Waking Up Not Breathing?

Ok, in recent weeks I have started to wake in the middle of the night like I am struggling to breathe like I am being chocked. It feels terrible and causes a momentary panic but then I manage to get a big gulp of air again. It has happened 3 or 4 times now, does anybody have any idea why this might be happening or if there are others that this happens to? TIA

reply to post by michael1983l


Have you ever heard of or looked up sleep apnea??
My buddy had a problem somewhat similar and thats what it turned out to be.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I have indeed heard of this but wasn't sure if this would be the case. I might ask my doctor about this.

Google "Sleep Apnea". It's a very real condition and leads to a wide variety of other very serious things you may never have even thought to associate with sleep problems. When I left trucking in 2010, they were talking about mandatory screening for all drivers after some screenings at places like Schneider National found as high as 80% positive rate for Apnea among existing drivers.

I have it and know it...just to a minor degree. My wife has it and I've listened to her late at night before she got her CPAP machine. She'll literally stop breathing entirely then go into gasping....settle into regular breath and slow down and stop to repeat it again. Over and over...all night long some nights.

I'd definitely get checked for that if you haven't been already or hadn't heard of it.

reply to post by michael1983l


Apnea most likley, but it can also be a sign of heart trouble or even night terrors. Best to get it checked by an MD who will probably have you do a sleep study in a sleep lab.

~Heff

I am a bit of a chronic snorer so it is sounding like Sleep Apnea might be a problem.

You have Sleep Apnea caused either by weight or genetic. Mine is genetic and sucks because after losing weight it changed nothing because my larynx and soft pallet collapses when I am laying down. I also had extremely large tonsils having them removed helped but it was late in life so if I had them out earlier it would possibly had prevented the collapse.

Go to your Dr. and have them refer you to a sleep Dr. who will do a sleep study. Then there is all kinds of stuff you can do (breathing devices, I would not recommend surgery...) Or if you are overweight losing the weight will help.

Thanks, I am carrying a little holiday weight at the moment but I do need to get it sorted as I don't like the look of this list of side effects


Left untreated, OSA can increase the risk of:

•high blood pressure (hypertension)
•heart attack
•stroke
•obesity
•type 2 diabetes

reply to post by michael1983l


Try sleeping on your side dude, If I sleep on my back I snore from the throat and the area seems to gently relax and collaps which brings me awake with a start.

My mate has sleep apnea, poor sod had to wear a mask to bed and discovere upon using it for the first time that he's allergic to the material, his face swelled up like a balloon.

My partner had sleep apnoea due to her weight, don't know if that applies here or not but it went away completely with her weight loss (she lost over 100 pounds)

Sleeping on your back is the worst position for apnea.
Sounds like you have it too....
I have to sleep on either side or my stomacH because of it....
I didnt know i had it for thirty years till one nite we were watching a program about it....and my wife said hey thats what you do all the time,
When you stop breathing i gave up waiting for you to kick back in and i just jab my elbow into your side hard....then you roll over on your side and breathe again.......

I found that elevated head (Propped up on pillows does let me breathe on my back....but cant lie flat....)
Anyways its better than how i used to be when i smashed my face and had to sleep with my thumb holding one nostril open......

I had that happen a few times when i was young and very skinny. I dont know what it was, but it hasnt happenned again in years.I was convinced id stop breathing one night. I just think I was having strange dreams and woke up gasping. But if I were you, id talk to my doctor. That can be a symptom of something dangerous.

I agree with most posters here and you need to lose some weight. If you are not sleeping next to anyone I'm sure the snoring is not affecting anyone. Check out an MD and they should look after you.

reply to post by michael1983l


Yep sleep apnea. Or other lung problems. If it's seriously affecting your sleep, see a doc.

To the posters saying lose weight - actually, not sleeping properly at night time can CAUSE weight gain. You need a good night's sleep in order to lose weight. But sleep apnea like many disorders can happen to skinny people too.