Daytime Apnea?

[nuttnhunee]

I'm becoming more concerned over my breathing. I've had chest xrays and they are clear. My doctor recommended I take a allergy product daily to see if it makes my breathing better. It's been six months and it didn't help. Is it possible to have apnea during the day? I seem to be gasping and deep inhaling every ten minutes or so. It has nothing to do with activity, it is actually worse or I notice it more when I'm just sitting. I haven't had any studies for sleep apnea because this is during the day.

[Shastzi]

Hi Nuttn,
Sounds like a job for a pulmonary specialist.

Just my humble opinion.

Perhaps one of the online MD's will chime in on this one.


Good Luck!

[PaulaO2]

Sleep apnea is called that because it is a sleep thing. As we relax in sleep, the muscles of our throats relax, too, collapsing the airway. This normally does not happen during the day because those muscles are voluntary, just like raising our arms to scratch our nose. We don't think about it, we just do it. Our arms are relaxed when not scratching an itch but not anywhere near as relaxed as when we sleep. Same for the throat muscles.

See a pulmonary specialist or something along those lines. You can also ask to do an oximeter test where you wear a thing on your finger to measure your blood oxygen over a period of time vs a random moment at the doc's office.

[trish6hundred]

Hi nuttnhunee,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
What Paula said.
Best of luck to you in finding out what's wrong.

[archangle]

Some people do have daytime breathing problems. You might debate whether there is daytime "apnea," but they usually don't call it apnea.

Don't worry about the name, worry about whether you have it and how to treat it.

It's usually unrelated to what's called "sleep apnea." It's much less common.

The treatment is usually different from the standard treatment for "sleep apnea."

Daytime breathing problems would need to be evaluated by a different kind of doctor, not the ones experienced in treating sleep apnea.

Good luck.

[zonk]

My first thought something to do with anxiety or panic attack. By definition obstructive sleep apnea events happens during sleep and not while you,re awake, central sleep apnea can happen during daytime too. Referral to a pulmonologist or possibly neurologist may helps

[DocWils]

Technically apnoea is a description of the cessation of delivery of oxygen to the blood mostly due to a cessation or restriction of breathing. Sleep apnoea is simply the most common that is seen.

Daytime apnoea events can be caused by various things, from laxity in throat tissue to various blockages due to mucous or other problems. But what you have may not be a form of apnoea at all - just as likely it may be anxiety issues or other such reactions, or reactions to medication you are taking. I would fist see an ENT (Ears, Nose, Throat) to rule out any issues with your mouth and throat (or nose - polyps would also cause difficulty if you are a nose breather) and if he sees it as a lung issue, he will send you to the appropriate specialist. However, I would advise you to examine the types of stresses you are experiencing and any medication you are taking. Also, please examine your posture when sitting - this could be posture related.

[nuttnhunee]

Thank you for your responses. On further reading, I think my symptoms are emphysema and I'm making an appointment to see a pulmonary specialist.

[DocWils]

With emphysema you will have the feeling of having to push hard to get air in, as if there is a weight on your chest and you can never quite catch your breath, and physical exertion will be difficult. Most G.P.s will be able to diagnose it, as there is a distinctive sound produced when chest percussion is performed, which is a dead giveaway for the problem.

What is happening is that the tissue that delivers the air to the air sacks is being destroyed (the most common, but not only cause, is smoking, followed by severe continuous exposure to air pollution) and so you are having apnoea like symptoms of O2 gas depletion in your blood and a rise in CO2 in the blood. I am sorry, but CPAP would be useless against that. The fist stage of testing will be a lung function test, followed by a chest x-ray and a test of the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide to help differentiate the symptoms from similar symptoms produced by asthma and chronic bronchitis.

This is a degenerative disease, and if you suspect that is your problem you must seek help with alacrity, as treatment options depend on the stage of the disease. Treatment will vary, beginning with pulmonary rehabilitation and the immediate cessation of smoking or exposure to smoking. Certain inhaled drugs can help, and if it is sever enough, a portable oxygen system will be prescribed. For very few, there is a surgical procedure with reduces lung volume that has some effectiveness, but there is a danger of collapsed lungs with some of the procedures. Recent testing has shown the human lung stem cells can help restore tissue integrity and strength, and may be the future of treatment for this disease, but we are still at early days on this.

Good luck.

[idaho-dan]

nuttnhunee,

I have symptoms the same as you and have been researching the web for well over a year. PLEASE respond back here on your progress as maybe there is a common answer.

Mine, too, is getting worse (measured month-over-month) and I stop breathing hundreds of times during the day, every day.

For me, nighttime compliance is not an issue since I can't get past the doze-off stage before the alarm goes off. Literally, without a PAP machine on at night, the second I don't consciously force an inhale - my diaphragm muscles just stay relaxed and don't even try to contract. Until I wake up and gasp.

And since I don't have insurance anymore I have to figure this one out myself.

Dan