Hard to Breathe

[nvs4602]

I have the same trouble. We go to Colorado and stay at 10,000 feet. I bought an oxygen concentrator and use 1 to 2 liters while I sleep. This has worked for me. Now that I'm older and now use a cpap I still use oxygen while at altitude. Here is the oxygen concentrator I bought it,s small and quite.

https://banggood.app.link/JVWGsoWXoZ

[Ndrorder]

I tend to suck the oxygen out of a room when sleeping unless there is a window at least cracked for fresh air. Happens in the RV, hotel rooms, and at home regardless of elevation. Don't think it's apnea, as respiration rate will remain elevated even after awakened until a fresh air source is created. Have you tried sleeping with a window cracked near your head at night.

[twinboat]

Back in 2004, as a 50 year old smoker, I ran off to get married in Reno NV.
The new wife and I planned to honeymoon for a week, in a Tahoe ski lodge at 8000+ ft.

Lots of heavy breathing and no sleep, but not for the right reasons. We left after 2 nights and found a room in Vegas.

They say it takes 3 days to get used to it. We couldn't wait it out.

[FatChance]

The way I have prevented problems like this is by living above 7000' in Colorado for 50 years.

Oh, and also clean living and pure thoughts... [emoji3]

[falconman]

It wouldn’t hurt to get an O2 meter to check oxygen levels at various times. They are cheap and available at any drug store or online.

[Excesses]

Originally Posted by falconman

It wouldn’t hurt to get an O2 meter to check oxygen levels at various times. They are cheap and available at any drug store or online.

Unfortunately an oximeter or oxygen meter would be a waste of money for most folks. It would show one if he/she had a low oxygen saturation while awake, but to determine whether a low oxygen saturation was the root of the problem, it would need some type of recording device say, over a night’s sleep.

A little technological info if you’ll bear with me.

When the airways obstruct, as in sleep apnea, the oxygen desaturation is progressive and hits it’s lowest level just as you snore loudly or suddenly gasp yourself awake. As you awaken, and breathe again, the O2 saturation climbs back to near normal levels. So, chances are you’d never catch it. Just like a simple 12 second ECG is not a great indicator of heart electrical conduction or function. It’s only a short window in time, and will generally not catch an arrhythmia unless it is chronic. A 24 hour ECG or holter monitor will catch all heartbeats over that period, and the info is downloaded into a computerized program that classifies the heartbeats into normal and abnormal categories, then provides them to the medical staff in the form of a report.

O2 desaturation can be caused by a few physiological conditions and by poisons like CO and hydrogen cyanide (gas that used to be used in executions- nasty way to go).

If one means an instrument for measuring ambient oxygen, it’s 20.94% of atmosphere whether at sea levels or atop Mt. Everest. Atop Everest there are simply fewer molecules of oxygen because the atmospheric pressure is less than at sea level. Folks who train or live at altitude generally have more red blood cells or haemoglobin, the carrier of O2 to our cells for cellular function.

One other consideration for gasping at night, or in general is cardiac function. An arrhythmia (wonky series of heart beats) can be intermittent or chronic and it can cause the pumping action of the heart to be considerably reduced. As can CHF or congestive heart failure, which is caused by an ineffective pumping of the heart due to age or damage. In CHF, fluid backs up into the lungs ( pulmonary edema) and can cause shortness of breath. Some folks have a condition called orthopnea, and sleeping on 2 pillows or more can help.

The best thing would be to see a medical specialist, especially if sleep is being constantly interrupted. We all need our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep to keep our brains healthy and to reduce drowsiness, especially on the road in a big vehicle.

Cheers

DJ ( yes my friends and colleagues did always call me Dr. D because I like to teach)

[HJCihak]

Obviously, I didn't provide enough detail in my OP.
I'm 74, and I do not suffer shortness of breath at lower altitudes. I've also experienced the same problem staying in a hotel room at high altitude, and even with a window open.
I've had a wide variety of blood tests, both as part of a full physical, as well as either to detect a cause of some other problem or to determine if I'm suffering side effects from medication. All tests indicated nothing outside of normal ranges.
At lower altitudes (under 6500 feet) I do not experience any problems with breathing while sleeping.

[RichR]

A lot of folks come to Colorado and can get acclimated in 2/3 days. Then there is the occasional person that goes into respiration arrest- some die. If you are uncomfortable at elevation I would not go there.

[Bamaman]

I don't know if you've ever visited a cardiologist. But you might want to have a checkup with the doctor, including an EKG.

My doctor puts his patients on the treadmill during routine physicals. When he kicked the speed into high, my heart started backfiring a little. I have a small blockage he's watching yearly, and doing a heart scan every 3 years or so. You might have such an issue.

My mother went to visit my sister in Aspen. She had a heart attack and spent a week in ICU at their little hospital. It was full of older patients that couldn't stand the altitude and lack of oxygen. We had to fly her home in a private jet.