Woke up last night with difficulty breathing...

[JulesMaximus]

I caught a nasty cold that came on suddenly Thursday and I've been feeling crappy on and off since but I've been resting a lot, drinking lots of water and getting a good nights sleep every night to try and get it out of my system quickly.

Anyway, I've been taking Tylenol Multi-Symptom cold medicine when the symptoms are really bad but last night I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't breathe. I literally could not catch a breath. I got up and walked out into the hallway of my room wheezing loudly gasping for breath. It was like something was blocking my airway. Anyway, after about 30-40 seconds of that and trying not to panic I was slowly able to catch my breath. I took some cough medicine and went back to bed but that scared the crap out of me...never experienced anything like that before. Scared my wife too.

I've never been asthmatic in my life...is this what that feels like?

I'm still sick but feel a bit better this morning. Hopefully I can get rid of this damned thing soon. I hate being sick.

Cliffs:
-Blog nazis can DIAF.

Update

Well, I'm not dead yet and I didn't spend the day in the Emergency Room yesterday nor did I see a doctor. Feeling a little better today, congestion seems to be breaking up and I'm not coughing much or as forcefully as I was on Saturday. My voice is pretty much shot though, I sound like I've been chain smoking for 100 years. :laugh:

Anyway, I'm off to work shortly...ugh.

 

[Rage187]

maybe your lung collapsed?

 

[Pheran]

See a doctor, ATOT is not the place to go for this. That being said, you may have bronchitis.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Pheran
See a doctor, ATOT is not the place to go for this. That being said, you may have bronchitis.

Well, it's Sunday...and I'm not about to spend my entire day waiting in the Emergency room. Unless it happens again I'm just going to wait until tomorrow.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Could have been an episode of sleep apnea triggered by either the congestion itself or the meds you were using.

 

[MichaelD]

x2 the "See a doctor ASAP" comment. Seriously; no breathing = no oxygen = you be dead.

That feeling you had...gasping for breath, completely unable to inhale: That's what happens to me (worst case) when I'm exposed to cats. The animals, not the play. Seriously; my throat just closes completely. I'm not asthmatic and I don't think you are either.

It's either allergies, or you've got pneumonia or similar. See a doctor ASAP!

 

[ScottFern]

I got Wendy's shits at 4am last night. Terrible........I am still shaking. Not a good idea to hit up Wendy's at 11pm.

 

[Auggie]

Was it just phlegm blocking your airway? Or was it your airway that was just constricted? You could have had a reaction to either something you ate or your medicine.

It's kinda dumb to end up dead or with brain damage or with life-threatening pneumonia because you didn't get help after you had a breathing crisis earlier...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
x2 the "See a doctor ASAP" comment. Seriously; no breathing = no oxygen = you be dead.

That feeling you had...gasping for breath, completely unable to inhale: That's what happens to me (worst case) when I'm exposed to cats. The animals, not the play. Seriously; my throat just closes completely. I'm not asthmatic and I don't think you are either.

It's either allergies, or you've got pneumonia or similar. See a doctor ASAP!

I don't have allergies...at least that I'm aware of. We've lived in this house for 10 years and we have a cat and a dog that we've had for many years, nothing has changed in that respect.

Honestly, it feels like bronchitis, which I've had before. Doctor told me to use a cough medicine with an expectorant and come back if it didn't clear up within a week.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Auggie
Was it just phlegm blocking your airway? Or was it your airway that was just constricted? You could have had a reaction to either something you ate or your medicine.

It's kinda dumb to end up dead or with brain damage or with life-threatening pneumonia because you didn't get help after you had a breathing crisis earlier...

I don't know, nothing came up but my coughing has been productive all day yesterday and especially this morning.

I'm breathing fine this morning, no wheezing.

 

[MichaelD]

Have you been coughing a lot? When you cough, are you coughing up "chunks?" If so I hope you've been spitting them out. Seriously. As gross as it may sound, your body is coughing them up for a reason; to get rid of them. My wife thinks it's gross to spit (yeah, I know about the associated joke) and swallows whatever she coughs up...and it takes her a month to recover from a simple cold.


Go see a doc.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Have you been coughing a lot? When you cough, are you coughing up "chunks?" If so I hope you've been spitting them out. Seriously. As gross as it may sound, your body is coughing them up for a reason; to get rid of them. My wife thinks it's gross to spit (yeah, I know about the associated joke) and swallows whatever she coughs up...and it takes her a month to recover from a simple cold.

Go see a doc.

Yes, this morning as been very productive and I definitely don't swallow that nasty shit. My wife thinks it's gross too.

Anyway, as I said earlier, I'm not keen on sitting in the Emergency Room all day today so I'll go see my primary care physician tomorrow if I don't feel any better.

 

[Pliablemoose]

If you have shortness of breath again go to the ER please.

The number of undiagnosed people with asthma that die outside the hospital is scary as hell. I'm unsure of the exact pathophys of what happened to you last night, but, if you're the slightest bit inclined, please go to the ER.

They'll likely shoot you up with steroids to reduce the swelling/inflammation, a bronchodilator to open up your bronchioles and some antibiotics.

They'll also likely see you very promptly with your symptoms.

 

[Sluggo]

I woke up like that a couple of years ago, I know what you mean when you say it's scary as crap.

Mine turned out to be pneumonia.

 

[foghorn67]

I know when I use that cold medicine, it makes my heart race erratically. Trouble is, it works for colds and even a severe allergy attack.

 

[JMapleton]

I woke up with a cold just a few days ago sore throat, it's almost over with now though.

 

[keird]

I'm a respiratory therapist. It could have been a mucous plug, bronchoconstriction or even pneumonia.

If you showed symptoms of asthma or bronchitis, a physician could have prescribed you an albuterol metered-dose inhaler (MDI). If you get this prescription, also ask for a spacing device and some teaching documentation for it. A lot of my patients don't realize that you have to use a specific inhalation technique to get the maximum dose of medicine per puff. With MDI's you need to inhale the medicine slowly - inhale for 5 seconds. Inhaling faster reduces the amount of medicine getting to the deepest areas of your lungs because the particle size of the MDI's are so small that they impact against everything else on the way down. Also hold your breath for 10 seconds after filling your lungs. Using a spacer and the correct techniques will at least double the amount of medicine where you will benefit from it.

Wait a couple of minutes between puffs, too. Albuterol starts to work pretty quickly (5-15 minutes) and subsequent puffs will penetrate deeper in your lungs after the first puff has provided some bronchodilation. Albuterol peaks in it's effectiveness in 2 hours and lasts 4-6 hours.

Cliffs: See a physician.

 

[Newbian]

Did you make sure no one was around you teabagging you?

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I caught a nasty cold that came on suddenly Thursday and I've been feeling crappy on and off since but I've been resting a lot, drinking lots of water and getting a good nights sleep every night to try and get it out of my system quickly.

Anyway, I've been taking Tylenol Multi-Symptom cold medicine when the symptoms are really bad but last night I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't breathe. I literally could not catch a breath. I got up and walked out into the hallway of my room wheezing loudly gasping for breath. It was like something was blocking my airway. Anyway, after about 30-40 seconds of that and trying not to panic I was slowly able to catch my breath. I took some cough medicine and went back to bed but that scared the crap out of me...never experienced anything like that before. Scared my wife too.

I've never been asthmatic in my life...is this what that feels like?

I'm still sick but feel a bit better this morning. Hopefully I can get rid of this damned thing soon. I hate being sick.

Cliffs:
-Blog nazis can DIAF.

Hey Jules, I have had the exact same thing, especially in my younger days. I'm 18 atm, but during adolesence, I was definitely experiencing what you described especially around Spring when there was lots of pollenation.

I tried talking to my doctor, but he doesn't quite know what to make of it. My guess is that mucus is blocking esophagus and thats what produces that panic mode.

I can't tell you how shitty it is, my lungs are fucked up. When I run the mile in weight lifting, I get royally owned, I'm still pretty quick, but my lungs just lock up.

So I hope you feel better man, but I definitely know what you're talking about.

 

[SsupernovaE]

Originally posted by: Sluggo
I woke up like that a couple of years ago, I know what you mean when you say it's scary as crap.

Mine turned out to be pneumonia.

Happened to me when I was 15. Woke up one day and went to school and collapsed after getting off the bus. Turned out I had a collapsed lung and pneumonia which led to respiratory arrest.

 

[Muse]

I guess it's been said but if you are having difficulty breathing you need capable medical attention ASAP. That sounds like it has to be life threatening.

 

[Auggie]

Swallowing mucus and phlegm isn't harmful. It goes to your stomach and gets digested, just like any other thing you swallow.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Have you been coughing a lot? When you cough, are you coughing up "chunks?" If so I hope you've been spitting them out. Seriously. As gross as it may sound, your body is coughing them up for a reason; to get rid of them. My wife thinks it's gross to spit (yeah, I know about the associated joke) and swallows whatever she coughs up...and it takes her a month to recover from a simple cold.

Go see a doc.

Yes, this morning as been very productive and I definitely don't swallow that nasty shit. My wife thinks it's gross too.

Anyway, as I said earlier, I'm not keen on sitting in the Emergency Room all day today so I'll go see my primary care physician tomorrow if I don't feel any better.

It's your call, but if you are alarmed again, seems to me you should have your wife drive you to the ER.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Auggie
Swallowing mucus and phlegm isn't harmful. It goes to your stomach and gets digested, just like any other thing you swallow.

My thinking too.

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: Auggie
Swallowing mucus and phlegm isn't harmful. It goes to your stomach and gets digested, just like any other thing you swallow.

Not necessarily. My doctor was of the opinion some of it ends up lining your throat, which it does anyway, but not all of it ends up in your stomach.