Waking up struggling to breath and gasping for air

Hi Mary @marygarcia47175, Welcome to Connect. I'm sorry to hear you are struggling to get a good nights sleep. Have you been diagnosed with sleep apnea? Just wondering if you are describing a problem with your CPAP mask and struggling to breath using it?

@johnbishop no I haven't been diagnosed with sleep apnea I have an appointment for a sleep study test on january 4th 2022 but i have been struggling to breathe at home while i'm sleeping

@marygarcia47175, You will notice we changed the title of your discussion a little to better describe your symptoms and hopefully bring in other members with experience. It's great to hear that you have a sleep study test scheduled already even if it is next year. I'm wondering if you might find the following article helpful while waiting for your sleep study and other members to share their experience.

Sleep Apnea: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, and Natural Remedies: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/sleep-apnea.htm

Have you tried elevating the head of the bed a little? Sometimes that will help breathing when your head is a little higher than your body. You can easily make the head of the bed a little higher by placing a pillow or folded heavy blanket under your mattress at the head of the bed.

Hi, @marygarcia47175. I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea a little over three years ago and know exactly how it feels to wake up and feel like that. It’s scary and feels terrible. I just recently had sleep surgery to correct my issues, but I would like to pass along some suggestions that I was given by my sleep specialist that might help until your sleep study in January: use a nasal saline spray in both nostrils before bed; place a BreatheRight (or some other brand) nasal strip across your nose (it can help open up the nose a little more); sleep on your side and not on your back (Look on the internet for ways to keep you off your back when sleeping, like tennis balls in the back of your shirt or some other device. I’ve used several.); like someone else commented, raise the head of your bead; and make sure your humidifier filter is clean. I will also tell you that I began to get really anxious about going to bed or sleeping in general, so listening to soothing, relaxing music, taking a warm shower or bath, and using lavender scented lotion (or any favorite soothing scent, oil, etc.) helped me, too.

Hello @andbsilver, Welcome to Connect. Thank you for sharing some great tips to help @marygarcia47175 until she has her sleep study in January. Do you mind sharing how your sleep apnea treatment is going after being diagnosed 3 years ago?

@bsilver no problem I will try it thank you so much and I will try these techniques when I sleep or before I go to sleep at night

@johnbishop I don’t mind sharing at all, but do want to preface my response with two important points: (1) My sleep apnea journey began suddenly and unexpectedly due to an unusual and uncommon problem from cervical spine surgery 3.5 years ago; and (2) I am in the early healing/recovery stage (2.5 weeks post-op) of sleep surgery. That being said, I was originally diagnosed with moderate obstructive sleep apnea three years ago this month. I immediately began using a CPAP machine and working with my local sleep specialist to titrate it to a comfortable and therapeutic level. Unfortunately, I was having problems with it that we just couldn’t overcome. Fast forward a couple of months to arriving at Mayo for help. The sleep specialist listened to my story and the issues I was experiencing with the CPAP machine, along with the results of my sleep study. He suspected an upper airway obstruction and sent me to one of their head and neck surgeons for evaluation. To make a long story much shorter, the surgeon and his team discovered the hardware from my cervical spine surgery was pressing into my upper airway and causing the obstruction. Unfortunately, my local surgeon who performed the cervical spine fusion did not feel inclined to help me. Fortunately, both the sleep specialist and head and neck surgeon at Mayo stepped in and discussed my case with a neurosurgeon there and he agreed to (thankfully) remove the hardware. Fast forward another two months and the hardware was successfully removed and I immediately felt better. That lasted for a couple of months before I realized I still had a problem, although not nearly as awful as before. Between then and now, I struggled with mild obstructive sleep apnea, tried CPAP several more times, tried an oral appliance, and all sorts of other things. Over this past year, I began experiencing worsening daytime symptoms: constant debilitating fatigue, hypertension, tachycardia, chest pressure/pain when laying down and on my sides, and worsening anxiety among other things. As it turns out, I have a smaller upper airway to begin with and the hardware placed on my cervical spine changed just enough that, even with the hardware removed, my upper airway was even more narrowed. As my pulmonologist described it, it was like I was breathing through a straw, and I could feel where the narrowing was due to the resistance I felt when inhaling. Which brings me to present day, the same Mayo head and neck surgeon had been providing care throughout this time, and eventually the only other reasonable option was to try and open up my airway at the level of obstruction. I had a modified UPPP with tonsillectomy, as well as a hyoid suspension. I woke up from this surgery, even with swelling and pain, feeling like air was passing easier and better. I still feel that great feeling. Though there are no guarantees with this type of surgery, I am hopeful that this will be the end of my obstructive sleep apnea and breathing difficulties. I certainly feel better and am no longer experiencing the problems before.