Waking up in the night choking :-(

[cassy1989]

Last night I had been asleep a few hours when I woke up all of a sudden choking. I was obviously really panicking when I woke up and I ended up being a bit sick cos I was choking and coughing. Has any one else ever had this? Really worrying :-( xx

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 15:01 ----------

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[miss_moose]

You are not alone, i've had this a few times too. I'm not sure what causes it, but just take a drink of water to bed with you then if it happens again that will help you x

[cassy1989]

Hi thanks for replying MissMoose. That's a relief to know others have had it. Its so scary! Xx

[Dreamer49]

Hi,

I've been having this exact same problem for several weeks now and said i and it really frightens me. I went to see the dr about 5 wks ago as my meds (clomipramine) were no longer effective and I was getting more and more panic attacks and continual anxiety. The dr suggested I try changing to sertraline, which I have done, but the following wk I started waking up choking and unable to get my breath. I seemed to have a lot of phelgm stuck in my throat which I had great difficulty coughing up. Of course this gave me a panic attack, and when I have panics I usually need to go outside for a walk until I calm down, and this can be at any time day or night and in all weathers. This is not good in the middle of a freezing cold spell! So I went back to the surgery and saw another dr who listened to my chest and said it sounded like I had a chest infection. I had an x-ray which confirmed the diagnosis and was given a longish course of antibiotics, which helped to a certain extent, But it seems now the choking and coughing are getting worse again, and I am scared to go to sleep because I know I'll wake up choking. I'm actually afraid I won't be able to breathe at all and I might die. Big problem is I'm a smoker and as much as I want to stop, and know it would be of massive benefit to me, I can't get to that point of stopping yet. I believe that having a ciggie calms me even though I understand this is a fallacious argument, and it just makes me more anxious in the longterm. So here comes another night where I will try to avoid sleep until about three or four in the morning just to avoid a choking/coughing fit. I am just hoping the sertraline helps with this as I feel much of it is due to anxiety, and also due to my mind playing cruel tricks on me! So you are not alone in this and although I cannot give you any answers, I can say that having a drink of something fizzy or making a hot drink of grated ginger, lemon juice and honey with hot water goes some way to soothing the terrible tickle in my throat. hope you feel better soon:hugs:.
Sue

[Mark13]

I used to get this years ago after a few beers (and I mean maybe 3) and admittedly a take-away..

I'd wake up in the wee small hours unable to breath, choking on my own (small amount of) vomit. Very distressing.

I did stop drinking in 2004 (just lost interest in it, plus it didn't play nice with my medication) so I've not had it since, but I believe it was some sort of acid reflux problem.

[Liziik]

my Dad had this once, we still dont know why or what caused it at all but he started coughing//choking shot bolt up in bed. he said it felt as if someone had completely shut of his air supply he was really frightened by it but it has never happened since. i wouldnt worry it sounds like a few others get the same. :) xx

[zippy]

I had this a few weeks ago, i was asleep and it felt like someone had cut my air supply off for a few seconds and i bolted upright in bed coughing. Very weird.