Daytime gasping for breaths

[Livylou05]

I am new to this site and would like some advice please  . I have been experiencing gasps which has caused night waking . I am due to see aspecialist nextmonthfor sleep apnea but what troubles me more is in the day every 15 -20 minutes i keep gasping for breath . I am not anxious or exerting  myself . I can be anywhere and just take a huge gasp . I find myself apologising to those around me as it is very loud . Has anybody had this and can tell me what it is pls .

Thanks Maria

[holden4th]

Hello Maria

This is not sleep apnea and you should seek medical advice as soon as possible. There could be a number of reasons for this but the sooner you see your general practitioner the better.

[OpalRose]

Hi Maria,
Although waking at night gasping for breath is one sign you may have sleep apnea, but gasping for breath every 15 minutes during awake hours is not.  

Try to get scheduled to see your regular doctor for a checkup to rule out any other causes for daytime gasping before you see your sleep specialist.

[SarcasticDave94]

Welcome to the Apnea Board Maria,

I'd have to agree with others, get your primary care physician involved. He/she may then do testing and possibly refer you to a pulmonary doctor. I have times during each day of difficulty in breathing, some I suppose could be called gasping for breath, but your episodes sound worse than what I'm probably trying to relate to. Regardless, the above act of going to your primary doc first is what I myself did to diagnose my daily breathing difficulty.

Best wishes on you getting answers, a proper diagnosis, and finally treated for this.

PS I was diagnosed with COPD following the checkup path I referred to. No I'm not intending to say that's what you're dealing with, nor trying to add anxiety. But do get this checked.

[Sleep2Snore]

It could be another serious problem, so get it checked out.

If you are so fatigued you are almost falling asleep, that might give you problems, but it may be more serious.
Go see your GP and get checked out right away, if the GP finds nothing then that is fine, but do go to see the GP.

[HalfAsleep]

I sometimes run out of breath myself during the day, but I've had everything checked out by the PCP and some tests. I had a stress (heart) test, blood tests, lung function tests.

Sometimes, I get short of breath, and it's probably anxiety. Funny thing....I can hook up to my APAP with my P10 on and soak up some assertive breathing for about 10 minutes. Totally refreshing. I realize xPAP's are for sleep apnea, but hey, a little daytime versatility is not at all a bad thing. I will say, though, that I discovered this by accident and I'd already been thoroughly tested for other breathing conditions by my PCP. So....back to my original point. Check in with your PCP.

[ajack]

a change of meds? it sounds like the central nervous system isn't getting the signals right. You need a doctor to check it out.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Livylou05,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
I wish you good luck in finding out about what is causing your breathing problem.!