Gasping for breath

brothertony · Post by **brothertony** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:05 am

Okay this stinks, while I am awake everything is fine but as i begin to fall asleep I wake up gasping fro breath it is as though I can feel myself holding my breath. and am screeming to myself breath. am I going crazy. I have not worn the cpap for 2 nights and I slept better ? than I have for the past month this is just crazy torture

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bap40 · Post by **bap40** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:43 am

What is your pressure setting? Is your machine set up with the "ramp" feature?

brothertony · Post by **brothertony** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:44 am

my pressure is 10 and I have ramp set a 6.5

Needsdecaf · Post by **Needsdecaf** » Wed May 28, 2008 8:14 am

[quote="brothertony"]my pressure is 10 and I have ramp set a 6.5

bap40 · Post by **bap40** » Wed May 28, 2008 8:16 am

I felt like that when I first started with therapy. At that time of just starting I would tell myself that there was no way I could possible suffocate with air blowing in my face. I also decided to do away with the ramp altogether. THAT was what made a difference in having those feelings of not being able to breath. Just go at it all out if you can and see if that might help with those feelings. BTW my pressure is 13 and now I have no problems with those feelings anymore.

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Wed May 28, 2008 9:14 am

I agree that the ramp may be your problem. I stopped using ramp after about three nights. I kept upping the ramp setting and ended up just not using it at all.

Pam

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:19 pm

Tony, in addition to what the others said, you might want to have someone watch you sleep to see if you are breathing through your mouth while you sleep. If you are doing that, or leaking air out your mouth while using a mask that covers only your nose, you're not getting full cpap treatment.

Air detouring out the mouth isn't going where it's needed ... not going down to hold the throat open so you can breathe.

pjwalman · Post by **pjwalman** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:47 pm

BrotherTony, I just wanted to say that I am glad you're still hanging in there. After your last post, I was afraid you'd given up. Good for you for perservering!!

Peggy

Fredman · Post by **Fredman** » Wed May 28, 2008 6:17 pm

Brother Tony Sleepgal brings up a good suggestion. I have few that I think you have not overlooked - as I recall you are a Minister?

1. Continue the good fight - God has given you the resources
2. Read about little 3 year old Larissa and her CPAP adventure
3. I am hearing a lot of frustration - normal, maybe seek some relaxation therapy that you can use as you fall asleep.
4. Buy some pur-sleep (it won't hurt) and the pleasant fragrance will be a positive spin to this whole CPAP thing.

:D

alnhwrd · Post by **alnhwrd** » Thu May 29, 2008 3:00 am

I wonder if it could be Sleep Onset Central Apnea?

viewtopic.php?t=29409&highlight=sleep+o ... tral+apnea

michaelho · Post by **michaelho** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:17 am

I go through periods like this. 3 nights ago I could NOT put on my mask, I was suffocating so slept for 2 nights without CPAP and actually felt less tired...UNTIL LAST NIGHT - woke up at 3 am with a massive headache that was made worse by lying down. I tried to sleep upright but eventually after tablets etc I reached for my mask and guess what it felt so sweet! I woke up with the alarm several hours later. So I think sleeping without might feel better for a while but I think you are still gasping for air (hence the headache)

Wirecutter · Post by **Wirecutter** » Thu May 29, 2008 4:08 pm

WearyOne wrote:I agree that the ramp may be your problem. I stopped using ramp after about three nights. I kept upping the ramp setting and ended up just not using it at all.

Pam

More agreement. Same thing started happening to me when I got used to the pressure, so I turned off the ramp.

-Mark

bookworm · Post by **bookworm** » Fri May 30, 2008 2:12 pm

brothertony, I sympathize,; it's certainly a scary feeling to wake up feeling that you are being robbed of your breath. And I know , everyone's advice is that it takes some getting used to. I have only been on CPAP a week, but I have stopped temporarily. I am concerned that my CPAP is actually exacerbating my problem. I think that, even with CPAP, high negative (inspirational) pressure has some paradoxical effects.

Here's what I mean. In my case, my nasal passages always seem a little blocked up (despite allergy treatment) and in order to keep the negative pressure high enough to draw all the way down through my nose, I use my tongue to seal off my mouth as well. The only problem is, when air is pumping in my nose at the same time that I am exhaling, it creates a chaotic air flow that plays havoc with the tongue seal. I find that my mouth becomes less and less sealed, I make a little burping sound (I felt this when I was still awake once) and then BOOM - air is taking the shortcut from my nose straight out my mouth! Of course, this is an even bigger no-no to my nervous system that the typical RERA (respiratory effort related arousal) - what can I call it - 'air larceny', 'the mother of all RERAS' - and I find myself even more awakenened than usual. What is funny ( I mean sad, funny) is that I had several of these, I think, when I was doing my titration.

So I am going to ask my doc about a full face mask. I am not sure autoPap or BiPap will help much, I will certainly ask about that, too. For those of you who suggested not using ramp, I am having these mouth incidents during the night, long after the ramp is finished.

Thanks for your postings. I have been reading and hoping.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri May 30, 2008 10:26 pm

Bookworm,
Those mouth incidents are known as "mouthleak" or "mouth leak" a well known problem for a huge part of the cpap using population (something like 40% ).

Many of us have found taping our lips the best solution. Then there are full face masks, and hybrid masks. I thought taping was a crazy idea, it took me 8 months on therapy just to decide to try it - but then it was easy, and very good.

And if you're worried by mouth taping, (or if your doc or RT sound shocked) read this.

O.

bookworm · Post by **bookworm** » Sat May 31, 2008 7:19 pm

thanks for the post and the link, O. Count on innovation to help us solve our problems.

That said, do you or anyone have any more information about mouth leaks, and what's the best response? I am not sure I can handle tape. Right now, I am using nasal pillows or prongs (or whatever they call them), and I really like the comfort, so I am afraid a full face mask will be a step backward.

Gasping for breath

Gasping for breath

also gasping!

do you have any more information about mouth leaks?

Mask

Additional Comments: basic Chin Strap

Mask

Additional Comments: basic Chin Strap