- Joined
- Aug 6, 2005
- Messages
- 723
It happens to me quite a lot - that basically, I suddenly wake up with a feeling that something is stuck in my throat, and have to take a few gasps before I can begin breathing properly. It's pretty disconcerting, and I'm curious to find out what causes it. The only things I can think of so far are...
1: Somehow, my swallow/breathe mechanism gets a bit mixed up during sleep, and I'm kind of trying to take a breath when swallowing at the same time. It does feel like that occasionally.
2: A bit of mucus (lovely!) gets stuck in the windpipe. Self explanatory, really.
It doesn't happen to my girlfriend - it really gives her a turn when I suddenly sit up in bed at night gasping for breath - but I know for a fact that it happens to my brother also, so I'm wondering if it's something hereditary.
Is it a recognised medical condition? Does anyone else here suffer from it? Could it even be related to being a smoker?
Please note that this experience is not sleep paralysis. Quite simply, I wake up choking - there's no sense of 'pressure', no feeling that there is an 'intruder' in the room, and no fear other than that caused by the choking sensation itself.
1: Somehow, my swallow/breathe mechanism gets a bit mixed up during sleep, and I'm kind of trying to take a breath when swallowing at the same time. It does feel like that occasionally.
2: A bit of mucus (lovely!) gets stuck in the windpipe. Self explanatory, really.
It doesn't happen to my girlfriend - it really gives her a turn when I suddenly sit up in bed at night gasping for breath - but I know for a fact that it happens to my brother also, so I'm wondering if it's something hereditary.
Is it a recognised medical condition? Does anyone else here suffer from it? Could it even be related to being a smoker?
Please note that this experience is not sleep paralysis. Quite simply, I wake up choking - there's no sense of 'pressure', no feeling that there is an 'intruder' in the room, and no fear other than that caused by the choking sensation itself.