Sitting up breathing problems

[dakato49]

My 85  year old has restructive pulmonary problems. When he stands or sits up his abilities to breath is almost stopped. But when he lying in bed or sitting at a slight incline he does fine. No one seams to have a answear why or how to treat this. It's almost like when he stand, something is closing  and causing his lungs from functioning....Any ideas or have you seen anything similiar to this ?

[Crochetya]

I would follow instructions from Dr.Parks. I personally experienced choking and aspiration. I was tested by an ENT with years of experience as a Dr. The flap that stops food and liquid going into the windpipe was relaxed. I had therapy and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. The age is  in question here, because these symptoms are present with a stroke patient. Good Luck with proper diagnosis.

[Steven Y Park, MD]

Based on what you've told me, it's hard to say exactly what the problem is without a thorough examination. It does sound positional. It's also somewhat unusual in that most of the time, the reverse occurs. Does he have problems breathing in or out when sitting up? What kind of imaging studies did he undergo? Did anyone examine his upper airway sitting up and lying down? Usually an ENT will do this. At this point, the obstruction can be anywhere from his throat to his lower windpipe.