gasping for air while falling asleep or in a deep sleep really anxiety?

[Bizzerbee]

My night time gasping for air started last summer. In the middle of the night I would shoot up in bed and gasp for air. It felt like I had stopped breathing and that the lack of oxygen woke me up. Now as of lately I started having the same lack of oxygen sensation as I am falling asleep. I will lay in bed and right as I nod off I jolt from this sinking feeling like I have stopped breathing. My heart is always racing. Then it passes and I try again to sleep. Last night it happened over and over again for about an hour. I have done soo much google-ing to try and understand and what scares me is some times I read it is just panic. Other times it is attributed to more life threatening things like sleep apnea. Several sites say that if left untreated it can be fatal. This of course makes me even more anxious! I just wish I could know for sure that it is just anxiety and that it is not something more serious.  I agree that if we all list some facts about our self maybe we will see something in common.

* I am 27
* Female
* I have had panic attacks all my life
* My panic attacks have grown and changed through the years
* I am a smoker
* I have lots of stomach aches and pains
* I am constantly burping what feels like air
* I am afraid of dying
* I am often bloated after eating or drinking
* I suffer from sinus problems
* I have soft teeth that cause me to have lots of cavities.

[Pottsy26]

Did you get an answer to your problem

[tom_h]

What you're describing sounds like Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  I know because I had a very serious case of it.  It is easily corrected, but it requires a sleep study so technicians can measure the degree of your problem, and then apply corrective measures.  I sleep great now.  No more bolting up in bed and gasping for breath.

[anxiety860]

I've had this happen to me but only about 3-4 times in my life... It could be sleep apnea but I'm no doctor. I know plenty of people with sleep apnea.  I don't know enough about it to make a comment, but I believe you can do the sleep test at home now. It seems worth checking out. It is best to stay off google. This will only cause you more anxiety