I’m wondering what this was that I experienced this morning.
I woke up from my sleep earlier than usual. Awake, yet sleepy, I lay in bed. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, I couldn’t breathe. I jumped off the bed and walked around to catch my breath again. It lasted just a few seconds, about 5-8 secs. My breathing was locked for this amount of time. A few faint gulps was all I could manage. Then, almost as suddenly, it was back to normal. I could breathe again. Seemingly no after effects.
This has happened twice, max. thrice in the past one year… the last time being a few months back. The pattern is the same. Wake up early morning, a good few hours earlier than usual. The “I will shortly resume sleep” kinda early wake up. A few minutes lying awake in bed, then, suddenly, difficulty breathing. A few seconds of walking around and gasping. Then all normal.
I can’t seem to figure any trigger common to the episodes. I have no history of medical ailments/diseases/etc. I’m an otherwise healthy 24yr old.
3 questions:
Identify this.
What can I do to alleviate it in the short term, assuming I have no medication or relievers at hand? There is effectively no time to get to a car and drive to a doc if the shortness of breath persists. Luckily, each episode lasted just a few seconds.
Is this a one-off incident that I can safely ignore, or is there case to see a doc ?
I don’t have experience with athsma, but not being able to breath for any amount of time seems pretty serious. I would go see a doctor just to check things out.
this sounds very much like what happens during sleep apnea. There are treatments that are very effective.
Do you tend to sleep on your back? or during these episodes do you recall if you had been on your back when you woke up?
Apnea is often characterized by “mouth breathing” while asleep. Sometimes just the drying of the throats lining can cause the throat to essentially stick to itself. Anyway if no one has told you you snore or stop breathing while asleep (assuming you don’t sleep alone) there are some simple glycerine sprays that will keep your mouth from drying out so much. If you do have problems with snoring or stopping breathing during sleep you should get seen at a sleep disorder clinic.
Apnea can cause very serious medical problems and shouldn’t be ignored or considered a trivial thing. The lack of oxygen can cause widespread problems throughout the body as well as interrupting sleep and causing day-time drowsiness and narcoleptic behavior.
I meant to add asthma is not an inability to draw a breath. In fact most asthmatics breath very hard during an attack. The problem is that swelling in the lung passageways seriously restrict both the amount of air drawn in and the effectiveness of the lungs in extracting oxygen. You would be able to draw a breath it just would not seem to help. Your situation is different and could also simply be that you ended up on your back while having a stuffy/runny nose and a little mucus thickened and temporarily gagged you.
You’re a PhuQan G Nyus! Excellent diagnosis. Yes, now that I think of it, each episode had as an ingredient a rather dry throat. I think a probable reason that I woke up each time was that I was thirsty.
Sleep on back, pretty much. No reports of mouth breathing or halted breathing while asleep, definitely no snoring.
Let’s assume I go in for a sleep apnea check up, is it a straight forward yes/no check up ? Or is it a more subjective diagnosis ?
On preview, no mucous formation, no runny nose. Clear breathing after episodes.
Did you jerk awake? As your body begins to slip into REM sleep, it also paralyzes itself so that you won’t respond physically to dream stimulation. Sometimes this happens when you are still conscious. This can often feel like you can’t breathe as well as can’t move. As soon as you manage to “jerk” yourself out of it, it’s as if nothing was wrong.
If this was not the case, then you may have some form of sleep apnea. Keep a tape recorder going in your room for a few nights and see if there is any abnormality in your breathing pattern.
I agree 100% with PhuQan G Nuys on his/her second post. I have asthma and I have never experienced anything like you describe. First of all, I am never unable to breath, it is just very difficult - like trying to suck up your milkshake when a piece of strawberry has blocked the end of the straw. I also weeze very heavily and cough. Furthermore, only the mildest of asthma attacks go away without pharmaceutical intervention, and they never last “a few minutes”.
My sister, OTOH, has sleep apnea, but she is never awake when it occurs. In fact, that’s what I have always understood sleep apnea to be - your body does not sufficiently wake you up to resume breathing immediately, thus the longish periods of time when you are not breathing. This does not occur when you are awake, you normally (if subconsciously) are aware you are not breathing when you are awake so it automaticlly resumes almost immediately. This is why it is called “sleep” apnea. But, of course, my sister could have misunderstood ther physician, or I could have misunderstood my sister’s retelling, or I could have misunderstood the OP.
But I can say with 99% certainty it is NOT asthma.
On preview: If you go in for a sleep study, you will be spending the night at the clinic. There is always some subjectiveness when the results are interpreted. Here’s a good description of what will happen.
I do experience shortness of breath on waking, which is a symptom of asthma, but not as you describe.
For one thing, I wouldn’t be able to “jump up” - I would be too weak.
Sometimes I am “unable to breath” - however, not as you describe.
The air gets in, it just doesn’t seem to reach my lungs - it sort of gets stuck at the top 5% of my lung and won’t go any further. This isn’t a real description of what’s happening physically, but thats what it feels like. Also, as lorinada said, it won’t go away on its own.
Personally, my vote is to see a Dr. Not being able to breath is nothing to be messed with.
The most significant abnormality in asthma is the ability to exhale not inhale, believe it or not. This relates to why peak flows in asthmatics are measured during exhalation. The mechanics are a bit complicated and I can’t find a good picture. Suffice it to say that during forced exhalation a positive pressure is generated within the chest to compress the lungs. Air traveling within the lung’s bronchioles (small air tubes) reduces the internal pressure of the bronchioles as an inverse function of the velocity of flow. In bronchioles narrowed by mucus and inflammation, the air velocity is higher and therefore the pressure lower. Remember that during exhalation, the bronchioles are being compressed by the respiratory muscles. When the internal pressure drops below a critical point, the bronchiole collapses, obstructing OUTWARD air flow. Inward air flow is impeded as well but not to as great an extent.
For certain, Xash you don’t have asthma or sleep apnea. Personally I think you’re developing primary alveolar hypoventilation akaOndine’s curse
Have you considered the possibility that you were having some sort of panic attack? I’ve had panic attacks that feel like what you describe, and thought I was dying! Does your heart race? Do you seem to have difficulty swallowing?
if you dont seem to have any other problems associated with sleep this probably is nothing but isolated instances of “cotton mouth”
A sleep study is usually pretty definitive and for people who have suffered from sleep apnea for a long time there is an immediate improvement in their lives from the very first day of treatment. Particularly where daytime grogginess and an inability concentrate have become a problem or you find yourself falling asleep very easily like while watching tv or other times where you did not intend to sleep, Yet still waking feeling tired.
My wife works in a sleep lab and it really is amazing seeing someone get a good nights sleep for the first time in sometimes YEARS. Apnea causes a lot of health problems just because of the bodily damage of low oxygen levels, but the cost in sleep is usually the more immediate problem. Apnea does cause you to awake which is why it interrupts sleep patterns so badly. When a sufferer quits breathing they eventually will rouse from their sleep to force a breath. This can happen every 30 seconds or only once or twice an hour but the constant rousals totally screw up the sleep cycle and tend to almost completly eliminate healthy REM sleep. I have seen people wake up after 1 night in the sleep lab that you would not believe was the same person that came in.
The testing usually is just a matter of taping wires all over then going to sleep. The techs monitor your breathing and your brain waves to spot arousals and if there are a significant number of breathing pauses or arousals (not all sleep disorders are related to apnea, “crazy legs” syndrome is one of the worst!) Then they might put a mask of sorts on your nose that basically blows puffs of air into your nose to keep the airways open. It is not as intrusive as it sounds and most patients find it fairly comfortable and well worth the resulting rest.
Thanks for all your responses… very educating and helpful information.
Cillasi, no jerking awake, no paralysis. Just the regular early morning wake up feeling.
Alias, no panic situation, no increase in heartbeat. Calm after the resumed breathing.
PhuQan, could you elaborate on “cotton mouth” ? I’m assuming a dry mouth scenario. Plus I’m hoping these were isolated instances. Is that likely ?
Another point I thought I’d add… I usually sleep 10-12 hrs. Does this signify anything ? And when I get a good 10 hours there isn’t any drowsiness, etc.
Excellent diagnosis. Yes, now that I think of it, each episode had as an ingredient a rather dry throat. I think a probable reason that I woke up each time was that I was thirsty.