I’m having shortness of breath all of a sudden. All tests are showing normal. 3 medical visits in the past week with no answers or relief. I worry this is a new baseline for me. Has anyone had similar shortness of breath episodes or know about this type of thing with PsA?
Are you on any meds? There are at least a few that can cause shortness of breath.
My shortness of breath usually comes from dehydration, exhaustion, or anxiety. Anxiety attacks are the worst.
I’m on mtx, Humira & prednisone. I know all can have pulmonary side effects but I’ve been on all of them for a while with no problems. None of the usual pulmonary side effects are testing positive. I’m hoping this is just part of a big flare up and will resolve quickly. These meds have been a God-send for me and I’d hate to have to go off of them. I don’t remember the last time I wasn’t exhausted 
Have you ever seen a chiropractor? A friend and I were talking after I posted and she said she saw her docs about her recent bouts of shortness of breath (she has fibromyalgia, among other things, and is on a lot of meds) and they couldn't find anything - but when she saw her chiro, she was able to do some adjustments that worked wonders and she hasn't had problems with shortness of breath since. Now to call my chiropractor friend and see what I can barter for a some chiro work....
Thank you for the suggestion nym. I haven’t seen a chiro recently, the adjustments had started to cause more pain than help. I may consider trying again.
I sometimes get problems with costochondritis, where the joints in my ribcage and sternum swell and it feels impossible to breath. It was so bad once that I went to the ER because I was convinced something was seriously wrong. I would stand up and just couldn’t breath. Where is the pain coming from specifically? The costo joints are right in the center of your chest…just a thought. Hope you feel better.
Thank you Hurtblogger. I’m convinced that the breathing part of this flare is as you describe. The swelling is now all the way around my back and chest and has spread (very outwardly visible) to include the entire rib cage and below now. There is the comfort in that it probably isn’t my lungs at least. I appreciate your kind thoughts and response.
From what you describe that probably is what it is. I’ll start to get pain around the back to, wherever a tiny joint is. I’m not sure how bad yours is but mine has been terrible at points and I’ve learned a lot of tricks. They injected steroids in those joints which was tricky and painful, I’m not sure I’d recommend it. Heat and ice alternating really helped to heal it in the front. Also, because of the pain I was breathing really shallow for weeks on end, so they had me do this breathing exercise to avoid pneumonia like complications from not fully inflating my lungs: get a straw and a wad of cellophane, suck through the straw enough to hold up the cellophane for 10 seconds at a time then breath out slowly. Do it a couple times a day and it’ll keep your lungs healthy. Good luck.