Toddler holding breath/stopping breathing at night - sleep apnoea?

[PickledLily]

DD (nearly 3yrs) has always been a rubbish sleeper, but I've noticed she is pausing for breath, sometimes for 5-8s at a time, then almost waking up as she takes another breath. Sometimes she has a coughing/choking fit that wakes her up. I'm thinking it could be sleep apnoea.

Is it worth taking her to the GP or are they likely to just fob me off? We are already under an ENT consultant for glue ear, so was thinking I might just ask him at our next appointment.

What are people's experience of this?

We had a very similar experience.
Dd has just been referred to ent for very large tonsils which may have caused it.
Certainly worth talking to the gp. Your dd should not be not breathing so get them to check it out.

Does sound like sleep apnoea. My ds had this at the same age. He also snored a lot. Does your dd snore? For my ds it was his tonsils and he had them taken out. In my experience sleep apnoea is taken seriously as it can have a detrimental effect on development as they don't sleep well. I'd see the gp unless you're due back at ent very soon. Also I did a sound recording of my ds stopping breathing which the ent consultant found useful.

She's always done it, but we had other issues that trumped it and then I forgot about it. Yes she does snore sometimes, not all the time. I wondered if it might be an allergy thing too? Or can tongue tie cause it? She is prone to silent reflux and was on medication until she was 2.5y. We never got tongue tie officially diagnosed and now I blame it for causing all sorts of things!

A recording is a really good idea. Not seeing Mr ENT for a few weeks, so might see if I can get a doctors appointment in the meantime.

My DD had the same thing and I was fobbed off by the GP until we moved and changed doctors. They took one look at the size of her tonsils and referred us to ENT. Once she had her tonsils out at age 4, she stopped snoring and the sleep apnoea also stopped.

My DS is nearly five and we have had several investigations for this, although he holds his breath for up to 45 seconds at times! I still use an angelcare monitor for him as I have had to shake him and shout at him twice to make him breathe. He sighs a lot in his sleep even when he doesn't set the alarm off. I am replying mostly because both my DS also have a history of reflux (one with silent and one very definitely not silent!) and are still medicated for it and have on going non-IGE mediated multiple food allergies now at 6 and 4. My youngest has had two sleep studies to try and shed some light on it. The consultant can see that he does desat to 87% in his sleep on occasions but has signed him off saying that it is physiological and he is of an age where he should sort himself out.
In answer to your question, I think you should definitely see the GP due to the history of reflux, and so they can check her tonsils, but they may well tell you it is normal.

Thank you for the feedback. Having had such a massive battle getting her silent reflux treated, I have little faith in GPs for more obscure problems. Plus it's quite an undertaking to get an appointment without wiping out half a day at work. Hence my reticence.
Sorry to hear your 4yo is still medicated for silent reflux, survivaloftheunfittest. It's a horrible disorder and so misunderstood.
When DD was little (and I was trying to get reflux acknowledged) I had a few GPs comment that her tonsils were quite large. DH also has sleep apnoea symptoms (but won't bloody well do anything about it grrr) so a couple of things there that might predispose DD to it.
Glad you got to the bottom of it eventually, dizzy.

@SurvivalOfTheUnfittest I know it's been donkeys years since your post but what you said is exactly what my 10 month old does - is the sighing in the sleep related to the reflux? Also how did your doctors manage the reflux which medicine because mine has been given omeprazole but that only neutralises the stomach acid it doesn't stop it. Thanks.