Sleep Apnea???

[taytay1974]

Hi my fellow Chiarians. I have a question. This morning when I awoke I was coughing and could not get a deep breath, almost felt like I was choking. This has happened to me several times. On occasion I will have a feeling like my chest is caving in and my heart is skipping a beat. This scares the crap outta me. So much so that I tell my husband to check on me during the night to make sure I am still breathing and to make sure I wake up easy. I can no longer sleep in our bed because I can't seem to get comfortable. I sleep on our couch b/c I can get more comfortable and I am always tossing and turning or having to get up to go to the bathroom. I try and let my husband get his rest as he is the only one working right now and he works 11 hr. days. Plz help me and let me know what you all think. Thank you and have a blessed and pain free day.

[mooksmom]

I also havce GERD...so am I a GERDian too? Sorry...I will stop...but you do have me thinking.

[mooksmom]

thanks for the help...so I guess us with back pain we are back painarians??? JUST KIDDING...a little levity.

[*Stormy*]

Have you had any issues with acid reflux? What you describe sounds very similar to what I've experienced with GERD. I would wake up in the middle of the night choking (b/c I was...on my own stomach fluids) and I couldn't breathe b/c your epiglottis automatically closes to prevent aspiration into the lungs. Once the reflux goes back down, you can breathe again and you end up gasping for air. This is a very scary experience...a lot like the feeling you would get if you were drowning.

You can get all kinds of feelings in your chest when you have acid reflex...a burning, sharp pain in your chest...and the heaviness too.

Not to discount getting your heart checked out..I definitely would. But I would check into whether you may have GERD too. We are more prone to it b/c our throat and sphincter muscles have been weakened. This can be relieved by prescription meds.

Carolyn

[selmaS]

this thread is posted in the chiari forum...those with chiari are chiarians.

[mooksmom]

I think if I had the same symptoms, esp the heart "skipping" I'd have long ago seen a doctor. You can start at the Family MD...they can do an EKG in any office. Sometimes, irregular heat beats make you feel like you are choking. Don't put this off.
What is a Chiarians???

[selmaS]

Hi ....u may want to read the following thread-http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Chiari-Malformation/Just-a-quick----/show/1446889

It is possible u r dealing with a sleep apnea issue...then again it could be that u r gaging on post nasal drip going down ur throat..as it can get think...(sorry)....

  But this is something u do need to discuss with ur dr as sleep apnea is a chiari issue that is often overlooked.

"selma"