What's happening to me? Strange awakenings.

[icipher]

I have idiopathic central sleep apnea that I've been treating for almost three years with 100% compliance. I have never missed a night.

For the past 6 months or so I have been suffering through periodic episodes that I can only describe as terrible. A few nights a week, I will wake up within the first 3 hours or sleep in a state of panic/terror, feeling like I cannot breath. I take the mask off in a frenzy(full face mask) and wake my wife as I think I am dying and need her to help me. After about 5 seconds, I generally calm back down, put my mask on and go back to bed.

This is scaring me because I don't know what it could be. I am not dreaming, and per my graph below, there is usually never an event marked on my graphs when I check the next morning.

I don't have any existing health problems that I am aware of, other than being a bit overweight. I am only 32. Does anyone care to hypothesize about what MIGHT be going on here? Or how to stop it?

Here is an example from last night when this happened. You can see I took my mask off and got up when this happened. This usually ONLY happens during the first 1-3 hours of sleep, more specifically, usually in the first hour.

[Julie]

When is the last time you had a proper, thorough cardiac check-up?

Don't sit around waiting for someone here to have magic answers... talk to your doctor even when your Cpap results look good. Something new is going on and you need to look into it.

[icipher]

When is the last time you had a proper, thorough cardiac check-up?

Don't sit around waiting for someone here to have magic answers... talk to your doctor even when your Cpap results look good. Something new is going on and you need to look into it.

Had a cardiac checkup within the last 6 months and asked the doctor about this. They had no thoughts about it and didn't really know how to respond. What leads you to wonder if it's cardiac?

I knew it'd be a long shot to ask here, but I thought MAYBE there would be someone else who had similar experiences.

[Julie]

Are you taking any meds? Do you drink alcohol close to bedtime? Something external that 'goes off' 3 hrs into your sleep? Just trying (as I'm sure you have) to find some explanation.

Any chance you're covering the CO2 vent holes with bedding lately (new bed, or ??)?

And whether or not you had a checkup 6 mos ago, your doctor should look for any new issues (I know you're only 32, but many things don't care) that might be present and if he's at a loss (done bloodwork for thyroid?) you need to either see a qualified sleep doc, pulmonologist, neurologist, someone who will actively look for answers.... not everything's about OSA.

[kteague]

Any reason to think of reflux? Or vocal cord spasms? I had an episode one night that seemed to be, according to all descriptions of this happening, the vocal cords clamped shut. Thought I would surely die. After treating my OSA the GERD resolved and haven't had an episode like this since. I don't know how one would diagnose such a thing, but if it is reflux, you could try elevating the head of your bed a few inches and see if it helps.

[rick blaine]

It could be night terrors, also called sleep terrors. See:

https://www.sleepassociation.org/patien ... p-terrors/

[jweeks]

What leads you to wonder if it's cardiac?

Hi,

I was having something like this happen. Office check on my heart looked OK. They did a 3 day Holter, and found that my heart was stopping for 20 to 30 seconds at a time. I'd wake up in a panic as it restarted. The cause wasn't determined at that time. The issue went away after I lost a bunch of weight. The cardiologist speculated that my excess weight was pushing my liver into my heart, and losing weight removed the pressure from the liver.

-john-