acid reflux will go away after I lose weight and if I eat better.
I also have been being treated for hyperthyroidism by an endocrinologist since 2013 and I take 5mg of methimazole, which keeps my blood levels in the normal range. Lately though I notice a little tingling feeling on the left bottom and he’s going to schedule me for an ultrasound.
I’m also 24 years old, 213 pounds, 5 foot 5, most of my fat is in my abdomen.
My question is, do you think my shallow breathing could be a thyroid issue? Or does it sound more like an acid reflux/hietal hernia/gerd issue?
Like i said, the shallow breathing only happens when I lay flat. Some nights I lay flat and it’s like nothing was ever wrong and it seems that it’s dependent on what I eat. The shallow breathing is almost instantaneous when i lay down, and as soon as I stand up, my breathing normalizes. I also have exercise induced asthma and allergies to several molds and trees.
Eating well for a few days seems to take away the shallow breathing.
Does this sound my thyroid is causing laying down shallow breathing or more so the acid reflux? If it is my thyroid, what is treatment besides surgery?
Thank you
Hi Alicia, Dr. Frank doesn’t diagnose or speculate on individual medical conditions online. If you need to consult with him, please contact his office either via email or phone. His contact details are in his bio following the article.
Please go to Life Extension, they will help you to get well again, you can even talk to a specialist thyroid doctor, google them, I have had all those syndrome and more, I take thyroid meds and several supplements and feel better than I have in 18 months of. Under active thyroid, T3 and T4 was in range but in depth panel discovered many issues related to under active thyroid. I’m still not 100% but on track also go to this website for more help check out Epstein Bar Virus , hope this helps. I have difficulty taking deep breaths so I’m seeing. Cardiologist next week
My doc stopped my levothyroxin as I had severe difficulty breathing. Much better now but still have bouts of breathing difficulty. What should I do?
I have an under-active thyroid , I have problems breathing through out the day and night, I also suffer with sleep Apena . I just want to know why I have problems breathing , I dread bedtimes…
Rhianon I am suffering form the exact same thing. I have so much pain in my kidneys and lungs and my thyroid is producing elevated level of hormones, my Ana test came positive and my rheumatologist referred me to endocrinologist. I have no idea what to do, whether I should visit lung specialist or kidney doctor. But to let you know I started eating black seeds with honey and the pain is not as killing as it was before. I hope it will work for you as well, just try it.
Go gluten free and even grain free. definitely caffeine free . I have tingling numbness pain all over , under ribs, difficulty breathing. When I rid those things from my life (including alcohol) the symptoms go away. I just ate wheat and suddenly the feeling of it being able to breathe came back. I look it up every time because of how scary it is and I pray it goes away soon. Need to stay away from gut irritating substances
I had a lot of the symptoms that you describe and I thought I was dying. I have never felt so horrible in my life. You should have your doctor do testing for Epstein Bar Virus. There are 4 blood tests that need to be done. Make sure the do the full panel. It will tell you of present or past infection, very important. 95% of the population has it but sometimes it reactivates and wreaks havoc on your body. I am Hypothyroid and EBV was reactivated through stress. I thought my thyroid was out of whack because that’s what it felt like but it was Reactivated EBV. Read up on it and you may find the answers your looking for. Good luck to you and I hope this helps.
Air hunger is also a hallmark symptom of Babesia and sometimes Bartonella bacterial stealth infections, both of which, along with Borrelia Burgdorferi (which causes Lyme disease) have been implicated in autoimmune thyroid disease ( as well as a host of other autoimmune diseases). Best to have a clinical assessment to diagnose and treat it, because accurate blood testing is notoriously difficult to get.
EBV and Hashi’s often result from a stealth pathogen like the one that causes Lyme or it’s many so-called co-infections.
Thank you so much for this site .
To Devon ,I’m so great for your story sharing..I’m going through the exact same
Symptoms. I feel I’m not alone after being diagnosed finally after 3 yrs with hyperthyroidism and autoimmune disease .I have an appointment with the endocrinologist for the first time next month.
After 3 yrs of going through hell ..hoping I wouldn’t die before my doctor could find out what was wrong with me .he gave me a THS test 2yrs before hand and said I was in range ..but didn’t do any further testing .I kept coming back and forth between my doctor and the hospital for 3 whole yrs..I began to loose hope till my last test came back with high antibodies of 1000 and high t3 and t4.
This all first happened 1 week after I had my 5 child that I noticed it just hit me when I stood up one day ..I became dizzy ..shaking all over ..my scalp ..eyes and throat where tingling ..it felt and still feels like my brain is going to shut down .I wake up in the morning in so much pain through out my body..its so bad I can barely get out of bed or walk…After I begin to become more mobile a few hours later the pain goes away ..buy my kidneys still hurt.my doctor done a UTI test ..but it came back negative. .he told me it was nothing .I’m in so much kidney pain it feels like one big cramp around the top half of my abdomen around my lungs..I cant breath normally..I have to force myself to try to expand my chest every time i take a brather. I have brain Fogg I cannot concentrate and am constantly forgetting about everything ..I too try probiotics and have massive die offs ..it make me feel like iv been poisoned to an inch of my life .
Thank you for letting me share and look for answers ..your sight has been a blessing from God.
I have an appointment this Tuesday with my endocrinologist. It will be my second appointment and I’m afraid I’m not going to get the right information or ask the right questions (levels were “normal” last fall- whatever that means, but I did have a biopsy on a nodule in December – which was good). Ever since the birth of my third child (Nov 2014) I have been miserable. Poor sleep, poor breathing, fatigue, muscle aches, weight gain, emotional. We eat mostly whole, organic foods/meats… but even cutting back doesn’t seem to help my weight. I also have random itching… mostly scalp and forearms… I have high anxiety and stress. I tried a probiotic last April and had die-off symptoms that I just couldn’t handle. I am feeling hopeless. I wish I could fly to FL to your office. You actually seem to care about your patients…. thank you for sharing this information!
Hi Dr. Frank,
I recently had a thyroid panel done and everything was normal except for my Thyroglobulin which was 60 when normal is 50. I did some research and several studies have shown that high thyroglobulin (this is not being used as a marker for recurring thyroid cancer) means your iodine is deficient?