Loss of breath at night?

Question

This happens almost every night now. I woke up once or twice finding myself gasping for air. The most scary part comes after that. My heart beats so fast and I feel like it seems my soul is being pulled out forcefully. I feel like I'm dying. But this happens pretty quick less than 2 mins. Then after that I can sleep normal.

Right now I think I'm overweight. I don't do exercise. It's been years, my last work out was probably a few years ago. I started my diet last week, but since last weekend was my bday, my diet plan has been nothing but a total mess.
Here's a bit about me:
M, 5'10, 183 lbs.

Do you guys have any idea whats going on?

Answer 1

I suspect sleep apnea. Being overweight is one risk factor, along with growing older. It's more common in men. The soft tissues in your throat fall back during sleep and can block your airway. There's surgery and something called a positive airway machine for help for this type of apnea. There is more than one type of apnea, though.

Here's an informational link:
http://www.sleepapnea.org/info/index.html

Apnea puts tremendous strain on your body. Need to at least get checked for it. The doctor hooks you up to a machine that monitors how many of those episodes you have at night. Some people stop breathing many times while asleep but have no recollection of it.

Though I'm thin, I'm older and have occasional times that happens. I sleep on my side to avoid the problem.

According to the Body Mass Index, you fall into the only slightly overweight range, so I don't know if that's a reason for apnea. (If a person is very athletic and muscular, the BMI charts give a false evaluation.) But if you're interested in knowing about it for your dieting efforts, here's links for one BMI calculator:

Pounds: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
Metric: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmi-m.htm

Answer 2

You could have sleep apnea. Do you know if you snore a lot or loudly? Sleep apnea happens when the folds in the back of the throat fall shut when you're sleeping and you can't breathe. The body wakes itself up many times during the night. It can become serious. Sometimes "night terrors" like you're experiencing can be linked to sleep apnea.

Being overweight can contribute too. You don't sound terribly overweight for your height, but losing 20 pounds would make you feel a lot better and perhaps help this breathing problem. You need to see a doctor and talk to him about sleep apnea, and if he blows you off, like doctors like to do, find someone else.

Get back on your diet, and start walking. My boyfriend's dropped 10 pound just from giving up Coke. You can do it too.

Good luck, bud!

Answer 3

Hiya. I have 2 guesses. Poor you by the way.

It could be panic attacks (sounds like this to me). They can strike at any time, you lose your breath, get tight chested, your heart beats so hard and you feel like you are going to fall off the earth.

I suffered with panic attacks for over a year (last year) due to stress. They were so awful. Felt they were killing me and there was nothing i could do about them. I just had to hang on to anything i could and cry my way through them till they passed and the next one would hit.

Or it could be asthma. Symptoms are similar to panic attacks with the restricted breathing patterns and panic along side. The symptoms usually worsen at night.

Go and see your GP. Whatever is happening, there is an underlying problem, either physically or psychologically.

Get your blood pressure checked out and vitals. The worry of what is happening to you is contributing to the night awakenings.

Stay focused and count to ten slowly, taking slow controlled breaths while you are having an episode.

Hope you start to feel better soon x

Answer 4

You may want to stick to sleeping on your side, and keep on your diet and get on an exercise program. Your not healthy and your body is trying to tell you it's time for a change. Shortness of breath comes from an over worked heart and the heart rate increase is probably due to the anxiety caused by the lack of oxygen. Try not to eat anything before you go to bed and make sure you are not sleeping in a cluttered bed, so you can move freely. I hope this helped.