Gasping for a breath when waking

cloudyday2

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I was hoping people might have some ideas on these symptoms I am experiencing. Google works better when you know the correct keywords, so even that would help.

(1) When I drift-off to sleep either sitting in a chair or lying on my back I will often wake up in 10 minutes and gasp for a breath. It is like when you hold your breath while swimming underwater and finally come up for a breath. I'm familiar with sleep apnea, but there is no snoring or choking. I also have heard of central sleep apnea where the central nervous system forgets to breath. This has been happening every other day for a month or so.

(2) I often feel extremely tired. A few days ago I spent the afternoon in my chair with my eyes shut but not actually asleep. I had things to do, but I was so extremely tired I felt like I was a puddle of jelly, and I thought if I sat there I would be able to recharge, but I never felt recharged.

(3) My blood pressure has always been lower than average, but I am becoming suspicious that it might be related to the extreme tiredness. The blood pressure monitor gives three numbers - X over Y and Z bpm. It seems that X is about 10 points lower when I am feeling tired. For example, typical numbers might be 107 over 73 and 44 bpm, but when I'm tired it might be 99 over 71 and 49 bpm.

(4) Depression and anxiety might be a factor too. Typically I feel overwhelmed with work, so I sit in a chair and close my eyes and try to relax, but then I find myself in a light sleep for 15 or 20 minutes. Then I often wake up gasping for air.

(5) I don't take any medications, but I have been taking ashwagandha, because I suspect I have adrenal fatigue. Ashwagandha can lower blood pressure and blood sugar, so I have wondered about that. However, I was feeling exhausted before I started taking ashwagandha. I felt like getting through a workday was like climbing a mountain, so I started using ashwagandha. It seemed to help.

Thanks for any ideas :)
 
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Aussie Pete

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I was hoping people might have some ideas on these symptoms I am experiencing. Google works better when you know the correct keywords, so even that would help.

(1) When I drift-off to sleep either sitting in a chair or lying on my back I will often wake up in 10 minutes and gasp for a breath. It is like when you hold your breath while swimming underwater and finally come up for a breath. I'm familiar with sleep apnea, but there is no snoring or choking. I also have heard of central sleep apnea where the central nervous system forgets to breath. This has been happening every other day for a month or so.

(2) I often feel extremely tired. A few days ago I spent the afternoon in my chair with my eyes shut but not actually asleep. I had things to do, but I was so extremely tired I felt like I was a puddle of jelly, and I thought if I sat there I would be able to recharge, but I never felt recharged.

(3) My blood pressure has always been lower than average, but I am becoming suspicious that it might be related to the extreme tiredness. The blood pressure monitor gives three numbers - X over Y and Z bpm. It seems that X is about 10 points lower when I am feeling tired. For example, typical numbers might be 107 over 73 and 44 bpm, but when I'm tired it might be 99 over 71 and 49 bpm.

(4) Depression and anxiety might be a factor too. Typically I feel overwhelmed with work, so I sit in a chair and close my eyes and try to relax, but then I find myself in a light sleep for 15 or 20 minutes. Then I often wake up gasping for air.

(5) I don't take any medications, but I have been taking ashwagandha, because I suspect I have adrenal fatigue. Ashwagandha can lower blood pressure and blood sugar, so I have wondered about that. However, I was feeling exhausted before I started taking ashwagandha. I felt like getting through a workday was like climbing a mountain, so I started using ashwagandha. It seemed to help.

Thanks for any ideas :)
If you have low blood pressure it seems counter-intuitive to take a medicine that lowers it further. Most medications have a placebo effect so that may be why you feel a bit better.
 
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cloudyday2

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If you have low blood pressure it seems counter-intuitive to take a medicine that lowers it further. Most medications have a placebo effect so that may be why you feel a bit better.
I was thinking the same thing, and I stopped taking ashwagandha last week. The result was that I started feeling bad in a different way. Prior to taking ashwagandha I would wake up feeling like I had an alcohol hangover, and that would last until afternoon. I would feel kind of nauseated and dizzy and headache and depressed. (I gave up drinking about 10 years ago, so that isn't a factor today.) I don't think the gasping for air problem was any better without ashwagandha, but obviously it wasn't a scientific study.

So anyway I took some ashwagandha again last night, and I didn't feel hungover when I woke up this morning. But I'm still having this problem where I feel tired for no reason.
 
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cloudyday2

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Another clue is tomato paste. I was having a craving for Chinese food a few weeks ago, and I wondered if there was some nutrient I was lacking. MSG came to mind, and I found that tomatoes have natural MSG.

So anyway, tomato paste seems to give me a boost of energy, but as always there is the placebo effect. I'm a bit of OCD/hypochondriac type of person anyway, so who knows.
 
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paul1149

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First thing I would say is to have a check-up to make sure there are no major problems. Then I would ask, how is your diet, and do you get moderate exercise? If all that is good I would then look for the right herbal combination to set things in order.
 
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cloudyday2

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First thing I would say is to have a check-up to make sure there are no major problems. Then I would ask, how is your diet, and do you get moderate exercise? If all that is good I would then look for the right herbal combination to set things in order.
I need to get a check-up. I am 53 years old, and I exercise about 3 times a week on average. I eat vegetables and try to limit the carbohydrates. I take a multivitamin most days with methylated folate for MTHFR on one of the two chromosomes. I'm fairly skinny, but I have always been that way.
 
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cloudyday2

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Sounds like sleep apnea a lot. I have had it and that is exactly what happened to me, though check with your Doctor :)
Were you aware of snoring or snorting as you woke with sleep apnea? When I wake up there is no feeling of my throat being obstructed but more like I need to consciously remember how to breath. It's like I wake up and momentarily don't know what is wrong and then I realize that I need to breath and then I breath and all is fine. But it's kind of scary.
 
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cloudyday2

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Anyway, thanks for the ideas. I was reading a little more about sleep apnea, and it seems that lots of factors can be involved. CSA or OSA is somewhat irrelevant, because many people have a little of both. And also sleep apnea is often connected with other ailments.

So I suppose I need to schedule a checkup and stop the supplements for a few weeks prior to the checkup so they don't confuse matters. I guess this is just part of getting older.

Here is the link I found on CSA in case anybody cares:
https://www.sleepapnea.org/learn/sleep-apnea/central-sleep-apnea/
 
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paul1149

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I need to get a check-up. I am 53 years old, and I exercise about 3 times a week on average. I eat vegetables and try to limit the carbohydrates. I take a multivitamin most days with methylated folate for MTHFR on one of the two chromosomes. I'm fairly skinny, but I have always been that way.
Sounds like you're doing the right things. After the check up, I would look into herbal androgen support.
 
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When I wake up there is no feeling of my throat being obstructed but more like I need to consciously remember how to breath. It's like I wake up and momentarily don't know what is wrong and then I realize that I need to breath and then I breath and all is fine. But it's kind of scary.

That was how it was with me. It is very scary
 
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cloudyday2

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FWIW, I started feeling a little better a few minutes ago after having been tired most of the afternoon. I measured my blood pressure and the systolic and diastolic numbers are higher while the heart rate is slightly lower. (120 over 80 with 43 bpm compared to 99 over 71 with 49 bpm about an hour ago when I was feeling so tired and depressed)
 
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