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Breathing at bedtime
Would be VERY Interested in hearing from anyone who can give advice for how you breathe when sleeping. My problem is when I lay down to sleep, I feel for a while that I can’t get a deep breath!! Now we all know that when we can’t breathe right ITS SCARY. I do my airway clearance with albuterol, 7% saline and Areobika, followed by Annoro inhaler. Now I know anxiety has a big role in this, because occasionally after about 15 to 20 mins. Trying to relax I can get that deep breath. Just like when you’re yawning. But then starts all over again RRT tells me it’s mucus accumulation, my O2 says stay around 95-97. On 2LPM at night. Any and all advice on tips, things I can do help myself fall asleep would be great. Which usually takes me 2-4 hrs. I have Hydroxyzine prescribed for me for anxiety. But it’s something that’s not recommended long term. I’m sure others have experienced the “not being able to take a deep breath” symptom. Thank you and have a great weekend
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@spider109 It took me awhile but at first I used to keep trying to clear mucus before bedtime and after some good conservations with my Chatbot I realized it is not necessary to get every little bit because you can do damage to your airway and make things worse. So now I do my saline and Aerobika twice during the day and get all I can and then let nighttime just come naturally and maybe a gentle huff or two to help it go.
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2 ReactionsI had asked about hydroxyzine for anxiety and was told it was very drying and it could cause the mucous to be thicker. My pulmonologist did not like the use of antihistamines that much, and the psych NP agreed it wouldn't be the right choice. It is an antihistamine that is also used off label for anxiety and to help with sleep.
@picartist so let me get this right, you don’t do any type of airway clearance before bedtime? What time of day do you do your last airway clearance?
@spider109 At bedtime I do a light Huff and maybe a few deep breaths to push out anything I think might be blocking. My last saline and Aerobika is at 3PM. I discovered it is not necessary to suck air like a track star or teenager. I am 88 years old, diagnosed 1.5 years ago.
In reply to Spider, : at bedtime when I can’t breathe normally ,even with O2 at 2 liters, I use Vicks VapoCool cough drops (it’s a little bit strong) it helps me clear the air passages .
If I do albuterol too close to bedtime, it keeps me awake. I do my second airway clearance routine at about 5:00pm. When I feel winded or I’m having a bad night I sleep on my stomach which I never normally do. It seems to help.
I have this experience also ... Recently discovered to have sleep apnea. I see in reading up on it that a lot of people, including me, have the most apneas (lapses in breathing) or hypoxia (restricted breathing that causes O2 to decline) when sleeping flat on our back because the back of the throat collapses more in this position. One solution is to sleep on the side. An incline helps too as others have noted.