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Gasping for air/sleep
I went to the dr recently and totally forgot to bring this up.
Does anyone do this? i have issues falling asleep....I start falling asleep and I guess I kinda am sleeping and I feel woozy/lightheaded and then all of a sudden I jump up gasping for air, like i was not breathing or holding my breath.
I do have a heart murmur that the dr found was serious and i do have MVP and have a slow leak in my heart. Not sure if this related or sleep apnea. Anyone??
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Posted 5/3/12 8:25 PM  |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
Almost definitely sleep apnea. Definitely get it checked out at a sleep center. Millions of people have it (including myself), and when you get it fixed, your health will improve a lot.
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| Posted 5/4/12 9:41 AM |
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PhyllisNJoe
My Box Is Broken
Member since 6/11 9145 total posts
Name:
Phyllis
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
Sounds like sleep apnea or acid reflux. Both can cause this. If it only happens "sometimes" I'd say acid reflux. Sleep apnea is all the time (even though you may not wake up each night from it)
This happens to me sometimes. It's more likely to happen if I eat before bed and have been stressed out.
It's a VERY scary feeling.
If it happens all the time, see the Dr.
Message edited 5/4/2012 1:15:05 PM.
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| Posted 5/4/12 1:14 PM |
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
Posted by GoldenRod
Almost definitely sleep apnea. Definitely get it checked out at a sleep center. Millions of people have it (including myself), and when you get it fixed, your health will improve a lot.
I was scared of that. Can I ask where you went for a sleep study and what does it entail? I guess it happens more than I want to admit b/c I am scared.
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| Posted 5/4/12 5:20 PM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
Posted by BallerinaGirl
Posted by GoldenRod
Almost definitely sleep apnea. Definitely get it checked out at a sleep center. Millions of people have it (including myself), and when you get it fixed, your health will improve a lot.
I was scared of that. Can I ask where you went for a sleep study and what does it entail? I guess it happens more than I want to admit b/c I am scared.
I went here: http://www.sleepsolutionsny.com/ in Smithtown.
For me, there was an initial consultation where they checked some basic things. I had an overnight sleep study for a baseline. They hooked up some wires all over my head, chest and ankle (for restless leg syndrome). You have a private room, and they just monitor your breathing, heartrate, and some other stats. You'll have another visit to review what they found. At that visit, they'll most likely get you set up with a CPAP or similar machine. Then, after a few weeks, you'll do another overnight study to see how it's working.
For me, the CPAP was bothering me more than the apnea, so I was fitted with an oral appliance. It's like a mouthguard you see athletes wear, but it's top and bottom teeth. It pushes the lower jaw out to open the airway. With the oral appliance, I went from stopping breathing 84 times an hour to 15 an hour, and that was just at the lowest setting. Anything up to 10 times an hour is normal.
Apnea can definitely have a negative affect on your heart, so you should really get it taken care of.
http://www.sleepassociation.org/index.php?p=sleepapneapublic
It is estimated that more than 12 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea.
You're definitely not alone!
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| Posted 5/4/12 8:02 PM |
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
oh wow. Thanks for the info. I am going to check it out. For me, I can't wear an oral mouthpiece, I tried when I had tmj and i threw it across the room in my sleep and my then puppy used it as a chew toy, it doesn't work for me...maybe they will have another solution. Thanks for the info. I may have more questions as I go forward with this..stay tuned and again, thanks.
Oh wait, one question, did you try a pillow wedge to prop yourself up with? I am looking into that and they were pricy, not sure if it would help or not.
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| Posted 5/4/12 8:18 PM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
Posted by BallerinaGirl
oh wow. Thanks for the info. I am going to check it out. For me, I can't wear an oral mouthpiece, I tried when I had tmj and i threw it across the room in my sleep and my then puppy used it as a chew toy, it doesn't work for me...maybe they will have another solution. Thanks for the info. I may have more questions as I go forward with this..stay tuned and again, thanks.
Oh wait, one question, did you try a pillow wedge to prop yourself up with? I am looking into that and they were pricy, not sure if it would help or not.
For me, a pillow wedge wouldn't really do anything. That might help for acid reflux, but I need to keep my airway open, and sitting up a little won't really do much.
There are several options, so what works for one person may not work for another, and vice-versa. There are lots of people who love their CPAP, but for me, the oral appliance worked so much better. They have lots of different types of masks as well, since different people have different ideas of what is comfortable.
If you get officially diagnosed with sleep apnea, you'll have a starting point, and you can work from there. If they find out that it's not apnea, then you won't have to worry about a CPAP or oral appliance, but you'll have to find out what is causing the gasping in the middle of the night.
No matter what, finding out what the problem is is the most important thing at this point.
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| Posted 5/4/12 8:30 PM |
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Re: Gasping for air/sleep
Posted by GoldenRod
Posted by BallerinaGirl
oh wow. Thanks for the info. I am going to check it out. For me, I can't wear an oral mouthpiece, I tried when I had tmj and i threw it across the room in my sleep and my then puppy used it as a chew toy, it doesn't work for me...maybe they will have another solution. Thanks for the info. I may have more questions as I go forward with this..stay tuned and again, thanks.
Oh wait, one question, did you try a pillow wedge to prop yourself up with? I am looking into that and they were pricy, not sure if it would help or not.
For me, a pillow wedge wouldn't really do anything. That might help for acid reflux, but I need to keep my airway open, and sitting up a little won't really do much.
There are several options, so what works for one person may not work for another, and vice-versa. There are lots of people who love their CPAP, but for me, the oral appliance worked so much better. They have lots of different types of masks as well, since different people have different ideas of what is comfortable.
If you get officially diagnosed with sleep apnea, you'll have a starting point, and you can work from there. If they find out that it's not apnea, then you won't have to worry about a CPAP or oral appliance, but you'll have to find out what is causing the gasping in the middle of the night.
No matter what, finding out what the problem is is the most important thing at this point.
Knowing my luck, the day i go for a study, i sleep like a baby!!! lols
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| Posted 5/4/12 8:37 PM |
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