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Sleep Apnoea Forum Bringing Help + Support to the Patient
Holding Breath Whilst Awake?
Just been asked by a Twitter follower who has sleep apnoea if it's normal to sometimes hold our breath whilst awake. I do this sometimes and have queried it before with my GP who told me I'm more 'expert' than he is on these matters LOL, so in other words he didn't know. My theory is that it could be a habit we've picked up due to it happening so often in our sleep.
Does anyone else notice this?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
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That's exactly my experience Norman - more like just forgetting to breathe.
Norman Brydson said:I've experienced a similar thing, although I don't actually 'hold' my breath since I find that I often don't actually breathe in again after I've exhaled, so my lungs are empty.
When I realise that I've not inhaled for a while, I then have several deep breaths to 'catch up again' and get the oxygen back around my blood-stream.
It's as though (just for a few moments) my brain has forgotten that I need to breathe.....
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Permalink Reply by Philip on
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Could that be central sleep apneoa (brain sending wrong messages) which you can have as well as obstructive sleep apneao, or instead.
Phil
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Good point Phil, but I personally have OSA only, with just a few Centrals now and then - although they did creep up when my pressure was too high.
Philip said:Could that be central sleep apneoa (brain sending wrong messages) which you can have as well as obstructive sleep apneao, or instead.
Phil
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I have asked this question on the Hope2Sleep Facebook Page and our sister site, and am copying a reply here from Dr David Lawler who, as well as being a certified Oral Systemic Balance Practitioner, also has a real passion for helping people with obstructive sleep disorders improve the quality and length of their lives and has trained with some of the world's leading authorities on the dental management of these disorders:-
It is very common for those with sleep-related breathing disorders to have some awareness of shallow breathing, holding the breath, or "forgetting to breathe" during the daytime.
The tongue, which is the villain in sleep-related breathing disorders, can also have a negative impact during breathing during the daytime. This is not known by most in the medical community and is a very difficult concept to convey. I have done my best to make this clear on my website
To give a specific example of a patient with sleep apnea who presents with many of common symptoms including an awareness of not breathing in enough air, go to the following video of her consultation:
This same patient is seen in this video at the beginning of an appointment where she will soon be fitted with a removable Oral Systemic Balance orthotic which alters her tongue posture in the mouth. In this very short video she talks about the symptoms that she is feeling on this particular day.
This video demonstrates the almost immediate effect that a modification of the tongue position has on the symptoms that she has previously discussed.
To be as succinct as I can:
- Her tongue posture in her mouth contributed to BOTH her sleep apnea and a swallow impairment.
- Swallowing occurs several thousand times a day. Every swallow is an opportunity to get something down the airway.
- The nervous system protects the airway with a vengeance.
- While keeping the airway free of food, water or saliva, the price paid was chronic head and neck pain as the muscles in the head and neck instinctively compensated, as directed by the nervous system, to assist the impaired swallow process.
With the tongue in a more appropriate position swallowing was made easier, the protective mechanism relaxed, pain was relieved, and the ease of breathing was increased.
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Permalink Reply by Mike reed on
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I have to go to papworth on friday for a sleep study and find out what treatment is available to help me as i have only just been diagnosed.
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Hi Kath
How can you tell if some of your apneoa are central instead of OSA ?
Why would the pressure make a difference?
PS I am learning so much through this site. I am so grateful to yourself and all the other contributors. Thanks
Phil E
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I'm sure Kath will be the best person to answer this. She really has gone into this stuff with a fine toothcomb.
Idiscovered that I was having a few centrals and mixed events because I used an apap machine and the data was readily available when the hopsital technician checked it all out with me. I have since bought my own apap machine but haven't yet managed to collect loads of data on my own . One day I'll get braver about it all. The data will be there to read when it is downloaded onto the card and I take it to the hospital but it is possible to manage the condition for yourself if you have the right machine and software. The hopsitals don't seem to want us to manage the condition for ourselves in the UK.
Kath? ..... I know that you will explain clearly.
Rosemary
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Thank you Mary i will
Mary Zimlich said:Good luck, Mike. Keep us posted.
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I have heard that a cpap machine will greatly improve my quality of life is this as true as people say please. I could do with the help as i also suffer from Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Atrial Fibrillation and i just dont have any energy and feel so frustrated.
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It'll be a bit of a "journey" Mike. Don't be downhearted. If they prescribe a cpap machine, be brave and stick with it. It really will turn your life around although it might not feel like it immediately. It was the beginning of the rest of my life the first time I used the machine. My weight started to creep down from day one on cpap and now my health is better in virtually every way. My health had become a nightmare but the sleep (once you have mastered the whole thing - and it isn't always perfect at first) makes so much difference and allows the body to function more normally.
Keep talking to us all and we will help you to come to terms with the treatment if you end up needing it. Talk lots to Kath and look at the "comfort" products on Hope2sleep as they will help to make it much easier too. The hospital should provide the expensive things. They don't provide the "comfort" products.
I swear by the hose lift so that may be something to get fairly soon as it keeps the hose mobile and at the right angle to not end up with problems.
Best wishes to you and I hope you get a cpap machine soon.
Rosemary
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Glad you've found us Mike, as you can scour this forum and arm yourself with all the help you can get ready for when you get your CPAP machine. Like Rosemary said, we're all here to help and support you. You may be one of the lucky ones that adapts straight away to CPAP, but for a lot of people you have to work at it. All the comfort products are on the main website www.hope2sleep.co.uk but hopefully you won't need a lot of them. However, the Hose Lift and Cleaning Wipes are both of enormous benefit, and the others will only be necessary if you come up against any problems.
The good news is that once you have got your CPAP treatment going you will start to have more energy, and if you're suffering from brain fog too (caused by the oxygen dips you'll be getting with the apnoeas) then that will start to improve too. Just as importantly is the fact that you should be protected from further heart problems, plus all the other related conditions that undiagnosed sleep apnoea is linked with.
Good luck for Friday and let us know how it goes and how we can help.
Mike reed said:I have heard that a cpap machine will greatly improve my quality of life is this as true as people say please. I could do with the help as i also suffer from Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Atrial Fibrillation and i just dont have any energy and feel so frustrated.
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The sleep study you had should have showed up if you have central apnoeas as well as obstructive ones. However, sometimes if our pressures are too high we are having too much air (oxygen) which can dilute the carbon dioxide in our lungs, so the brain doesn't get the message that we need to exhale. (It's probably a lot more technical than this, but that's my understanding of it). Hope this makes sense! As for me, the software on my machine shows up any centrals, which is why I know for me this happened when I brought the maximum pressure down on my APAP.
Philip said:Hi Kath
How can you tell if some of your apneoa are central instead of OSA ?
Why would the pressure make a difference?
PS I am learning so much through this site. I am so grateful to yourself and all the other contributors. Thanks
Phil E
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