Feel like I'm stopping breathing when I fall asleep

Posted , 56 users are following.

Hi has anyone ever experience d the feeling oif stopping breathing just as falling asleep? It wakes me up and then I darent go to sleep in case I do stop breathing completely. Its just happened again now but I've been ok past couple of nights prior to this episode c

6 likes, 73 replies

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    Yes i have a obsession wit my breathing to i always pay attention to my breathing to but when im sleep i dont wake up tho but when i wake up in the morning it'll start again but it leaves and it comes
    • Posted

      I have had it the last couple of nights. just when i lay down to go to bed. I just want some sleep. I just started taking magnesium because it was a little low. I do not have it during the day just at night. I am just believing it is my anxiety.

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    I have the same problem. That's why I have trouble falling asleep. I only slept for 4 hours last night.
    • Posted

      4 hours is actually completely normal i only slept 4 hours every night since 4 years my therapist said that itā€™s normal due to puberty. What isnā€™t normal is 1/2 hours which i sleep atm due to depression and anxietyĀ 
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    Definetely up there on horrible panic attack symptom! It has happened to me too sometimes i end uo with a cold after or im ill with one at the time. I have had it where i have woken with it. It passes real fast and leaves me breathless for a moment and scared and i force myself back to sleep. But yes and yes it is scary. I keep wondering if my throat gets dry or something like that but i try so hard to not feed into that.Ā 
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      Yes thatā€™s happened to me and try not to dwell on it but itā€™s hard. Glad u shared
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    I went to my doctor over this and she said I actually have very mild vertigo... gave me tablets for it and it hasn't happened since.. I cannot remember the name of the tablets. But basically she said its a sensation like you've stopped breathing and it's all to do with the inner ear! It's crazy because I always thought it was sleep apnoea!!
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      Hi Rachel, I see that you posted this a couple of years ago...how are you doing? Did you stop taking the anti-vertigo medication? What was the medication called? Did they treat your ears? If so, how? Iā€™ve been experiencing the same issue and when you commented, the lightbulb in my head went off...my ears having been bothering me!!! I have a ton of pressure and the lymph nodes below my ears have been swollen and sore! Anyway, if you could share some info, I would appreciate it! I havenā€™t slept much the last three nights and Iā€™m falling apart!😩

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      Cynthia, did you get to the bottom of your issue? Did it turn out to be tied to vertigo? I seem to be experiencing exactly what you are for almost 4 nights now and looking for any help i can get. Thank you
    • Posted

      You know...Iā€™m not sure. After I posted this message, I went to an acupuncturist. It really helped! I got a good night sleep which helped a lot! (The lack of sleep really aggravated my anxiety) A couple things that helped my ears was gargling with salt water, steaming my head and saline nose spray.

      But in the last 12 days since this post, Iā€™ve concluded that the root of my issues (not including my ears) is perimenopause. My progesterone level is low compared to my estrogen which causes stress. Plus, my ability to handle major stress is very low. So, when my mom passed away unexpectedly 2 months ago, I fell apart. That anxiety (which I had never encountered before) scared the crap out of me. I thought something was terribly wrong. That caused me even more stress.

      Anyway, the point I want to make is that I think hormones are at the root of a lot of our issues (as women). I would get checked for that by a doctor who is open to ā€œbioidentical hormonesā€.

      Iā€™m doing saliva testing soon and hope to start some form of ā€œnaturalā€ hormone replacement within the next month. Iā€™ll let you know if it helps.

      Good luck ladies! We are in the same boat!!

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      Omg thatā€™s what I thought it was to. Ā Canā€™t believe vertigo can do that. Ā They sent something called Hydroxine for Anxiety, and sinuses. Ā Itā€™s an histamine. Good to know. Ty
    • Posted

      Wow! Good to know! My son complained of this, and he also had ear problems from a sinus infection. Wonder if Dramamine would help?

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      Do you have dizziness with it when it happens? Does it happen with sudden movement or can you just be laying there sleeping and it happen? The reason I ask is because I've had vertigo before but my episodes this time seem a bit different. Maybe vertigo can happen in others forms (?) but it doesn't happen every night, just once in awhile.

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