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Old 08-05-2007, 01:07 AM   #1  
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Default OMG I just woke up choking!

Am I spelling that write?
Anyway my DH is out of town and I just woke up chocking, gasping for air with acid reflux stuck in the middle of my throat! I gasped 3 more times and it slowly went away.
Scared the crap out of me!!!
I am not one to get acid reflux, I had it when I was prego with our oldest ...and then it was nonstop...and I couldn't sleep, not even sitting up. And NO I am not prego.
My DH is out of town with the kids this weekend and I'm home alone and afraid to go back to sleep. It is 1AM. I took 2 tums and am drinking water.
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Old 08-05-2007, 01:28 AM   #2  
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Hi there,
I'm not in the medical profession at all, but that sounds like a very scary experience. Are you sure that reflux would make you choke and not be able to breathe?? I would call "Ask a Nurse" or do a little research online. I have several family members with severe reflux (they take Nexium), but I have never heard the symptoms described as choking... more as severe pain.

Update us on how you are!
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Old 08-05-2007, 01:34 AM   #3  
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I'm sorry this is such a disgusting subject. Hmmm, when I'm awake and it happens, I'm usually sitting up standing up and it goes back down.
But I was laying down, and when I woke up, I was gasping for air....don't know if I was gasping for air in my sleep...I must have been.
I inhaled 3 times before the reflux went back down...it was like stuck in the middle of my throat, ....very strange.
Of course its 1:30 in the morning, who can I call ?
I posted on a local website for local moms....and someone said it sounded like an anxiety attack !
I am seriously afraid to go back to sleep! My husband is out of town, nobody to nudge me if they hear me gasp.
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Old 08-05-2007, 01:37 AM   #4  
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P.S. to that, because it seemed stuck in my throat that is why I couldn't breathe. Man this has not been good.
DH is out of town and last night our alarm system went off ! That never happens either. Turned out someone near our subdivision hit a power pole and everyone lost power for a few minutes and it set some other house alarms off.
Then this happens to me tonight ! UGH!
Interesting about your relatives....I have never had reflux except when prego, so I am not on prescription, and there was no pain, other than being scared ...and it was hot. YUCK...
I will dig around on line and see what I find. Thanks !
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Old 08-05-2007, 01:38 AM   #5  
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Isn't "Ask a Nurse" a 24 hour hotline... maybe that's not what it's called, but my mom used to call it, even years ago. Maybe I'm fabricating that???

Anyway, if you are truly afraid but sleepy why don't you try to prop yourself up to sleep? Not sure if that would work... sorry, I'm not too knowledgable about reflux issues!
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Old 08-05-2007, 01:38 AM   #6  
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You may also want to consider Sleep apnea. (I have it) If you have sleep apnea your airway colapses and you cant breath. You body will then wake up usually several times a night, you wont always realize your waking up. Some times you will wake up gasping for air. Some people with sleep apnea also have acid reflux issues. You should talk to you doc, you can have a sleep study done.
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Old 08-05-2007, 01:41 AM   #7  
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I have a problem with panic attacks when I am home alone. The fiance went on vacation for a few days with his family last summer and I ended up in the hospital thinking I was dying. My chest kept hurting, and I couldn't sleep I was so scared. An EKG and a chest X-ray later, they told me my lungs and heart look great and I most *likely* was having an anxiety attack.
I still get those little chest pains now and then, but since I Have started losing weight they aren't nearly as often *shrug*
Could you call a friend or someone to stay with you?
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Old 08-05-2007, 02:10 AM   #8  
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I think maybe I do have sleep apnea....I snore badly....with the weight gain of course. I had a study done 5 yrs ago and they totally messed it up.
First of all I was very tired, with a newborn and was looking forward to a real night of sleep. I showed up at 9pm and the person to do the study FORGOT to show up so I had to wait 2 hrs in the lobby..getting a 2nd wind and very irritated, by the time she got there and got me hooked up I had a hard time sleeping. I woke up around six am and told her I was very tired and didnt' sleep well. She said I was in REM and could tell my eyes were rolling around.
Well YEAH, rolling around because I had them OPEN duh !
I have never gone back for a study and now I weight more then I did before!
I didn't know you could have the acid reflux with sleep apnea.
There is a sleep clinic near our house (we've moved since the last time I had a test), I will call them on Monday. I'm sure they'll say it will be six months before they can see me!
I wonder also about the panic attack and DH being gone ?? I was afraid to bed as it was because of the alarm going off last night.
He won't be home for 3 more nights!
Now I will go check out ASK A NURSE , thanks!
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Old 08-05-2007, 02:52 AM   #9  
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Next time you have bad pain like this go to your local Urgent Care/Critical Care/ER and ask to have a "GI Cocktail" done.

I work at an Urgent Care.

I would 'guess' it is anxiety over being alone. You are under stress and that can make our stomach acid go crazy and burn whole thru our tender lining! However, a woman does not usually show the same kind of heart attacks as a man. That is why we go undiagnosed in times of a heart attack. If you feel like your pain is severe and you are worried please call 911. You'll get a room in the ER faster!

A GI Cocktail will numb your esophogus (and taste yucky, but it sure works!!) and then you could rule out what is happening and what is not.

Good luck to you, Sweetie.
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Old 08-05-2007, 03:08 AM   #10  
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I called ask a nurse last night.. well the local one I got the number from my local hospital and they were really no help at all. The person sounded really uncaring when she spoke back to me. She just had that dreaded voice of umm yeah I could be doing something better with my time.

My boyfriend who is sitting right here with me says he has actually had that happen to him. He's woke up choking in his sleep from acid reflux. So you're not alone on this. Don't start getting to worked up. You'll end up sending yourself into a real anxiety attack which I really don't think is what happened to you since it was acid reflux in your throat.
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Old 08-05-2007, 03:11 AM   #11  
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My hubby did the same thing with acid reflux - woke up gasping and choking scared the **** out of me. I think you'd notice a difference between the burning acid in your esophagus and a panic attack which feels more like a tightening of your chest usually.
I hope you can get some rest soon... may want to go to the dr just the be on the safe side if it happens again.
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Old 08-05-2007, 08:35 AM   #12  
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I used to do the same thing! I woke up gasping, I was literally drowning in acid. It is a very scary feeling! The doctor put me on 300 mg of ranitidine (zantac) a day, I had to put my whole mattress on an angle for a while, and give up coffee and other foods that triggered acid. I also quit eating in the evening and started drinking more water. The night time reflux went away, but the acid was a problem for a while. It's still scary to think about!

I did it also when I was pregnant, but it wasn't as bad. My Dr told me to swallow a drink of Maalox just as I was laying down at night, (literally hold it in my mouth until I was getting under the covers) and that would coat my esophagus and hold off some of the acid from coming up. I guess that helped, I can't remember.

Good luck, I know it is scary. I would go see your Dr and ask for advice.
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Old 08-05-2007, 08:56 AM   #13  
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Gosh everyone thanks so much for all this info for all the help.
This is just the best website ever, with the best people!!!
I did not feel that my chest was tight, but wonder if I didnt' notice because I was too concerned over not being able to breathe?
I thought kids were the only ones who ever got sick or had concerns on the weekends?
Yes I am nervous & anxious about my husband being gone and I don't know if i typically have anxiety but I have been wondering if I need something to take the edge off. Some days if I get crabby I have less patience with my kids, and when I do that I hate myself. Then I have to hug them tight and say I'm so sorry I snapped at them. It's like they could do something one day that does not bother me at all and the next day it will. I know I went thru post partum with each of them (ages 3 & 5) and I never took medication to help with it. They are too old for it to be post partum, but if you have read any of posts I am usually in a funk....don't know if it is the weight or the stress of other things in my life (husband and I have moved over 10 times in 8 years of marriage, I'm talking state to state, not within the same town), he gets transferrered a lot and we've bought a lot of houses & had to move. Heck we started building a house once and had to move before it was finished. We had to move from Kentucky to NJ six months after our wedding...and we knew it at the time of the wedding.
If you have ever moved, they say it is one of the most stressful things a couple can go thru and we've moved a lot.
So in a nutshell, those are some of my issues. Oh and did I mention both my kids were born premature & on life support and I've never recovered from that guilt? They are out of town with my hubby & I miss them like crazy.
Okay so here I am posting so much that is personal on the general chatter thread! SORRY! Should have bumped myself over to the depression threads.
ANYWAY thanks for all the support & concern & help. I will call the Dr tomorrow and make an appt for some tests.
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Old 08-05-2007, 10:45 AM   #14  
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If I were you I would find a walk-in clinic and have it checked out right away!
It could be caused by a lot of different things, including heart problems. Not to alarm you, as it may not be heart problems, but you don't want to ignore these symptoms. I'm not a nurse, but I was shocked while reading your post. Just go to be safe, okay? Take care and I hope that you're feeling better.
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Old 08-05-2007, 11:30 AM   #15  
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2bthin - I wanted to check in and see how you fared. I hope you can get in to see a doc today or sometime this week to get checked out. That's too scary too ignore - whether it's anxiety, apnea, or reflux.

Good luck... I'll send you some positive thoughts for a better night's sleep tonight !
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