Please read, I really need some advice

[O_O]

Twice now, my mother has woken up and not been able to breathe. She makes this truly awful noise as she attempts to inhale, like stridor or an asthma attack or something, and can't talk at all. After about a minute she starts to be able to breathe again. The doctors say they're panic attacks, and while I am very open minded I'm slightly concerned in case they AREN'T panic attacks and are something that could actually harm her.

I've heard that loads of people have 'laboured breathing' or 'hyperventilation' during panic attacks, but this was more than just laboured breathing - she really couldn't (or felt like she couldn't) draw breath properly at all.

She does have an airway infection at the moment, and also suffers from sleep apnoea.

Do you think this is panic?

[bottleblond]

Hi there

Welcome along to NMP.

I was just about to say 'sleep apnoea' then read it at the bottom of your post.

I'm certainly no medical expert but i have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for many many years now. The symptom similar to this i get is i could be just dozing over to sleep when i get a sudden feeling like i can't breath, i jump inhailing in a huge gulp of hair but your mum's symptoms seem alot more sever than this.

Of course it is possible that it is anxiety related but for peace of mind for both yourself and your mum, perhaps get a second opinion.


Take car

Lisa
xx

[Bexmumto3]

Welcome to NMP

My thoughts were sleep apnoea as well, my husband suffers with this & makes the most awful noises as he tries to breathe.
I also suffer as Lisa said with the feeling like you can't breath as you are dropping off to sleep almost as if I have forgotten to breath & try and gasp for air.

Just re-read that your mum has an airway infection, has she only had these episodes since being ill or did she have them before, could it be related to that?
Maybe it is worth getting a 2nd opinion x

[O_O]

Thanks so much for your replies bottleblond and Bex.

In response to Bex, yes, this breathing trouble only started since she's had the infection. The doctors seem to think that the apnoea and inflamed airway inhibit her breathing momentarily and then panic takes over. However, the doctors at this particular hospital have been wrong before and took ages to diagnose her apnoea because they thought she was too thin to be a candidate.

Tomorrow we're hopefully going to get a second opinion from a different hospital, as she's really down and anxious about this.

[O_O]

Just realised I never updated this and thought I would now. So, this kind of goes against all the advice we're ever given, but she kept being told it was panic but I knew it wasn't.

I googled, and diagnosed her with vocal chord dysfunction / laryngospasm. I was right! The doctors diagnosed her properly some weeks later.

Luckily she's very much better now and hasn't had an attack in years.

[Barnabas75]

Glad to hear your Mom is better. Which Doctor made the diagnosis if you dont mind me asking? Was it an ENT specialist? Thanks.

[O_O]

Glad to hear your Mom is better. Which Doctor made the diagnosis if you dont mind me asking? Was it an ENT specialist? Thanks.

Yes, an ENT consultant diagnosed her in the end.

[Barnabas75]

Thanks. How does your Mom manage it? Naturally or with medication?

[O_O]

Thanks. How does your Mom manage it? Naturally or with medication?

Naturally in the end. The acute attacks only lasted perhaps a month or so, and she then learned how to breathe and swallow to prevent and stop them. I guess there is some truth in the panic attack theory, because as soon as she couldn't breathe she probably did panic a lot which might have made it worse.

It's quite an interesting condition actually. It's actually a defense mechanism whereby your vocal chords snap shut if you're drowning to prevent you breathing in water and maybe give you one more chance to get to the surface. However, sometimes if you swallow badly for example the mechanism can be triggered anyway... and you basically just can't breathe, which is obviously terrifying.