Could be regular old asthma.

When I was anemic I felt constantly short of breath, and I wasn't very anemic either. As soon as that got taken care of the shortness of breath went away (still asthmatic, no so great shakes in the breathing dept.).

Thank you all for your input. The possibility that this could be medical has got a lot of support here. I agree, but I think the way this works is more consistent with chlorine induced asthmatic symptoms than general EIA, because I can go how hard I want running and cycling and I won't get the same feeling. I'm not new to endurance sports, I'm new to swimming. And naturally I've considered the more likely options first like just being a bad swimmer, because that's the usual explanation in these cases and people say breathing is probably the number one challenge beginner's tend to struggle with. Some even say that swimming is supposed to not feel pleasant. Go figure.

But I'm going to see there doctor.

I didn't come here for medical advice. I came here for swimming advice. While I take the possibility that this is a medical issue seriously, I still believe that given all that I know about me and my past it isn't the most likely explanation. What is likely, on the other hand, is that I'm unable to properly explain my symptoms to you and people are extrapolating from my inaccurate explanations. It isn't their fault of course. And this is the Internet...

Ditto. Toss in chlorine, and you will have trouble. Get to a pulmo. Meanwhile, warm up very slowly and stay out of pools until you get properly diagnosed.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

There is a thread on slow twitch about EIA. Note there is also diagnosis for vocal cords partially closing that mimics EIA. In that scenario the vocal cords partially close restricting the airway instead of the lungs doing it.

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http://bigmikega.wordpress.com

I'm new to swimming too (and asthmatic). Though I huff and puff more than I should during the workout, it never extends afterwards -- I think that's the concerning part. Is your pool indoors or outdoors? If indoors it may be the chlorine is irritating your lungs.

Yeah, chlorine could be it. I swim indoors because everything's frozen outside at the moment. Otherwise, I would just go out and test whether swimming in a lake feels the same.

I got myself a doctor's appointment for next week (a sports medicine specialist). Interesting to hear what he says about this.

 
Take this for what it is...I am a decent swimmer in the ironman world. In the swimming world- I am shit! I still have yet to become a good technique swimmer, but I have learned to swim comfortably in the water, because at some point, I grew some gills, let me explain this quickly.

Stop EXHALING! You are likely a runner, or at least an athlete outside of the water. Have you ever walked or ran around and purposefully blown the air out of your lungs? Likely not- (perhaps you did when you were blowing out a cramp in your diaphragm). We don't run or bike breathing purposefully and heavily- no reason to swim this way. You may finally grow gills when you learn to breathe normally. I give Karlyn Pipes credit for teaching me this. Many folks SUCK, TUCK, BLOW- because they don't know any better,
Is your breathing like this?
SUCK- breathe in deeply when your lips reach the air,
TUCK- put your head down,
BLOW- consciously blow the air out of your lungs- air that frankly could be used a lot longer than you are giving it a chance.

Solution:
The next time you swim, work on just leaving your jaw open and relaxed and just normally breathe out, then breathe in normally when you do rotate your head. This won't come naturally but try in some extended warm-ups. Relax, perhaps even chew some gum!

My collegiate kids are either fish or runner studs. This is where I make the most breatkthroughs with the runners for swimming and more importantly enjoying swimming. I have found that when they work on this for several months, sometimes up to a year- it all of sudden clicks and they are enjoying their time in the water- breathing whenever they want, to either side comfortably, swimming lengths on fewer breathes when relaxed, etc.

I hope this helps and feel free to contact me offline if you find this useful or need better explanation or discussion.

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later,
billy
Endurance Athlete and Coach
Naval Academy Triathlon Coach (USNA '00 and USMC)
billythekidtriathlete.com

Thanks! Yeah, I come from a running/cycling background. Water is a new element for me. So you guessed that one right. And yes, since I've had trouble with my breathing while swimming I've searched the Internet and read all those articles that tell you to really pay attention to the exhaling. And of course I've done some tests to see whether more forceful exhaling/inhaling would help. It doesn't.

Your theory does seem somewhat consistent with my experiences. You see, those "good sessions" with 2000-3000 meters of continuous swimming have been the most relaxed kind of swimming I have ever managed to do. Including the breathing which I would describe as lazy. Relaxed and easy is what I'm aiming for every time I'm in the pool, it's just that everything clicks very seldom. Mostly my swimming just isn't enjoyable and after a dozen lengths I end up dragging myself around the pool. And the feeling of some kind of pressure develops in my lungs. Maybe CO2.. No matter how easy and relaxed I try to swim. But those other times, it's all good. That's the weird part.

I'll do some more testing during the weekend.

Edit: When you think about it's obvious that breathing while swimming is a whole different ballgame when compared to sports on dry land, because the inhale rhythm is tied to your swimming rhythm. When you're running you can inhale/exhale when you want (theoretically) and there are no "windows of opportunity" for breathing like there are in swimming. With this in mind, I've tried inhaling every third stroke, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I've also tried changing my stroke rate, but that's not promising either. Yeah, swimming is different.

It might be your breathing technique or it might not be. But, I couldn't rule it out completely base on my own experience).

I have EIA and for me, if I push too hard without a proper warmup (like all of sudden go a 40-yd dash NFL combine style or something cold) my lungs will be kind of screwed for the rest of my workout or the rest of the day sometimes. These days it doesn't happen very often because I try to warmup properly but when I get sick it really makes it worse though. But, I do know high levels of chlorine really irritate my lungs and which lead to restricting my breathing capacity. Most of the time most pools aren't so bad but a few times it has irritated them slightly. Worst is when the gyms I frequent and the facilities manager mops the floor with way too much chlorine mixed in there (happened more than once when strength training in the off-season). That really hurts my lungs...that and those guys who take a military shower with Axe body spray does it to me too (seriously, who thinks that practically showing in that much of it smells good??).

Sometimes in the pool when I do get short of breath I get symptoms like yours (it is usually when I do sprint sets). I sometimes try to force my breathing too much and end up not feeling like get enough air. Normally I do bi-lateral breathing every 3rd stroke and only during my last few sprint sets at the end I sometimes have to do 2 stroke instead. I have noticed the more I try to force a deep breath or exhale the less I feel I like I getting enough air. More relaxed breathing and I feel pretty good for cruising sets of laps with no worries about getting enough air.

Seeing a doctor is fine but I personally would recommend an allergist/pulmonary specialist doctor instead (or a sports medicine doctor who also specializes in pulmonary) to rule out asthma (or confirm it). They are the ones who deal more with lung health issues better (in my experience) have gotten my asthma fully under control. Take it for what it's worth but that is my N+1.

One thing I noticed about FS & beginners - your body has not adapted to breathing while windmilling your arms. So you are using your torso in a foreign way, then taxing the respiratory system. Try even walking or jogging with your arms overhead in streamline you'll see what I mean.

Go multi-stroke, backstroke, bs, fly etc. & shorter distance work, practice sets.

My best sets are after a long warm-up outside of the pool (ie bike 1 hr)

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Thanks loxx0050 and SharkFM!


It's certain that an important factor in this is my inexperience with swimming and the day-to-day and in-session variation of my technique that comes with that.


SharkFM, there have been some indications that how I position my hands during windmilling affects how easy it is to exhale. So you might be on to something.


If technique starts to break down due to fatigue or whatever, the need for oxygen increases and so you want to breath more. So this is the demand-side of my problem.


On the supply side, a possible factor is the EIA/chlorine theory which would limit my oxygen supply. Whether this is a factor I cannot rule it out without a medical checkup, which I will do.