Shortless of breath: sleep apnea?

Question

I am NOT one to self diagnose so thought i'd take the time to ask a question. The other night (and this has never happened before) i went to bed and i was fine, but while in dream i could hear the sound of wheezing. I woke up in a sudden fright with what felt like no air, and realised the wheezing was me. It was scary but i went back to sleep, only to wake up again with no air 10 minutes later. In the morning i was ok, but a little short of breath. I have MILD asthma, and have only ever had one attack in my life and only require a puffer once a yr maybe at most. It wasn't like asthma however, it wasnt that i couldnt get oxygen, its that i had to MAKE myself breathe, it wasnt happening naturally, like i had to keep taking deep breaths...it was causing me to panic and was very scary. Any ideas? Same experience?

Answer 1

sleep apnea

Answer 2

Is it possible that you had a nightmare and was scared? I have done this before,had a nightmare and during that nightmare I was fighting to "get away" and woke myself up with heavy breathing,breathlessness,frettfulness etc.
Even though you are slightly asthmatic you could still be having breathing problems as a result of the asthmas that may just come on at night.
Things that didn't use to bother us at an younger age can eventually catch up with us in later years.
Is there also a possibility that you are a few pounds overweight?
Sometimes when sleeping on our backs we can experience shortness of breath as the weight of our bodies lies heavy on our lungs and extra weight can add to that problem.
It might not hurt to have a night time oxygen test done,sometimes we don't breathe properly at night and we cut ourselves short of oxygen and can have the symptoms you speak of and as they saying goes. . . check with your Dr if the problem persists and it wasn't just a rare occurance.

Answer 3

I think you might be long overdue for a sleep study.

It's relatively simple to do a sleep study by yourself. All you do is you set up a video camera in your bedroom and start recording the moment you set your alarm clock.

Then, when you get the chance, take your collection of videos to your MD and ask him to either look them over, or to refer you to a sleep specialist.

But, yes, waking up with shortness of breath, if it wasn't just a one-time thing, can be something serious to get looked into.

Me, I've done that self-sleep study on myself, because my ex-wife told me that I stopped breathing while I was sleeping, which is what sleep apnea is all about.

What I found out was that I was breathing just fine, and that every so often, I would take a sudden, deeper breath.. but I do that when I'm awake, too, so, no, for me, it wasn't any kind of apnea, just something that was annoying my ex-wife, that she wanted me to stop doing, because it was disturbing her sleep.

Answer 4

I would see your Physician about that. It really don't sound like sleep apnea. Sever asthma attacks to me feel like i am being strangled. You may very well been having a panic attack in your sleep caused by a dream ( its happened to me ). But if it happens again make sure you go see your DR

Answer 5

yes it does sound like you do have sleep apnea. my mother has that and it is usually hereditary, so someone probably had it in your family before you. it could have been undiagnosed, like for heart atache or heart failure. it sounds like you have been doing research and that is good. not to be personal, but if you are a little heavy then it is more possible for it to be sleep apnea. it usually occurs in people that are larger. both my uncles and my mom and my deceased grandfather had it, so it runs in the family. if you feel tired and always out of energy and even if you get many hours of sleep you still feel tired, then you probably have sleep apnea. i suggest that you research a little more and see if you have some of the side affects. you should not wait too long because this is a fatal disorder. i would talk to your daughter and he/she will give you a number of a specialist. they will have you stay overnight and watch you sleep at their facility. they will hook you up to machines/wires to monitor your heart and such. if you want anymore information give me a ring.

Answer 6

I think you need to see a pulmonologist to check
Your lungs for any fluid because it's the main reason for wheezing and you can't sleep for
Lack of Oxygen.

Answer 7

2 suggestions
1. See a doctor or talk to it about a parent or spuos

2. It may have ben a bad dream and an over reaction (Like talking in your sleep)