Breathing issues at night

Does anyone else experience extreme scary smothering feelings when they are just dosing off at night? I've had anxiety in the past, but had managed to conquer it for the most part for about 10 years. Recently, it has come back with a vengeance. At night when I'm falling asleep, I get this sudden jolting feeling sometimes accompanied by a smothering sensation. Sometimes I have the smothering sensation without the sudden jolt. Not sure if I should be concerned that this a real health problem or if its just really severe anxiety.  Any help would be great.
Thanks.

[mammo]

I think any new symptom warrants getting checked out by your doctor.  You never want to assume that something is anxiety related without first having other causes ruled out first.  Sleep Apnea is one thing you may want to ask your doctor about.  See your doctor and go from there, and if it is anxiety, be sure to address that.  Take care.

[nursegirl6572]

This could definitely be symptoms of anxiety, sounds very typical of it...especially since you said it has made a reappearance in your life recently.  That's one of the cruddy things about anxiety...we can have LONG periods of "anxiety remission", but typically for most people, it always manages to surprise us with unwanted encore performances, usually just when we thought we had gotten over it completely.

If everything checks out with your health and you find out that the symptoms aren't medical/physical in nature, then jump back into your previous anxiety treatment wholeheartedly.  Obviously, however you treated your anxiety before worked well for you, so it's pretty likely you'll have success again.  Just remember to be patient with yourself...relief sometimes takes a while and requires some work...but you'll get there again.

Hang in there and let us know how you're doing!

[maddie216]

Thank you for the reply. I am planning to see a doctor about sleep apnea. I don't fit the criteria for having it, but my sister did have it and got surgery to fix it. She's doing better now. If I find out its anxiety, at least I can just find ways to cope. I also read online that it can be due to digestive issues. So, I will check that out too.
Thanks Again.

[maddie216]

Hello,
Thank you for the advice. I am planning on getting checked out by a doctor. Yes, I know how the anxiety comes and goes, and I am very greatful that I did have some years that were virtually anxiety free. I have already started seeing a counselor and plan to tackle and defeat this again, because I'm just too stubborn to give in. :)
Thanks a lot!

[WeekendWarrior55]

It sounds just like myself.. had anxiety back in 2005, suffered for a few years, finally felt "normal" again.. Then just back in November I had an episode where I woke up and felt like I wasnt breathing right, and it sent me into a panic (I had this before with my first battle with anxiety).  Got myself to calm down, then went back to bed, only to wake up the next day and have one of the biggest PAs inside of a sporting good store..  I had about a week of sleepless night worrying about it.. Its always a good Idea to get checked out by your doctor, but many many ppl have the same issues with Anexity.  hope you start to feel better.

[maddie216]

Thank you for the advice. I feel what you are going through. Its so difficult sometimes. I'm about to graduate college soon to become a teacher and I wonder how I will fare out there with this anxiety problem. I need to get it under control so that I can accomplish things.  You know, someone else suggested to me to get tested for sleep apnea or that it could also be digestive problems, so you might want to look into that as well.  
Take Care.