Wake up with throat closed off - unable to breathe

[denisewfo]

I am a 39 year female of average weight. 3 times within the last 6 months I have awoken from a deep sleep unable to take a breath. My airway is constricted and feels completely closed off.  My natural reaction is to try to gasp for air like a fish out of water.  The sound of me trying to force air in is so loud that it wakes up my husband and frightens him.  It feels like I am going to pass out and possible die. It takes about a minute for me to regain my breathing. My throat feels tight for some time after and I have difficulty going back to sleep because I am so scared.  All 3 occasions have been extremely scary. I did notice one thing different during my last episode... I was trying to cough in my dream. I do not know if that may have anything to do with it or possible trigger something??  I do not have Acid Reflux and I have not taken any new medications that could cause any kind of reaction. I am physically fit and overall healthy with no signs sleep apnea (to the best of my knowledge.) I have been searching all over the internet but can not find any answers. I am so scared to go through this again... please help!

[DebbieDoo131]

hi...i had a similar episode last night...only difference was i noticed you said "the noise from me trying to breath is so loud it wakes my husband" but when it happened to me i made NO SOUND at all....no air in, no air out...nothing. My throat was completely closed as if i were choking on something but i was dead asleep, not eating anything :(  I used to randomely choke quite often (2+ times per month) but during a sinus surgery my ENT doctor said he noticed a growth in my throat and he removed it....I didnt choke for years after that....in fact this was the first time since then, but like i said even before it never ever happened while asleep. Im praying this isnt going to start up again because like you said its soooo terrifying!!!! Like you,  my automatic respinse is to breath in as hard as possible, which seems to make it worse...so what i "learned" to do was as hard as it is...try to force a cough....it may take a couple tries but eventually i do get a "crack" in my airway and then the weird noises start...and sometimes it will completely close off again and i have to force a cough again...i get the crack again and the space for air slowly gets  larger....and eventually i can breath. Theres nothing more terrifying ive ever been through and now that it happened during sleep i dont think ill ever relax :(

[steelgtr]

This happened to me last night. Second time ever but first time was an "ate too late", acid reflux trigger .  I do have severe dry mouth every night a wear a breathe-right.  And I know my Uvula has always been extended.  Could those factors contribute?

[Divine31]

My father  wakes up at night grasping for air and makes seal like noise and this goes on for like 1 minute  .we went to doctor and he said its swollen throat and gave few meds with nose drops . hopefully he will feel better ,if it works then i will let you guys know.

[AlwaysASolution]

I'm  so glad to know others suffer from this condition other than my family.  Just wanted to share with you all what came to me....i think i am barking up the right tree but yet to be tested.  My son has the exhibited the same condition.  In essence it is a muscle spasm.  In that case you need potassium, magnesium and calcium and water.  Without water nothing gets transported to the right place.  So....my son has added to his diet bananas, yogurt and magnesium supplements.  Will update you on the how it goes.....

[AlwaysASolution]

I meant to say "relieved" rather than "glad" lol

[the_english_patient]

I have a relatively mild form of this but it affects me at random when I'm awake as well as during sleep.

I have always found that pushing the  lower jaw down and forward as far as possible (extreme underbite) quickly stops the attack. It makes it impossible to swallow by making the gap too large for the uvula (the wobbly grape-like lobe hanging at the back of your throat). A laryngospasm is effectively an endless swallow, so it puts a stop to the problem as well.

You can demonstrate that this will work for you by deliberately snoring when you breathe out. If you push out your lower jaw as described you will find it impossible to snore, which means that your breathing cannot be interrupted.

I hope this helps. It can be a very distressing experience.

[the_english_patient]

I have a relatively mild form of this but it affects me at random when I'm awake as well as during sleep.

I have always found that pushing the  lower jaw down and forward as far as possible (extreme underbite) quickly stops the attack. It makes it impossible to swallow by making the gap too large for the uvula (the wobbly grape-like lobe hanging at the back of your throat). A laryngospasm is effectively an endless swallow, so it puts a stop to the problem as well.

You can demonstrate that this will work for you by deliberately snoring when you breathe out. If you push out your lower jaw as described you will find it impossible to snore, which means that your breathing cannot be interrupted.

I hope this helps. It can be a very distressing experience.

[Abally]

I have been having this issue for over 30 years. I wake up unable to breathe and gasping to get air into my lungs. Eventually it eases off, however this week I had the most serious episode ever, and there was no way I could breathe, I thought my time had come. Luckily just before I thought the end was here I managed to get slivers of raspy breath in. I now think it is a condition called Laryngospasms. Not very common and health professionals are not very familiar with it. Go onto a website called EmaxHealth and it explains the exact symptoms, causes and treatment. It is a very frightening condition, but finding the information made me feel at least a bit better that its not just me.

[DPope360]

I had my first episode last night. I know I fell asleep on my stomach in the early morning hours. I remember sitting up trying to breathe and it felt like I was choking. Every time I took a deep breath, I made this strange vibrating  squeaking sound like a “seal.”  I tried 2 I more times until I accepted what I thought was my fate (dying).  Then I thought to try breathing but not hard. I raised my arms over my head and took a breath of which it made the noise and then it released/relaxed.  I was able to breathe normal. I called my doctor very upset. He told me it sounded like sleep apnea and has scheduled me for in home test. Good luck to those that have experienced this. The key is to remain calm and give your body time to wake up.

[DPope360]

I had my first episode last night. I know I fell asleep on my stomach in the early morning hours. I remember sitting up trying to breathe and it felt like I was choking. Every time I took a deep breath, I made this strange vibrating  squeaking sound like a “seal.”  I tried 2 I more times until I accepted what I thought was my fate (dying).  Then I thought to try breathing but not hard. I raised my arms over my head and took a breath of which it made the noise and then it released/relaxed.  I was able to breathe normal. I called my doctor very upset. He told me it sounded like sleep apnea and has scheduled me for in home test. Good luck to those that have experienced this. The key is to remain calm and give your body time to wake up.

[CantonPat]

Could also be acid reflux. I had Laryngospasms due to acid reflux that caused my throat to close. I take 300 mg Zantac once per night. No problems since 2017

[EscapeGirl]

I have the same issue.  It has happened about 6 times in the last year and is very scary.  You wake up unable to breath with a constricted throat.

[MichelleAnne105]

Laryngospasms- Me too- Trick is to try and relax and it comes right eventually- I know -super hard when you have no air and you are getting desperate. The more you try to take a deep breath the worse its gets. If it goes longer than a minute and Im starting to go blue my husband Heimlich maenovres me- Or I'll try to squat, that seems to help me- Then I cough for about an hour afterwards- Horrible experience isn't it

[CantonPat]

I have the same. Was prescribed 300 mg Zantac for acid reflux. No problem since. Hope this helps

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

It is most likely that you may be having Obstructive Sleep Apnea. When a person sleeps the airways are usually patent allowing normal passage for air entry. The upper airway that is at the region of the tongue and the soft palate is the most compliant (soft) part. So, this is liable to collapse and cause airway obstruction.

As the air way collapses the lungs do not have air entry leading to deoxygenation (decreased oxygen) of blood and the person wakes up. This period of non entry of air is called ‘Apnea’ and the waking up is called an ‘Arousal’. This keeps alternating and the person may not actually wake up all the time, but these repeated arousals can disturb the sleep architecture and cause fatigue, headaches and daytime sleepiness.

I would advise you to consult a sleep specialist who would assess with first a sleep questionnaire, and then he may ask for a polysomnogram, which is an overnight sleep study as this helps to detect the apneas.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.