Strange breathing problem when I doze off

I use a cpap and mask for sleeping at night but if I try to take a short nap or start to doze off a strange thing happens and I wonder if its the apnea and if any one else experiences it and has a solution.

As I am actually thinking I am going to fall asleep I have a "jumpy" feeling and wake up immediately. Heart doctor says it is not my heart and maybe because of the apnea I stop breathing and it startles me and I wake up.

I keep wanting to take a overseas trip but don't know how I would handle staying away the 7 or 8 hours it takes and if I do sleep the snoring would be so embarrassing.Anyway I haven't been able to take a nap unless I put the mask on and lay in bed for a while.

My sleep apnea is only a "6" so it isn't major.

Any input would be appreciated.

Suz

Suz, the very same thing happens to me every time I doze off without my cpap. As soon as I relax enough to sleep my throat collapses and I start jumping awake and/or making groaning sounds to start breathing. It sounds to me like classic OSA at work--nothing more or less.

I wouldn't ever sleep without your equipment--not even naps. A "nap" without my cpap really does me no good anyway and the oxygen desaturation cycles actually result in real harm.

And don't mistake your pressure setting for an indication of how severe or mild your apnea may be. That just means that it takes a low pressure to keep your air passage open--and from the sounds of it, your air passage blocks off the minute you fall asleep.

So keep up the therapy!

Have you looked at your sleep lab reports? Do they mention that you have central apneas (CA)? If so, you may be having a CA just as you doze off. That happens to me....your brain is not telling your breathing muscles to breathe. Then again maybe that's not what it is...if you have CA then you need to check with your sleep doc to see how best to treat it. bob

Right, sleep-onset is a very busy time, with a lot of transitional stuff occurring, but this description sounds a little more like Sleep Starts, also referred to as hypnagogic jerks, sleep-onset myoclonus or hypnic jerks. From the ICSD:

Sleep starts are sudden, brief contractions of the legs, sometimes also involving the arms and head, that occur at sleep onset. Sleep starts usually consist of a single contraction that often affects the body asymmetrically. The jerks may be either spontaneous or induced by stimuli. Sleep starts are sometimes associated with the subjective impression of falling, a sensory flash, or a visual hypnagogic dream or hallucination. A sharp cry may occur.

They're quite common, with a prevalence of about 60-70%.
SAG

StillAnotherGuest wrote:Right, sleep-onset is a very busy time, with a lot of transitional stuff occurring, but this description sounds a little more like Sleep Starts, also referred to as hypnagogic jerks, sleep-onset myoclonus or hypnic jerks. From the ICSD:

Sleep starts are sudden, brief contractions of the legs, sometimes also involving the arms and head, that occur at sleep onset. Sleep starts usually consist of a single contraction that often affects the body asymmetrically. The jerks may be either spontaneous or induced by stimuli. Sleep starts are sometimes associated with the subjective impression of falling, a sensory flash, or a visual hypnagogic dream or hallucination. A sharp cry may occur.

They're quite common, with a prevalence of about 60-70%.
SAG

SAG,

Is this the sensation a person experiences as they're falling asleep that is like the sensation of "falling"? (for a split-second)

I used to experience that periodically before starting therapy.....but only once since I've been on therapy......and ironically it was just in the last week or so.

It was really a shock the other night, because I hadn't experienced it for so long.

Thanks,

Den

Wulfman wrote:Is this the sensation a person experiences as they're falling asleep that is like the sensation of "falling"? (for a split-second)

That would fit the bill. An amusing Sleep Start that I occasionally get is an auditory hallucination, generally in the form of a loud crack. I have since learned not to ask in a high-pitched voice, "Did you hear THAT?"
SAG

StillAnotherGuest wrote:

Wulfman wrote:Is this the sensation a person experiences as they're falling asleep that is like the sensation of "falling"? (for a split-second)

That would fit the bill. An amusing Sleep Start that I occasionally get is an auditory hallucination, generally in the form of a loud crack. I have since learned not to ask in a high-pitched voice, "Did you hear THAT?"
SAG

HA! I've experienced some loud "cracks", too.....usually in my back or neck/shoulder areas.....but mostly in the middle of the night or towards morning. Sometimes they seem as loud as a thunder clap.
Muscles relaxing around my vertebrae, I guess.

Thanks for your reply.

Den

Thanks for all the input. Gave me some ideas to go on. Do not think it is sleep starts, it does not feel like I am falling. i have a lot to learn about sleep apnea. Probably just have to deal with it and like one of you said I will need to use the CPAP machine whenever I sleep, even short naps.

I sure have learned that we are never a lone with our problems.

Suz