coltsfan715
New member
Hi Clara,
I do not have the problems with my weight but I wanted to offer my opinion on the problem you mentioned having with waking up at night gasping or feeling as though you are choking. Also I wanted to comment on the sodas lol - from a fellow addict (now trying to recover lol).
As for the waking up at night I had been having the same problem starting in about August or September of 2006. I would wake up short of breath panting and would feel as though I was suffocating or like I would suffocate if I went back to sleep. I wrote this off to anxiety and my doc prescribed my Ambien at the time because I was forcing myself to stay awake almost all night and in turn wearing myself down and becoming very sick.
I went on from the end of September til the week before Christmas taking the Ambien - 10mg each night. I was still waking up and had several episodes where I woudl shoot up in bed gasping for air - almost choking which would in turn lead to coughing and more exhaustion and muscle pain. I was also having other issues and after talking to a few people on this site and also listening to my own instincts (which the people on this site only reinforced) I called my doc and asked them to set up an overnight oximetry reading to see if I was desaturating at night and not getting enough O2. Turns out I was desatting pretty severely - my sats would drop almost 10% at my deepest sleep. They started my on O2 the Wednesday before Christmas and I have now been on it about 1.5 weeks. I have stopped taking the Ambien and am actually sleeping better WITHOUT the Ambien than I was with it. I have not woken up with those choking/gasping feelings either. I wanted to mention that because maybe when you are sick you are desatting at night. If you are only noticing the gasping and choking feelings waking you up when you have been fighting an infection. It may be something you want to talk to your doctor about.
As for the sodas - I am diabetic due to CF, so for me the soda issue is more of a problem than for you I am sure. I have tried several times to cut sodas out of my diet completely to no avail. Now is the best I have done and I have maybe had 10 (mostly in the form of a cola Icee) since I was hospitalized in September. That is incredible for me cause I usually had at least 1 a day if not more. I will say that for me I breathe better without them. It is amazing the difference in my breathing when I have not had a soda and then when I do drink one within about 1 hour I am coughing and it is really thick and gunky sounding. I tend to get short of breath more easily after drinking a soda as well. I sometimes get the same way when my blood sugars are high - but even if my sugars are normal AFTER I have had a soda to drink I still get the same reaction (gunky, thick sounding cough, more frequent cough, and more shortness of breath). I would venture to say that if you cut sodas out of your diet or at least cut them down you would start to lose weight and you would also breathe a little bit easier even though you may not think that the sodas are affecting your breathing now. Maybe instead of 2 a day only 1 a day or instead of 1 a day 1 every other day or something like that. Then you could slowly cut them out of your diet all together. If you are a hardcore soda drinker diet soda will most likely be a total turn off to you. Every time I have a diet soda I want to gag and vomit lol - no real exaggeration there either unfortunately. I have found the best thing for me is to replace the soda with something else with flavor. I drink alot of Apple Juice now - lemonade when I go out to eat or water if I am in the mood for it. Water is always good for you, but sometimes the lack of flavor makes you crave a soda even more (at least that is how it was for me).
I hope you are able to figure out what is causing the shortness of breath at night and that you are able to get your weight issues worked out. Also you can maybe talk to your doctor about being set up for a sleep apnea test. I know sometimes if you are overweight that can cause you problems with sleep apnea - which can in turn affect your ability to get enough O2 when you sleep. If you feel fatigued alot through the day, get very tired to the point it is difficult staying awake it may be sleep apnea (I know those were 2 keys reasons they tested my dad for it anyway - he does NOT have CF but is overweight).
Take Care,
Lindsey
I do not have the problems with my weight but I wanted to offer my opinion on the problem you mentioned having with waking up at night gasping or feeling as though you are choking. Also I wanted to comment on the sodas lol - from a fellow addict (now trying to recover lol).
As for the waking up at night I had been having the same problem starting in about August or September of 2006. I would wake up short of breath panting and would feel as though I was suffocating or like I would suffocate if I went back to sleep. I wrote this off to anxiety and my doc prescribed my Ambien at the time because I was forcing myself to stay awake almost all night and in turn wearing myself down and becoming very sick.
I went on from the end of September til the week before Christmas taking the Ambien - 10mg each night. I was still waking up and had several episodes where I woudl shoot up in bed gasping for air - almost choking which would in turn lead to coughing and more exhaustion and muscle pain. I was also having other issues and after talking to a few people on this site and also listening to my own instincts (which the people on this site only reinforced) I called my doc and asked them to set up an overnight oximetry reading to see if I was desaturating at night and not getting enough O2. Turns out I was desatting pretty severely - my sats would drop almost 10% at my deepest sleep. They started my on O2 the Wednesday before Christmas and I have now been on it about 1.5 weeks. I have stopped taking the Ambien and am actually sleeping better WITHOUT the Ambien than I was with it. I have not woken up with those choking/gasping feelings either. I wanted to mention that because maybe when you are sick you are desatting at night. If you are only noticing the gasping and choking feelings waking you up when you have been fighting an infection. It may be something you want to talk to your doctor about.
As for the sodas - I am diabetic due to CF, so for me the soda issue is more of a problem than for you I am sure. I have tried several times to cut sodas out of my diet completely to no avail. Now is the best I have done and I have maybe had 10 (mostly in the form of a cola Icee) since I was hospitalized in September. That is incredible for me cause I usually had at least 1 a day if not more. I will say that for me I breathe better without them. It is amazing the difference in my breathing when I have not had a soda and then when I do drink one within about 1 hour I am coughing and it is really thick and gunky sounding. I tend to get short of breath more easily after drinking a soda as well. I sometimes get the same way when my blood sugars are high - but even if my sugars are normal AFTER I have had a soda to drink I still get the same reaction (gunky, thick sounding cough, more frequent cough, and more shortness of breath). I would venture to say that if you cut sodas out of your diet or at least cut them down you would start to lose weight and you would also breathe a little bit easier even though you may not think that the sodas are affecting your breathing now. Maybe instead of 2 a day only 1 a day or instead of 1 a day 1 every other day or something like that. Then you could slowly cut them out of your diet all together. If you are a hardcore soda drinker diet soda will most likely be a total turn off to you. Every time I have a diet soda I want to gag and vomit lol - no real exaggeration there either unfortunately. I have found the best thing for me is to replace the soda with something else with flavor. I drink alot of Apple Juice now - lemonade when I go out to eat or water if I am in the mood for it. Water is always good for you, but sometimes the lack of flavor makes you crave a soda even more (at least that is how it was for me).
I hope you are able to figure out what is causing the shortness of breath at night and that you are able to get your weight issues worked out. Also you can maybe talk to your doctor about being set up for a sleep apnea test. I know sometimes if you are overweight that can cause you problems with sleep apnea - which can in turn affect your ability to get enough O2 when you sleep. If you feel fatigued alot through the day, get very tired to the point it is difficult staying awake it may be sleep apnea (I know those were 2 keys reasons they tested my dad for it anyway - he does NOT have CF but is overweight).
Take Care,
Lindsey