Gasping for Breath

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Linal1948
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2023 7:33 am

Gasping for Breath

Post by Linal1948 » Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:00 am

I found this forum this morning so I thought I would give it a try. I see my doctor on the 22nd of this month and I plan to bring up this subject Twice now (within a two week period) I have woken up gasping for breath. Actually I was dreaming that I couldn't breath, and then I wake up (thank God). Not sure if this is a symptom of sleep apnea or a result of my COPD. I am posting here to see if anyone else has experienced this. P.S. I have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I am just asking to see if this is a symptom of it. Thank you in advance.

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robysue1
Posts: 897
Joined: Sun Sep 18, 2022 3:39 pm
Location: Buffalo, NY

Re: Gasping for Breath

Post by robysue1 » Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:22 am

Linal1948 wrote:
Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:00 am
I found this forum this morning so I thought I would give it a try. I see my doctor on the 22nd of this month and I plan to bring up this subject Twice now (within a two week period) I have woken up gasping for breath. Actually I was dreaming that I couldn't breath, and then I wake up (thank God). Not sure if this is a symptom of sleep apnea or a result of my COPD. I am posting here to see if anyone else has experienced this. P.S. I have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I am just asking to see if this is a symptom of it. Thank you in advance.
Yes, waking up gasping for breath and dreaming that you can't breathe are rather common symptoms of untreated sleep apnea.

But they also could be related to your COPD, particularly if it's getting worse.

Finally I will offer this: My mother-in-law, who died at the ripe old age of 98, suffered from COPD for the last 20 years of her life and was on oxygen for much of that time. At one point she was prescribed a bilevel PAP machine to use at night even though her sleep test showed little or no actual apnea. It did seem to help stabilize her night-time O2 levels (the additional O2 was fed through the bilevel PAP's hose.)

So yes, you definitely need to bring up the fact that you are waking up after dreams that you can't breathe with a sensation of gasping for breath.
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