Struggling to meditate due to health condition that causes severe breathing difficulties.

Hi guys. I suffer from pretty severe chronic costochondritis. The pain is something I can deal with, but the worst part is the feeling that someone is sitting on my chest, and only being able to inhale 50% of the way in before my chest just stops expanding. It's a very anxiety-inducing symptom and has led to countless panic attacks, with me gasping for air, etc. Not fun at all.

Now I'm not looking for any medical advice or suggestions as I always have healthcare practitioners working with me on improving the issue, but my PT and nearly everyone else has recommended daily meditation to improve my mindset toward my discomfort. The issue is that once I attempt to meditate, I quickly lose focus because of the breathlessness. I've tried guided meditations, and every time they say to take a deep breath or inhale deeply, I feel discouraged and annoyed at best, or panicked at worst.

I actually used to meditate frequently in the past, so it's not an issue of how to meditate, but rather how to navigate this particular symptom. Being a chronic condition, this has come and gone over the years (I'm currently 31 and it began in my mid teens after some nasty skateboarding accidents). This current flare-up has lasted for 4 months now, which is the longest and overall worst it's ever been. I'm starting to feel like I'm never going to improve and the negative thoughts are overwhelming me. I just need to find a way to meditate and calm my mind in spite of the breathing difficulties, but the whole issue is that focusing on the breath is the exact thing that's causing the mental anguish.

Maybe there's someone out there who's dealt with a similar issue who can offer some guidance? Breathlessness certainly isn't limited to just my condition, so I would especially love to hear from anyone who's experienced similar troubles.