Forgetting To Breath!!

[shannon]

I've developed a new symptom, and it seems to be getting worse. I often feel "air hunger" .... I am not sure what to do about it. Anyone have lifestyle tips that would help this?

I woke up with a jump at 4am today, and I felt like I had not been breathing. I had to sit up in bed and take very deep breaths for a long time. Then I was scared to fall back asleep. I can tell that this is not a structural problem with my lungs because I am capable of breathing. It just seems that my body is forgetting to breath or something!! I am going to TRY to get ahold of Dr. Low this week... hopefully he will have some tips.

If anyone has experienced this and can give me some pointers, please do. Thanks so much!!

Shannon

[Ernie]

Hi,

What about getting a sleep study?

[calypso]

Shannon,

I have nonstop problems with air hunger and also with "forgetting" to breathe. I also have what I'd call restriction in my chest, which makes it feel like my lungs cannot expand. This all began when my POTS began. There is no test that picks up any abnormalities with my lungs or otherwise, so I have been dealing with it on my own for the last 2 years.

Sadly, nothing really helps, except sometimes if I lay down I feel my breathing is slower and more relaxed. But it still feels restricted. For you, this may be an episodic thing -- maybe it will come during times of stress or when you're having a flareup of symptoms.

I've tried some pretty weird things to fix this -- acupuncture, vibration therapy (where you basically hum for long periods of time in different keys), massage, reiki, etc. I probably wasted a few hundred dollars to get nowhere.

Anyway, thought I'd share.

Amy

[MomtoGiuliana]

A sleep test would be helpful if this is happening a lot at night. Some POTS patients do have sleep apnea. I also get this symptom--these days, rarely.

Katherine

[Maxine]

I had those symptoms before when I wake up suddenly---I'm usually coughing---gasping for air. I went for a sleep study, but couldn't sleep both times---and I don't normally have a chronic sleep problem.

I do wake up a couple times a night---rarely sleep 8 hours straight through.

I will be going for another sleep study on the 18th of this month. This time I'll take klonopin with me----a tiny amount can knock me out. They noticed some oxygen loss in light sleep---but since I never got into deep sleep the studies were incomplete.

This is something you should have evaluated further to rule out any serious problems. I wouldn't worry too much---just make sure you get it checked out. Some people with ANS dysfunction have sleep apnea---or other sleep disturbances.

Maxine :0)

[momofpreciousboy]

At my worst, this would happen, and never figured it out. I always wondered if I would wake up the next day. I attributed it to just everything being totally messed up. It is very scary and in my case for sure related to POTS. If it makes you feel better, it has not happened in a while and stopped after I started getting better and on beta blockers. I hope it stops, as it is very scary. JenniferTX

[juliegee]

Hi Shannon-

How frightening! And yes, it happened to me after anasthesia. I woke up in the recovery room with all kinds of alarms going off and doctors and nurses shouting at me to breath or they would intubate me. I replied, "All you had to do was ask." Once I was awake, I breathed fine. One time occurence. Perhaps it won't happen for you again. I hope so. If it does happen again, definately go for a sleep study. Best of luck.

Julie

[shannon]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the replies and tips. I'm still not sure what to do. I'll have to think it over. I called Dr. Low, but he hasn't returned my call. Hopefully he'll have some ideas.

Thanks so much!!

Take care, everyone!

Thanks,

Shannon

[Dawg Tired]

My cat wakes me up once in a while. I am gasping for air and my heart is racinh. Once He was plastered on my chest purring loudly and licking my nose, sometimes he is just licking my nose. He usually doesn't sleep on the bed but I know they are sensitive to "their" humans breathing patterns.... So, I wonder if he senses when I quit breathing and wakes me up.