I asked my doc if I could have possible sleep apnea. Symptoms include waking up disoriented, feel like I wasn't breathing, usually after a busy/ stressful day when I am very tired.

I have a neck injury and have to have it in the right position when I sleep. He said that is not sleep apnea but anxiety. Can you have a panic attack in the middle of the night?

The worst one was after taking flexeril, I was completely disoriented.

Is it a panic attack if you are sleeping?

Mark and others any opinions?

Thank you.

Your doctor does not have enough information to diagnose this complaint.

See if you can rent a bedside recording Pulse Ox monitor. It will track your pulse and Ox levels while you sleep. Medical rental companies have them.

You can also buy them. They vary from $50 to $300.

Do you ever find yourself relaxing and suddenly gasping for breath?

You need to be the detective.

I used to wake up grasping for breath almost every morning while I was taking Klonopin daily. It stopped once I quit taking it. I took flexiril too for few weeks and don't remember it was causing it. Xanax never caused it.

Now I get that feeling rarely when I get too tired, stressed, dizzy, headachy, pain etc., Did sleep study too but that time It didn't show up. Duh!

I wake up disoriented, panicked and feel terrible. Bad feeling.
If u r getting it consistently sleep study can be very helpful. They do look for lot of stuff.. Only tricky thing you should be able to sleep with wires attached to u r head and all. I was able to get some sleep but I still think something goes wrong in my neck or back of my head when I sleep.

Cheers!

Thank you mark.

My doctor said that he didn't want me to do a sleep study because it wasn't apnea. We do have a finger pulse ox, but I tried to sleep with it by my bed but then I gave up because it didn't happen for a while.
I will try again but I figure if it is apnea then by the time I reorient and put the pulse ox on my finger it will be 100%. Thanks for the suggestion I will try again.

I do gasp for air though.

Thank you pcslife.

What you described is exactly what happens to me. What do you think this is?

First I thought it would be apnea because It was when I was really tired and my neck was weak. But then again when I do a lot maybe my brain is stressed causing anxiety/panic?

For awhile I used a neck pillow with the curved edges to support my neck but then I realized that it was getting so weak so I have a regular pillow now.

Do neck pillows affect apnea at all?

thanks.

The recording pulse/ox meters stay on while you sleep. They can alarm you when your Ox drops or just record you Ox levels while you sleep. You can be breathing continually but not breathing deep enough. The meds relax muscles. Maybe they are relaxing too much and reducing the depth of your breaths.

I use a very floppy pillow that I bunch up on the right side of my head. It usually works for me. I have no lift to my head. The back of my head is almost on the mattress.

I get some of my best sleep in a recliner. My wife gets good sleep by not hearing my breathing or feeling my twitches. It takes a lot of experimenting.

It seems to me that your dr is kind of nuts for not sending you for a sleep study. It's the only way to be sure.

Pete


asb

A single sleep study will not always show an intermittent apnea problem. Sleep studies are designed to diagnose Obstructive Sleep Apnea and are not as good at diagnosing Central Apnea. Doing some home detective work over multiple nights can get a better start at understanding the symptoms.

postconcussion: In the past the culprit was Klonopin since the docs always say it is longer lasting and stayed in my system for long which affected my sleep. I kept telling I don't want it in the night and I was taking Xanax in the morning for my dizzy/headache symptoms. I even tried Xanax few times in the night and yes it caused sleep apnea issues.

Now I don't take any meds in the night and try them during the day morning/afternoon since drug induced sleep caused me all kinds of problems. Flexiril made me very fatigued though when I tried it. I even tried the nasal steroid just to see it can help my pain around my eyes. I don't have any sinus issues at all and is all clear from MRIs. Yes it did gave me anxiety/panic attack symptoms.

Gasping for air, rapid heart beat, feeling disoriented is scary.

From the sleep study my O2 saturation (?) was fine. Only thing they noticed was mild snoring so they said I am all good to go.

Now I get it only occasionally when stressed out. Also now I have a tilt bed (tempur pedic ergo advanced - like in the hospital but can be elevated on both sides - head/leg) so I elevate my bed on my head side which sure helps.

I tried tempur pedic neck pillows but I felt like it was pressing my neck too hard.

Are you taking any meds in the night and if you are then see if you can take it during the day?

Cheers!