choking-sometimes while sleeping

[redeemed]

I was wondering if any one deals with choking. My own saliva can go " down the wrong pipe" This happens at times during the day~But worse is being woken up from a deep sleep choking from I guess the saliva I do have lesions on my brain stem. Any advice or info will be great..I do see my Neuro Dr. next month..

[mjan]

First of all, I am sorry for what you are going through..scary isn't it? I used to choke every time I ate for couple of years then mentioned it to my gastro doc and he dilated my esophagus=no more choking!!

But it returned but ONLY at night. I would wake up suddenly cuz I could not swallow at all!! Tried not to panic, calming myself tried to drink water..still could not swallow. Then made water VERY cold.. and yes could get that down.

It doesnt happen real often, but when I mentioned it to my gasto doc again, he dilated esophagus again.. so far.. so good.

You have twlight sleep(versed and Fetanyl) for this procedure EDG is what its called. First time my throat was a little soar..2nd time I didnt not feel anything at all.

Good luck.. I would talk to your primary doc first or call your neuro's office; speak to the Rn and ask her if there is something you need to do now.

Warmly, Jan

[sunshine008]

hi

i'm so sorry for what your going thru, that can be very scary. i had it a bit past few nights. thought it was dry mouth at first than realized shortly after it wasn't. i did cold water also and it went down than passed out sleeping.

i'd take the advice on what to do..... i'm glad i read this also.

good luck try to stay calm.

not easy i know

[ncgrl]

I used to have this a lot and only at night. I would wake up choking too. It got me a barium swallow. After ruling out something other than MS the Dr's said not to worry. Luckily I never had any issues eating which made it easier to not worry. If it had caused me to choke on food or drink, I would have felt different I'm sure.Good luck hope you get some relief.

[bikerider]

I have had this for the last several years. Exactly the same symptoms...except I rarely have it at night. I've learned to just live with it.

[Red7172]

A couple years ago I was having this problem.
I chocked on my saliva while I ate, slept, drank, and when I just was sitting or standing. I talked to my doc and he had me do the swallow test and with my results the therapist gave me stuff to do.

For me I have to take a drink after I chew something (don't do that any more but it helped)

She told me to prop up the front of my bed so I was at an angle while I slept. (very helpful I still have my bed propped up.. it is just hard to find the right height)

The last thing they had me do was swallow with more force. (it sounds funny but if you go and have a swallow test they and a consult it is explained pretty good)

I think you should talk with your doc but I would try propping the front of your bed up to see if that helps.

[rocketbaby]

I wake up gagging/choking from deep sleep. It totally freaks me out. It doesn't happen very often, but it happened last night. I was awake for several hours after the episode. Fortunately, I don't have any problems eating, but I do have problems swallowing when I get anxious. It can be very frustrating. I hope things get better for you....Hugs, Michele

[Shiela]

This was a very helpful post. I've been woken up by choking on my saliva even while sleeping on my stomach. Causes me to jump out of bed in a panic and try to start breathing again. Thanks for the tips.

[jcrain9663]

Sleep apnea is a possibility

Some of your descriptions sound very much like what I used to experience before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Its very much worth getting a sleep study to rule it out. Although it's common for sleep apnea to be accompanied by snoring, it's not always the case.

Also, the same anatomical issues that cause sleep apnea can contribute to silent GERD, and sleep apnea and GERD often appear together.