Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 I have had 3 sleep studies. The first was several years ago, when I stopped breathing when I was asleep. I woke up, jumped out of bed and started running down the hall. It was such a strange feeling not to have any control of my breathing. It was real weird! I couldn't breathe when I wanted to and then would take a huge uncontrolled breath. My husband took me to the ER then. My doctor ordered my first sleep study, a 20 minute, hurry up and try to sleep, during the day study. The other one, a regular night study, didn't show too much. " I only stopped breathing three times. " No big deal, but they did put me on a cpap, then a bipap, because of my and my husband's insistance. I kept complaining, to the doctors, of my breathing stopping. My husband, for about two months, stayed awake at night watching me sleep. When I would stop breathing (even on the bipap), he would try to wake me up and get me breathing again. He called the paramedics once. They couldn't even wake me up. Another trip to the hospital, an ambulance ride this time. So, I had my third sleep study. This time to set the bipap. Well, I stopped breathing and didn't start again. My level of conciseness was strange. I knew I wasn't breathing, but I had no air hunger. I could hear, see, and feel everything. The techs freaked out. They kept yelling at me to breathe. After briefly consulting each other as to what to do, they called the ambulance. The paramedics intubated me and transported me to the hospital. I went right to CAT scan and then in an ER room. The paramedics were still with me, sitting around, talking about me. When I woke up, they removed the tube from my throat. Then, in walks the ER doc. Well, now I am on a bipap-st, with a full face mask. If I stop breathing it makes a loud alarm and really moves air in and out of my lungs. Now, my husband can get some sleep at last. It has been a hard last few months, not knowing if I was going to go to sleep and not wake up. I wasn't afraid. I was just concerned about my husband. It is hard to know the pain he was going through. At least, they believe me now. I have central apnea (my brain doesn't tell the rest of me to breathe) and COPD, due to chronic bronchitis and asthma. Blessings, Kaspick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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