New Post-COVID Symptom: Shortness of Breath during Sleep

Hello, and welcome to the post-Covid discussion on Mayo Connect. There are quite a few people here who share the journey with you.
However, waking at night gasping for breath is a very serious symptom, and needs to be brought to your provider's attention. In part to look for underlying heart and lung damage due to Covid, and also because you need good rest to continue to heal.

Have you tried sleeping in a semireclining position, either on pillows or a wedge, or in a recliner? Not as a substitute for seeing the doc, but until you can get in.

Please let us know what you learn.
Sue

I agree with Sue…… contact your doc.

Since my Covid experience my blood oxygen levels have been low. If I intentionally take slightly deeper breathes during the day I am ok. My blood oxygen is around 92-94 and up to 98 if deep breathing is done.

However, at night, I can’t do that and sleep at the same time so I am on oxygen. Not sure how to get around it as I have yet to find any doc or institution that has any help.

If there is a significant time delay before you can see your doc you might get a finger blood oxygen meter at your local pharmacy or eBay. If the reading during the day is below 93 or so then you may want to rent a medical oxygen concentrator until you can get in.

My experience is that there is a huge focus on getting everyone vaccinated and far less focus on therapeutics and post Covid support As a result you may feel like you are having to go it alone. Don’t give up.

@melonrush13 getting a good night's sleep is important for healing. I hope that you saw the helpful tips from Sue and Mark. Have you been able to talk to your doctor about this new symptom of being short of breath during sleep?

My pulmonary doctor told me that according to my lung x-rays, the COVID-19 I had back in December 2020 had left severe scarring of my lungs causing shortness of breath requiring oxygen at night and sometimes during the day. Initially, he said it should heal on it's own but despite prayers and medication (inhalers) healing has not taken place. Fortunately, I haven't given up as I have some great prayer partners (Jesus and Christian friends). Colleen, I wish you well.

Both my husband and I have suffered with shortness of breath since having Covid, 8-months ago (we've both a Regeneron infusion (he had two Pfizer vaccinations, I had one Moderna)), I have no real shortness of breath problem when sleeping but after walking up the stairs, for instance, I have to rest for several minutes to catch my breath. My husband has similar complaints. There has been no lessening of this issue. If it is caused by scarring, I doubt that it will ever go away. When "they" say that things will go away, how do they really know? Such comments have no basis in fact—they're assumptions.

@aheid @melonrush13 and @dandydon - There are exercises for the lungs that can help compensate for the scarring and damage caused by infection or disease. I have been doing them for three years to help with my lung conditions - perhaps you can be referred to a respiratory therapist for help.
Sue

I do breathing exercises already.

aheid,
I agree with your perspective that "they" are making assumptions on a great many things. Unfortunately, too many want us to think Covid, Covid vaccines and post covid issues are settled "Science". And they are not.

Having said that, the science has to start somewhere and those observations that provide direction towards solutions can take time. To be fair, getting to a Polio vaccine, antibiotics, heart transplants took years to get to. I wish it were different but I have to reset me expectations so I am not constantly frustrated as it relates to how long this will take.

I dont have any specifics on what you should do. What I will share is what has worked for me.

I was offered many of the same exercises that respiratory therapists and a few of them worked. But not all of them and not enough of them so I am on this journey of recovery by myself. Or let me rephrase that to say I am no longer looking for someone to tell me the solution. I am my own best health care advocate and if someone in the medical community does not have an answer, with all due respect to them, I am moving on.

The approach I am on seems to be working for me and the following is my thought process.

1. what is my lung capacity? When I first got out I could not inhale past 1500 on the little breather thing. I kept at it and now I max out that little plastic thing. No one told me, including respiratory therapist, on how to increase it other than do it once an hour. What I learned from the athletic community is that if you inhale to your max and hold that breathe for about 3 seconds and then gently exhale that can help stretch your lungs. At least it did for me.
2. "how" am I breathing? Another thing I picked up from an elite athletic trainer(prof cycling team doc) is that there is "belly" breathing and "chest" breathing. They train the cyclists to maximize both. So I gave it a shot and it did make a difference for me. At first it was not a lot but it was part of the solution so far. The "belly" breathing starts with inhaling through my nose at a moderate rate making sure that the inhalation comes from pushing my belly button out and NOT expanding my chest. Hold it for 3 seconds and blow out in a steady stream through you mouth sort of like you are blowing out birthday cake candles. When exhaling work on pushing your belly button back towards your spine and hold that for 3 seconds.
For "chest" breathing I was directed to do almost the same thing but hold my stomach still and expand my upper chest and rib cage to the point where it felt a smidge tight or uncomfortable. Hold, exhale through my mouth as mentioned above. Breathe in and out like that for a few minutes for each set. It may sound crazy but it helped and now I can do more of them.
3. How much breathing is required to keep my heart rate at a constant level? I got this from a general physical therapist.....After being sedentary I am not as "fit" as I was. The recommendation was that I do more cardio training. At first it started, for me, walking around the room until I was winded. I then got my oxygen thing that goes on my finger that gives me blood oxygen levels and heart rate. The physical therapist gave me a general set of expectations on how I would improve. I am not too proud to say when I walked around the backyard the first few times my heart rate was at almost 130. But I kept at it never letting my heart rate get above 130 and a month later I walked a full mile at 5300 foot elevation. Next step is to do an exercise bike and keep improving. Overall fitness is a big part of this portion
4. I am just starting to understand some of the more sophisticated ways improving my ability to not be so winded. Most of this is outside my knowledge yet but almost all good endurance athletes use these. I think my next step is to get a heart rate monitor that I can wear while exercising that does not fall off my finger. The conversations so far are around things like max oxygen uptake, etc.

Not sure if this helps but just because there is no true "science" out there yet I refuse to believe I cant get better. I want and deserve the life I had before my vaccinations and subsequent week long Covid hospital experience.

I hope in some small way the above can help and that my writing is not too confusing. Dont give up and remember that there is, as far as I can tell, no real science around most of this. We are really to early in that process.

Best,
Mark

It sounds as though you are committed—that's a good thing. I do similar breathing exercises and use the spirometer as well. I also ride an exercise bike (and have been for years). Curiously I never seem short of breath—at least that I notice—when I ride, just when I climb the stairs or walk a distance.

@aheid

Hi,
Walking is a weight bearing exercise and uses different muscles than using an excise bike. Several people in my active senior class have no problems with most of the exercises we do but can’t run in place for any length of time. And we do breathing exercises after each cardio or weight bearing exercise. Yet they can pedal away on the gym’s bike. Some are overweight and have underlying medical conditions. Both the bike and walking are excellent activities that can be done daily. Perhaps you can start walking at a slow pace for a short distance and build up endurance. There is a woman in my subdivision who could only walk out of her house a short distance to the gate all summer before getting out of breath. I don’t know her medical history but today she is walking half of our subdivision with a spring in her walk and her pony tail swinging. She does this on a daily basis and is a joy to see.

@mark58 has a wonderful and sensible approach to his health. Listen to your body but try to increase your walking on a daily basis and continue your breathing exercises which are so important for everybody…healthy or not. I hope you are doing them correctly. Baby steps first, set goals and I bet you will be surprised at yourself several weeks or months down the line. Get a simple pedometer and log the steps you do daily…that’s a great motivator. Also, I assume you have gotten a medical checkup. But first…..do what you think is best .

I walk 2.5 miles daily, have a fitness watch with a base goal of 5000 steps but usually have 9 to 10000 on an average day. I also do some breathing exercises on my walk. If I don’t reach my base goal I get a little man character on my watch with an admonition that I was not active. So my watch nags me lol and I have not missed a day in 6 months.

Would love to hear of your progress.

FL Mary