VCD isn't generally felt in the middle of the night (at least from what I've read).
A possibility is whooping cough. Especially if you haven't been vaccinated against it, there are a couple different phases with different symptoms.
There are a lot of doctors that don't believe it is something adults can get but I have got glimpses of articles that saw otherwise.
Don't know much more than that but you could reasearch a bit more and bring it to your doctor, I believe there is a quick culture you can do to test for it.
Hope you feel better soon.
You said it in your description: "whooping noise." Everyone in my family has had this Whooping Cough, a.k.a Pertussis, this season. It started with my 16-yr.-old; then to my 1-yr-old (vomit inducing), then my husband and me. It skipped my 2 1/2 yr. old, but he also had an extended high fever, which must have killed the bacteria.
I only realized it was whooping cough today. When I first read the description, I mistook the "whooping" sound for the "seal bark" of Croup, and thought, nah, that's not it. But, I'm pretty positive that's what it is.