Stopping breathing, and or gasping for air.

[Ritchie1268]

Hi everyone.

Just wondered if what I get is what I've heard is air hunger where Im fine one minute, then suddenly gasp for breath as if I'm not getting enough oxygen? 3 or 4 panicked very deep breaths later & I'm fine again!

It never happens when I'm being active & I don't necessarily get short of breath while walking etc as you do with PA which I was recently diagnosed with. It happens whenever I'm relaxed mainly, but wide awake, which I'm now wondering if it's yet another way of my body telling me that I need more regular B12 injections than one every 3 months. I know a couple of you kindly replied to my first post saying I probably need to self inject more regular which I'm now looking into thanks to you! (I'm due my 2nd only 3 month injection at GP in 2wks).

I have been having other issues which was my first post a few days ago but, this is really worrying me now!

I have Central Sleep Apnoea, (the one where you stop breathing in your sleep, but your brain doesn't tell you to wake up!), so I have an ASV machine in bed that monitors my breathing & pumps more air into me as I need it without waking me. But I've been ripping the mask off (not every night) but most nights in the last 6wks as I've woken up when I've actually stopped breathing as my mask is full of air with nowhere to go so I think it's the noise from a full mask bursting through the mask seals & air blowing in my eyes that actually wake me. But after a recent visit to the sleep clinic, they have told me it's nothing at all to do with the sleep apnoea, the ASV if working fine & my "AHI's" per hour are below what someone with sleep apnoea would have, so the machine is doing its job!

So I'm only sleeping 2-3 hours per night now as I daren't go back to sleep when this happens!

[deniseinmilden]

It definitely sounds to me like you need more B12 and supporting supplements.

If you get enough proper treatment for long enough it could well help the sleep apnoea too as it sounds like some of your responses are not working properly and this could be due to nerve damage.

If you can't get them from your Dr. it maybwell be worth trying SI, at least to see if it helps.

See wedgewood's replies for lots of help with this.

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply Denise, really good of you!

After someone mentioned this "Air hunger" to me, I posted this on here. Then i found a post where the person posting says they were exhaling for longer, someone replied: "It's air hunger". Which I thought was really odd as from what I've read, thats not air hunger at all!?

Air hunger is when you're gasping for air as your body isn't get enough oxygen, yet another PA symptom.

Wedgewood commented on my first post & was very helpful & informative, as I didn't know at the time, that you go off your own feelings & not the bloods after you've being diagnosed with B12, Folic & PA.

My GP agreed he would give me injections as often as i needed them but, I had to have a blood test first. Which the bloods came back "only slightly below normal" To be fair I do have a really good GP who has always been very helpful so I'm going to explain everything to him, including the research I've done etc. But now I've had this stopping breathing (in my sleep) which the ASV should take care of & then the gasping for air when relaxed, my legs ache more times than not etc etc but, at the time, I just put the aching legs down to the Degenerative Disc Desease in my back, but it seems to make sense now that it's the B12 & PA, & all this seemed to start approximately 6wks after my first 3 monthly injection. So I now think all the signs are there that I'm one of those that needs a regular injection more frequently than one every three months!

I have my 2nd 3 monthly injection next week so I'll see if it improves but, I will definitely start to self inject if things improve after my injection next week & I have to wait another 3 months to feel "Normal" again, then I will definitely be getting in touch with Wedgewood for self injecting etc, as I HATE needles!!!

Thanks again!!!

[Hidden]

For years now I have been suddenly taking a deep gulp of breath for no apparent reason, I have read this could be a sign of B12 deficiency so when I was diagnosed with that a few years ago I expected the 'Sighs' or Gasps' would stop but they didn't. It just happens, not when I am doing strenuous things, and I gave up on those a while ago, so I don't fuss about them and none of our quacks have taken much interest when I have mentioned them. They are just something I do. Who knows it could be instead of yawning. Whatever it is they don't appear to be causing a problem and I find them quite satisfying in a none specific way so don't give them much mind.

[deniseinmilden in reply to Hidden]

I used to need to take 3 or 4 quite desperate gasps, similar, I think, to Ritchie1268 and if I get enough (which for me means lots but we are all different) B12 and supporting supplements to make it work properly then it all goes and I don't notice my breathing at all. However if I don't get the balance of everything quite right then I can feel myself occasionally needing to gasp again. Unless everything has got seriously out of kilter just one gasp seems enough!

The thing that consistently causes difficulties with my breathing is a shortage of iron as well andait may well be worth getting your iron levels checked.

Be aware that while your total iron may be OK, you might need to increase the amount of heme iron in your diet (only found in meat and fish, especially red meat). Also, if you eat sources of calcium at the same time it can "lock up" the iron so you don't get the full benefit from it. If that is the problem you can get around it by leaving 2 hours between eating each.

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thanks again Denise.

I never used to eat breakfast, but now, for many months I eat breakfast, bacon butty, sausage. I actually eat loads of meat & cheese etc.

So if I need more iron, does that then mean that because I have PA & cannot therefore get B12 from my diet, hence the injections, that my iron levels are now low because I cannot therefore digest iron from food?

Think I have alot to learn about this but thank you!

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ritchie1268]

Sounds like you should be OK!

Not necessarily by any means but sometimes you can have difficulty absorbing more than one thing and I thought I'd mention it, just in case.

It could easily just be a lack of B12.

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thanks again. Im definitely onto it!

Thank you!!

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ritchie1268]

😎 x

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

😉👍🏼 xx

[Ritchie1268 in reply to deniseinmilden]

Hi Denise.

Just thought I'd give you an update.

Thanks for the advise you gave when I first joined this site.

I've been SI every other day since before Xmas & my "air hunger" has completely vanished!

I've also noticed that my sleep apnoea is almost non existent now! I monitor my sleep through a Resmed app, similar to what the sleep clinic use, that tells me how many times I stop breathing per hour per night. In the last few weeks since regular B12 injections, my average is 0.2 per hour, anyone who has 5.0 or less per hour is classed as not having sleep apnoea.

Very interesting!!

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ritchie1268]

Thank you - good for you!

I hope you continue to improve. 👍