Throat closes can't breathe

[jappel2]

I am a 62 yr old man. When I was 17 I was taking a shower, and out of the blue, I couldn't breathe. It felt like my throat closed (it probably was) and air couldn't get it or out. It lasted for about 30 or so seconds. Then it relaxes on it's own, slowly and air started flowing in and out. After a few minutes I was back to normal.
This happens infrequently. As many as months or a year or so between bouts. I had an attack last night that was brutal, seemed to last well over a minute, and I panicked. Now, this can happen while i'm sleeping, or awake during the day.  I all of a sudden jump out of bed and can't breathe. Feels like i'm trying to breathe through a straw with a thickness the size of a toothpick. Now for the strange part, this has happened in the middle of the day sitting at my desk. I'll jump up, and have the same symptom for a minute or so. It's scary. I have had two instances the last 30 days. I am reading that it could be VCD (vocal cord dysfunction). It's not sleep apnea ( I don't believe) because it happens while i'm awake. It happened while I was watching tv one night but only lasted 10 or so seconds.
Any thoughts?
Ant, it's very very frightening.

[kevin1221]

when it happens to me.....I will be breathing normal and breathe out and then nothing back in....throat just locks up!!  I have found that when this happens to me is to remain calm and breathe through my nose.....I can relax and calm down while breathing through my nose easier!  then back to my mouth and I still cant breathe through my mouth!!  When its back to normal....my throat hurts and sore for hours after the attack!!  DO NOT try to drink anything to wash it down!!!  That was a mistake!!!

[luckytohavegooddoctor]

see my post at the end of the thread

[kevin1221]

when it happens to me.....I will be breathing normal and breathe out and then nothing back in....throat just locks up!!  I have found that when this happens to me is to remain calm and breathe through my nose.....I can relax and calm down while breathing through my nose easier!  then back to my mouth and I still cant breathe through my mouth!!  When its back to normal....my throat hurts and sore for hours after the attack!!  DO NOT try to drink anything to wash it down!!!  That was a mistake!!!

[Brandon131]

My dad is a 58 year old man and he has the same thing and some of them were just worst than others one of them I thought he was going to pass out so I called 911 im trying to figure out a more effective way to treat it but my dad elevates his bed and he has them less often now and I definitely see a difference

[luckytohavegooddoctor]

see my post at the end of the thread

[Baezj4]

My mom has had the same problem infrequently for many years. She just had an Espisode about an hour ago, and it was the scariest yet. It seemed to go on for at least 60 seconds. It was the middle of the night, she ran out of her room in a panic, her throat closed up and she was gasping for air, wheezing desperately. I too told her to put her arms up because I thought it was her lungs. After the 60 seconds, slowly she began taking in small amounts of air. Once she started being able to breathe without severely wheezing, she collapsed. Luckly, my boyfriend and I were right there to catch her. I imagine her body was exhausted from the episode. This has occurred during the day time as well. Years ago the doctors told her she had sleep apnea, but it has occurred when she is wide awake too. Super freighting. I am just afraid waiting it out may not be enough one day. What if the airway doesn't relax and allow air in. She does seems to have allergies, she does mention have some acid reflex issues from time to time that make her nauseous. She is 67, Hispanic, not over weight, never smoked, never drank, and goes for walks every couple days. I am going to talk with her about the tips I read above, but if anyone knows of something that really helped during an episode or how to prevent or shorten the length of them, please let me know.

[Marysattic]

I have been having this problem for about a year, only at night.  It wakes me up, and it really puts me in a panic.  It just happened a few minutes ago, so I decided to look it up. I am so glad to see everyone's comments here. I am suspecting this is allergy related with me, but there may be some other problem as well, since I have had allergies my whole life, but now this is happening. So, I think it is allergies and something else.  I am thinking the other thing is hormones.  I don't know how or why there might be a correlation, but at the same time that those episodes have gotten progressively worse, I have been having more symptoms related to low estrogen.  Still, I am going to make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow because this is really scary. I don't have acid reflux, although it may be that there are several reasoms why people get this.
I am not very optimistic about seeing a doctor after reading the posts here.  It seems like most doctors don't have answers.  I am a 51 year old female.

[luckytohavegooddoctor]

see my post at the end of the thread

[eacc]

I am 55 and have never had this happen until today for the first time and I thought I was going to die, It scared me to death almost. I do have bronchitis right now but this did not feel related. I was just sitting on the sofa and BAM! I could not breathe, It felt like my throat closed 100% and I thought that it was the end for me.  I go back to the health dept next week for a recheck and I hope they will be able to put my fears to rest because I must admit I am very freaked out. I was not eating or drinking or anything it was totally out of the blue. So scary!

[Baezj4]

My mom has had the same problem infrequently for many years. She just had an Espisode about an hour ago, and it was the scariest yet. It seemed to go on for at least 60 seconds. It was the middle of the night, she ran out of her room in a panic, her throat closed up and she was gasping for air, wheezing desperately. I too told her to put her arms up because I thought it was her lungs. After the 60 seconds, slowly she began taking in small amounts of air. Once she started being able to breathe without severely wheezing, she collapsed. Luckly, my boyfriend and I were right there to catch her. I imagine her body was exhausted from the episode. This has occurred during the day time as well. Years ago the doctors told her she had sleep apnea, but it has occurred when she is wide awake too. Super freighting. I am just afraid waiting it out may not be enough one day. What if the airway doesn't relax and allow air in. She does seems to have allergies, she does mention have some acid reflex issues from time to time that make her nauseous. She is 67, Hispanic, not over weight, never smoked, never drank, and goes for walks every couple days. I am going to talk with her about the tips I read above, but if anyone knows of something that really helped during an episode or how to prevent or shorten the length of them, please let me know.

[luckytohavegooddoctor]

see my post at the end of the thread

[sickmustard]

Has anybody found any help from this site: http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com/