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Trip to the Mountains
Well, the thing that got me finally on the road to a possible PH diagnosis was a bad, BAD “spell” that I had last fall when visiting friends and I went to the Appalachian Mountains to see the pretty colors. In order to figure out whether I have problems with the thinner air at higher elevations or not, I went up to the mountains again today. The answer is: yes, but how severe the problem is depends on how exhausted I am going into the experience.
I began feeling like I was breathing faster and my chest was getting tight as we got into the foothills. I figured it could have been psychological–anxiety as we got closer to the place where I began having problems last fall.
However, we stopped at Blowing Rock and walked around a bit. It was very clear that just getting out of the car made me pant and my heart race. When we walked around, it was worse. There was never a point at which I was breathing normally.
Then we went up another 2000 feet in elevation. I could feel myself getting light-headed, but not dangerously so. I thought. (I was driving, so had to do some hard reckoning.) I was OK as long as I stayed sitting in the car, but I was sure that it would be very, very difficult to get out and walk around, so I didn’t try.
So this unofficial “diagnostic” trip to the mountains said, “yes, breathing problems at higher elevations, the severity of which seems to depend on exhaustion level going into it.”
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