Night symptoms.
Hi, I have asthma, moderate asthma, I think. (I take fostair 5/day, an allergy pill and Avamys)
I sometimes, and, last night, experience some symptoms at night. Yesterday I was sleeping and suddenly I woke up at 2 am breathing heavily and a bit short of breath, as if I were gasping a bit for air. No wheeze nor cough.
These are asthma symptoms, aren't they? If not, what could it be? And, should/can I take my rescue inhaler for this situations? Has this ever happened to you?
Thank you.
Hey there, juuls. Great questions -- sorry you're going through this! It's so uncomfortable and confusing to wake up in the middle of the night with breathing issues.
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So, I can't give medical advice for your safety, but your best bet is to follow your doctor's instructions about when to use your rescue inhaler. When in doubt, give them a call.While we can't know for sure, the situation you're describing can certainly be asthma symptoms. Not all asthma appears with coughing and wheezing, and it can show up with different symptoms each time. It could also be an allergic reaction to something in your environment, your sleeping position, or possibly a sleep disorder.
Nighttime asthma is really common -- about 75% of people with asthma experience symptoms at night, so you're definitely not alone. We have a number of articles here on the site that explain nocturnal asthma much better than I can. 😀 Here's one to get you started from John, one of our respiratory therapists:
https://asthma.net/types/nighttime
And here is a link to a search I did -- some of the results aren't related to nocturnal asthma, but many are:
https://asthma.net/search?s=night
I hope this information helps a little. Try not to worry -- you may just need to have your medication schedule adjusted. Will you let us know what you find out? We're here if you have any more questions.
Take care,
Melissa, asthma.net team
Hi imjuuls, and thanks so much for your post - you've posed an interesting question. I see my colleague,, has provided a comprehensive response with a link to a helpful article by our own Great minds think alike, Leon -- I just came here to share the article Samantha wrote yesterday. It's certainly good timing for juuls and probably lots of other people whose asthma flares up during the changing on seasons. Thanks! -Melissa, asthma.net team
Hi Melissa - hahaha...we are thinking similarly here - we must have great minds, right?!
All the best,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
Hi.
Thank you for your question. And sorry you experienced this trouble with your asthma. How was your night last night? Did you experience this symptom again? As Melissa noted in her great response above, we cannot diagnose you over the Internet, for your own safety of course. For that you may be best served by calling and talking to your asthma physician. He/she can give you the proper diagnosis you deserve and, if needed, adjust your treatment regimen accordingly to help prevent symptoms. If you have a rescue inhaler, they are usually prescribed for use every 4-6 hours as needed. So, as long as it falls within this range, it should be okay to use. If it works, great! If not, then this would be a definite sign you should talk to your doctor. What do you think? What did you decide to do? John. Community Moderator. asthma.net
