Choking at night

Hi everyone

The past two years I've had five occasions of waking up at night completely choked, unable to get any air.  Gradually my throat (or chest?) opened and I could breathe again.  More often, I wake up and realize that I wasn't breathing, but not choking.  I went to the ENT today who said he didn't see any obstructions or signs of apnea, and it sounds like asthma attacks.  I also did poorly on the breathing capacity test. Looking at other asthma symptoms, though, I haven't noticed any of them, except occasional shortness of breath and fatigue, but those also can be caused by my anemia.  Can asthma attacks only happen at night?  Does everyone with asthma wheeze and feel chest tightness?  

This is all new to me, and I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.

Thanks very much.

[Victoireh]

Wheezing is a hallmark of asthma, however not everyone with asthma wheezes. And wheezing is present in other lung disorders outside of asthma. Shortness of breath, fatigue and cough are also quite common in asthma.

And yes, for some asthmatics, they have what is known as nocturnal asthma. As in other words, most of their symptoms occur at night. So it is very possible that you have asthma.

Your doctor will determine your based on tests and your symptoms as to whether you have asthma or not. Methacholine challenge test is often used to determine if a patient has asthma if there are atypical symptoms. Also if you respond positively to asthma medications, then this is also indicative of asthma.

But certainly having night time asthma symptoms is also a sign that your asthma is not in control....hence why you probably performed poorly on the lung function tests.

If you are still concerned about the diagnosis, you can always be checked for sleep apnea. It's very simple you take this machine home (pulse oximetry) and it clips onto your finger and measures your oxygen and heart rate while you sleep. This at least will rule in or rule out sleep apnea and make an asthma diagnosis more likely. although sometimes sleep apnea and asthma can co-exist in the same person. Probably worth while to check out anyhow.