sudden sever shortness of breath!

[jaabaar]

Hi,

I just woke up and my breath was completely cut I could not even call my husbands name!! It was very frightning! I felt like there was something sour on my lungs and I had to STRONGLY try and cough to enable me to breath again! With little cough and trying to grasp a little air in between each cough It gradually become all better within 20 minutes but I still feel strange.

Do I need to call a doctor or is this normal? I dont like to call doctors if not necessary.

Have no other pains like chest etc.

thanks for your advise.

G

Hello jaabaar

I had shortness of breath during pg too but not as extreme as yours sounds. Could you call NHSDirect for some advice?

I agree with VFemme, a call to NHS Direct would be a good idea. I'm sure it's fine but better safe than sorry.

Thank you for your advise. I have tomorrow at 4.30 an ante natal appointment booked with GP. I might just wait for that or go as emergency in the morning as I just feel "strange".

uff....

I'm sure it's fine, shortness of breath is common but just very occasionally it can be a sign of other things. I know it's a silly hour of the morning but I would just put in a quick call to NHS Direct, explain what happened and that you do have an appointment tomorrow so will be seen but just to check it's OK to leave it until then. I'd stay where you are and boot DH out of bed to make the call, it's good practice for him for when the baby arrives !

Jaabaar do you get really bad heartburn? I have had this quite a number of times as I have very bad heartburn and I think what happens is that acid comes up into my throat when i am sleeping and I wake up having choked on it.

I know exactly what you mean about something sour on your lungs. The best thing for me is NOT to cough, just focus on breathing slowly and regularly until it eases. I always found that coughing made it a lot worse.

I guess sitting up a bit whilst sleeping and not eating near bedtime is the standard advice, although nothing I do actually stops the heartburn.

This website explains what I mean.

www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/reducing-acid-reflux-and-choking-spells-416976.html

Hope it helps!! I know it is very scary.