I have a situation that is starting to concern me. It started a couple of years ago; but has become more and more frequent recently. Usually, it happens during the night or first thing in the morning (when I first wake up). I feel a sort of "tickle" in my throat and the impulse is to cough. However, I have learned that if I cough, I completely lose my breath - then I spend the next several seconds (seems like minutes) gasping and trying to catch my breath. Once I catch my breath, everything is fine. The first time this happened (a couple of years ago), I just passed it off as that I had probably gotten "choked" on saliva or something during my sleep. It didn't happen again for a long time. Eventually though, it did happen again -- and again -- and again. It has started to happen more frequently now (at least once a week or so). I have learned to recognize that "tickle" and to try to NOT cough. If I sit up and swallow real big a couple of times, I can usually relieve the tickle without coughing (and thus losing my breath). The problem is, of course, when I am asleep, or just woke up, I don't always have enough wits about me to remember to do that before the natural impulse to cough takes over. Have you ever heard of this before? Is it something serious? By the way, I am a 42 year old male -- and I as I stated before, this started about 2 years ago. Thanks.