I've had Lyme for about two years now, or at least i was diagnosed two years ago.
I've had a slew of symptoms, but there is something that has recently started.
Frequently as I am falling asleep, or just laying down (on my back or on my side) I feel like I'm not breathing.
And when I actually do start to drift, I wake up with a jolt. I can't tell if i wake up to take a breath, or if I'm just waking up in shock for some other reason.
I keep worrying that I'm not going to wake up...of course I have so far!
Anyone else deal with this?
Posted by Mirface (Member # 26699) on :
bump
Hoping for a response before bed tonight, last night was particularly hard!
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
I've been waking up gasping for breath for a couple of years now. I also snore now. It may be attributable to weight gain, but even when I was thin I had borderline sleep apnea.
I just had a sleep study. I don't have the results yet. The only thing you can do is get a sleep study and see if you have sleep apnea. Ask your primary care or Lyme doc to refer you for one. If you have it, you may need to sleep with a CPAP machine on.
Posted by Mirface (Member # 26699) on :
Thanks for your response. yeah, I figured it might be related to sleep apnea, but i'd never heard of it happening while the person is still awake.
The hubster says I rarely snore, whatever that's worth.
Posted by BoxerMom (Member # 25251) on :
Ditto. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea many years before my Lyme diagnosis. The symptoms are exactly what you describe.
I don't snore and I'm thin - atypical for apnea. But it is very common in Lyme.
You will not die from sleep apnea (unless it goes untreated for many, many years), but it puts tremendous strain on your heart, and your tissues (including your brain) do not get enough oxygen.
You must get a sleep study.
My insurance paid for the study, plus my CPAP.
Posted by feelfit (Member # 12770) on :
MIRface...i had this really bad, really bad for about 5 months....i had borderline sleep apnea...no true apneas, just shallow breathing....
I constantly had my breathing stop while i was still awake and about to drift off...i was totally aware of this and had to *think* about breathing.
I was so tired as it would happen up to 12 times per night..just as i was ready to fall asleep...finally around 5 a.m. it would *stop*...
very weird.
anyway, after treating babesia this let up A LOT..still have some very infrequent episodes..and they are not really the same as i've described above.
sounds like you're having something very similiar.
ask for a sleep study to r/o anything that can be corrected via a cpap or bi-pap...
best, Feelfit
Posted by cleo (Member # 6646) on :
I had it too. It went away with treatment. Now it only rears its ugly head when I am herxing. I think its a cranial or phrenic nerve issue.
Posted by 'Kete-tracker (Member # 17189) on :
Yup. Known as "air hunger". Had the same phenomena- & fear/concern- occur w/ me. The funny thing is (well...not Funny), it didn't happen until the 1st month on abx.
I DO seem to recall it lessened substantially after a couple weeks, & was gone after maybe a month to 5 weeks. Was always worst if I was on my side vs. flat on me back w/ head propped up & tilted back. Consider it part of the "Herx-ing" when getting over neuroborreliosis. (Your brain's affected)
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
Electrolyte imbalance can cause this too.
You might try to replace with some mixes to see if it helps.
Hypothyroid also come to mind. It in itself can cause sleep apnea. But it usually causes waking/gasping episodes.
Posted by triathletelymie (Member # 26456) on :
Lyme is a disease that affects the brain. There are two types of sleep apnea...obstructive sleep apnea which is, a lot of times, common in those who are overweight and/or snore. Central sleep apnea, however, is caused by brain dysfunction. I had bouts of central sleep apnea for about two months when I first began experiencing severe lyme symptoms. The sleep apnea seems to have resolved (knock on wood) but I am still very ill with mostly neuro symptoms.
Good luck!
Posted by bncrump (Member # 20374) on :
I had this but mine was not due to sleep apnea...PANIC attacks!
Before I knew I had lyme, my thyroid was a very out of whack and I had this problem for months. I finally got some Ativan to take before bed and it completely stopped it.
It can't hurt to get checked for apnea and yes it could be air hunger. Maybe ask your dr for some ativan/xanax/klonopin or something to take before bed????
Posted by lajamur (Member # 24593) on :
I've had this too. I honestly don't know whether to attribute it to panic/anxiety or the whole central sleep apnea thing.
I had it really bad about two years ago when I was at my sickest, then it seemed to resolve for a while. Now that I'm 2 months into treatment some of my weird sleep symptoms are rearing their ugly heads again, including the breathing thing.
I had it last night, actually. It's basically feels like I'm breathing somewhat rapidly/shallowly as I'm drifting off... like my respiration is not slowing down the way it should when one goes to sleep.. Then, just as I'm really about to konk out, I get this feeling that I've stopped breathing altogether. Then I sort of jolt fully awake again. ...Rinse, repeat.
This usually happens on nights when I end up having night sweats. They seem to go hand in hand. It also seems to coincide with this other thing that I posted about in someone else's trembling/sick sleep thread -- the lurching/plunging rollercoaster feeling that startles me awake repeatedly.
This is all usually accompanied by anxiety and a sort of "something's not right" feeling, and an almost hypoglycemic weakness. Sometimes my vision gets kind of "sparkly" and migrainey too.
It is very unpleasant.
Posted by dj (Member # 20969) on :
Yes, I had this too. Had sleep studies done years before being diagnosed with lyme. I am very thin so the doc did not attribute it to being overweight. Prescribed me a cpap machine which did not help at all. I think it is because lyme does not cause the obstructive type of sleep apnea. I used to wake up feeling super tired and that a semi-truck ran over me.
Now that I am being treated for lyme and other tbd, i don't wake up feeling that way anymore. I do feel fatigued but it is not like i am out of breath and terrible headahces.
lyme is just horrible!!!
Posted by jwall (Member # 22999) on :
I have this too - very scary feeling. I had this when I first got really sick and went to the ER with neuro. symptoms. I told them that I felt like I wasn't breathing correctly and the doc said it was from stress and that I was breathing just fine. I believe it is from the infection and hopefully will go away with further treatment. Started getting it again recently.
Posted by t9im (Member # 25489) on :
Our daugher has this as well. We believe its related to the babs but not really sure.
Posted by novy (Member # 25987) on :
occasionally, right after dropping off to sleep i'd wake up gasping for air- it seemed to happen more frequently during my period than at any other time-
then it began to happen more often and often accompanied by chest pain above the sternum- again, worsening during my period-
now, the chest pain feels as though it has moved beneath the sternum- and each time it occurs, the pain radiates in different directions- sometimes more to the left or right- sometime shooting down or up-
i have no pain when awake- the gasping for air and pain only happen when i just drop off to sleep- and it wakes me up- but now it's been happening all the time-
had an EKG done in may and again in june at the cardio dr- i told him about what my deal was with going to sleep, the waking up and gasping for air accompanied by chest pain- he said my heart was fine-
the episodes happen even when i sleep seriously propped up, like almost sitting- and lately it's been pretty bad- but then again i'm almost 3 weeks late for my period-
i have to wonder if the reason it's getting worse isn't somehow connected to hormones/menopause ... (?)
Posted by TenHigh (Member # 26814) on :
I have this exact same symptom! It scared the hell out of me I didnt even know I had lyme when I was having this.
Its like I am dozing off and "forget" to breath so I wake up gasping real fast.
I think its babesia related because it seemed to go away after herxing from treating babesia with artemisinin.
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