Anyone "forget" to breathe while awake?

[tjc]

Hi everyone. This is my first time here. I am going for a study next week. My problem is that when I am first falling asleep, in that twilight state, I just stop breathing. I just "forget" to breathe. Now, I don't know if it is happening once I'm asleep or not. I think this sounds like Central Sleep Apnea, but I'm not sure. Also, recently, I have been developing chest pains, and they happen during the day, but also at night, at the exact moment I stop breathing and wake up.( A year ago, when apnea started, the MD said I had PVC's.) Anyone hear of a link between the two? And yes, there have been times (rarely) when it seems like I "forget" to breathe during the day, and take a deep gasp in.

[MegansMum]

I thought I was totaly nuts for forgeting to breathe during the day! My hubby would think I was mad at him when I would realize I was holding my breath and take a deep breath. I have found that doing yoga especially the breathing part has help me a lot with my breathing.

[sinemac]

tjc - I'm having the same thing happen. I don't know if it always happened, but I've certainly become more aware of it since starting CPAP treatment. It can happen anywhere from once to about 10 times during that "drifting off" stage. When I first lie down with my cpap on I'll be focused on making sure I'm comfortable, that there are no leaks, etc. - but then gradually I go into that "daydreaming" kind of state. I'm definitely not asleep, but I am in a sort of reverie, thinking about things, and it is very dreamlike in that it can even include visual imagery. Then I'll suddenly realize I'm not breathing and have a very brief feelilng of panic, and take a couple of deep breaths, followed by some concentration on my breath, and then back into drifting off. I really have no idea though how long these non-breathing periods are - for all I know it could be just a slightly longer pause between exhale and next inhale; or it could be much longer. I don't remember ever having that panic feeling before (my apnea is relatively mild and was mostly hypopneas in my study - I wasn't one to awaken in the night gasping for air) - so it's a little disconcerting even though that feeling is very brief.

[sharoniously]

Hi guyz and galz. I had first sleep study in September and it showed "severe" apnea with longest period 41 seconds without breathing. They were going to do a split study in December, but it turned out to be another baseline since I didn't "qualify" for using CPAP since I had no apneas at all that night. Wha? After study in September, I read online that meds at night for pain can relax muscles in throat. I figured if I had to live with pain or die from not breathing, that living was my choice. I weaned myself off neurontin and klonapin. My internist scoffed at my plan and said I was in denial. He probably still won't admit that I may have helped myself. I am seeing him in the AM and am curious how he will explain the difference. The pulmonologist who read the sleep study says he is going with the test that shows apnea and wants me to use the CPAP. He has scheduled me for a third sleep study but I have to check with Medicare to see if they'll pay for it especially since second test shows no apnea. In neither test did I get to stage 3 or 4 of sleep. I need to figure out what to do about that. Also, I mentioned to the pulmonologist that sometimes I catch myself not breathing during the day and he looked at me funny and said he never heard of such a thing. I am also one of those shallow breathers. Has anyone else had such a drastic difference in levels of apnea? Thank you in advance.

[Falcon_Frank]

I have had this forgetting to breathe while awake for 15 years aprox. It has gotten much worse since last Oct 2017 when I had a heart attack.

I've been on a APAP machine for 2.5 months with little effect on my Sleep Apnea and this problem. Dr's recommended the treatment. One said I likely have Central Apnea.

I recently read an article about a little girl who drowned - she was under for 5 - 15 minutes. She got revived but suffered from brain damage which made her unable to do much of anything for herself. Some process of Pure Oxygen Therapy brought about miraculous results - Fully functional. She has or had the problem of forgetting to breath and the dr's figured it was because of some brain damage in the part of the brain that controls breathing.

This caused me to recall my motorcycle accident 43 years ago where I must have suffered a concussion. I believe that over the years the symptom increased in frequency which may or may not have been triggered by or increased the frequency of it from the heart attack I had 9 months ago.

They said the Oxygen Therapy helped the young girl because of her youth she managed to grow new nerve paths or brain paths to bypass the problem areas.

I hope this helps someone.

[mross01]

I have had this "forget to breath" since at least junior high. My mother use to yell at me "BREATH", now my wife does the exact same thing at 56. I don't feel like I have stopped breathing and not short of breath, I just don't breath. Apparently I make a wheezing or high pitch sound, that I either don't notice or can't hear.

I have played sports all my life and always in the best shape of amyoke on the team, so it's not something related to weight or out of shape. I read an article somewhere about a condition describing this and that less than 1000 adult people have been diagnosed with it and that it may be a cause of crib death.

If anyone has additional info about this condition or a support group, please let me know. My wife and I can hardly ride in the same car anymore, just one of the issues it seems to be causing. I am never aware of the problem unless someone else points it out I am not breathing.

[metaltech]

You described the old me. I was always training as a youth. I was usually playing games in 1 sport and in the early conditioning of another. I could never get my heart rate up to what they wanted in physicals. Now after survivinga widdow maker and so many drugs everything has changed. I don't breathe as much as a normal person. I am on a bipap s/t as a result. I could not use a cpap becausewhile asleep I could not time the cpap or expel air at a rate to keep up. I have no info to help you. Under Bipap st therapy I am getting somewhat better.

[ragtopcircus]

I’ve been frequently forgetting to breathe while awake for as long as I can remember - definitely going back to when I was young and fit at least.

When exercising, my natural instinct is to take a deep breath and hold it through an entire set. Back in those young and fit days, karate instructors would point out that I was going through even the long forms on a single breath. Even now, I have to consciously remind myself to breathe in and out during any form of exertion. On the plus side, I can hold my breath a long time under water, and swim a long way if I keep the strokes smooth and efficient.

Most of my nightly centrals occur while I’m trying to get to sleep. I don’t have a significant problem with them once I’m asleep unless the pressure goes over 15~16.

FWIW, I developed asthma kind of suddenly as a kid. I still have it, though it is better controlled now. I was also in a bad bicycle wreck (bike, wet brakes, and pickup truck ...). I crushed the first lumbar vertebrae and hit my head hard enough to black out briefly (don’t remember if a concussion was diagnosed per se). I can’t say whether there’s any correlation to either of those.

I’ve had apnea for years, and tried to manage it with oral appliances and etc. I only caved and went for formal diagnosis and treatment recently. My home sleep test showed no centrals. The tech specifically told me that she saw breathing effort during all of the OA events.