Woke Up Dying

[JJJ]

And now, when some guy in the bar is bragging about his uvula, I can still saunter up and say "Take a look a THIS."

In my experience, the size of their uvulas is not what guys in bars generally brag about.

[Dreamcatcher]

[Ulrika]

talking about large uvulas..... last year i woke up one morning gasping to breathe....got up and looked in the mirror and my uvula was so large it touched either side of my tonsils and went down my throat! I kid you not!! My husband rushed me to emergency at our local hospital - I had to hold my head forward to kind of breathe... they rushed me in as soon as they saw in my mouth and gave me something (i think a steroid) to reduce the swelling. This has happened on many occasions since (not as large but touched my tongue) but I used to just sip really cold water till it reduced in size. I have not had one experience of this since using CPAP this year - the doctor did ask me when I went to emergency if I had sleep apnea and I said yes but couldn't get in for a sleep study - and guess what?? I still didn't! It took me finding a private company with a take home unit to do a sleep test who hires out CPAP machines to get treatment!!! How bad did they want me to get before helping me out?? I have also over the years woken many times thinking I was about to die as I couldn't breathe in.

[wilder]

Thank you Ulrika, for lending credence to my story.

[wilder]

And now, when some guy in the bar is bragging about his uvula, I can still saunter up and say "Take a look a THIS."

In my experience, the size of their uvulas is not what guys in bars generally brag about.

Actually, in my 71 years, I've never heard anyone brag about a uvula. That fact is one of the points hidden in my wee little self-deprecating joke.

[archangle]

It'll behoove ya to care for your uvula.

[SuperSleeper]

It'll behoove ya to care for your uvula.

[Blaifarm]

Back in the 1970s, wife and I watched a Nova about sleep apnea. She turned to me and exclaimed, "You have that!". A couple of years later, I woke up around 2am, not being able to breathe. I sat up. I tried various experiments to get the breathing going again, but nothing worked. It was if my lungs were locked shut.

I thought to myself, "Well, this is very interesting. I get to watch myself slowly die. This is going to be fascinating." I settled in and began to observe. Oddly, my wife was sleeping right next to me, but it never occurred to me to wake her up.

After awhile, I thought of one more experiment I hadn't done. So I tried that. I felt an odd feeling in my throat, and suddenly I could breathe. Huge long gasps filled me up with air. I thought, "I should write this down--those apnea researchers might be interested". But I figured such a stupendous event could be noted in the morning, so I went back to sleep. Next morning I could not remember what I had done to restore my breathing.

Several years later, it suddenly came to me. The successful experiment was trying very hard to exhale. Turns out my uvula had gotten stuck in my windpipe, and it slid out as I exhaled with all my might.

If I may ask: Was it a feeling of like having peanut butter stuck in your throat?

[wilder]

Well, I've been thinking about the comments doubting it was my uvula, and concluded it must have been blocking my throat entrance, not the windpipe.

When I was trying to inhale, it felt as if there was no airway...like perhaps someone had glued it shut while I slept. When I tried to exhale with all my might, I could feel something sliding out of my throat (although at the time, I thought it was sliding from the windpipe). I imagined that it felt like tubing being pulled out. Or maybe (yuck) a slug crawling out. The effect was as if a cork had been removed and air suddenly began rushing in.

Peanut Butter? I dunno. Maybe. But definitely the smooth kind, not chunky.

[chezdan9]

There once was a man from Festoovula
Who had quite a prominent uvula...