Says she can't breathe, she thought she was going to die an average of 24 times a month over the last year. Any suggestions?

thanks for your replies, today was a really good day for mom

If I have a rib out and it is pulling on my lung I get that same sensation. Maybe try a chiropractor.

There's another answer and it relates to food additives. I've found that I have trouble breathing (and sometimes anaphylaxis) after eating some of the Dirty Dozen foods, which are those most contaminated by pesticides or food additives.

I've tested some things, like cukes and celery, and can expect to be short of breath and almost panting within a few hours of eating them. I discovered this effect way back in the mid 1980s. Isolating out various factors, I traced it to virgin strawberry daiquiris which I had during a social hour before the meeting of a contracting group in which I was involved.

It always occurred after the full meal was over, but it was more like a band across my chest, with respiratory difficulty. I later learned that strawberries are also contaminated with pesticides.

And I've had similar reactions from MSG, a really bad one once after eating Chinese food.

Occasionally this will happen with other foods, so I suspect there's probably some pesticide or additive in them.

she sees a neurologist and is waiting on a psyc evaluation (1st on the list), no congestive heart failure, I do think it is anxiety. Hopefully we will get answers after the psyc evaluation.

Does she have COPD and/or Congestive Heart Failure?

Could this be anxiety? Has she been by a geriatric psychiatrist?

she has oxygen on most of the day and breathing treatments (performist) 4 times a day. When she says she can't breathe, she is not gasping or struggling to talk.

I was told that O2 saturation and the subjective feeling that you can't breathe have little to do with each other.

How is your mother's discomfort being treated?