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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Gasping For Air Only While Sleeping On The Back Indicate?

My husband says I gasp for air during the night. I don t wake up, but sometimes do it more than a few times during a night, he says. I m on my back when it happens, so then he says I just turn over to my side and it doesn t happen then. He has tried to listen to me breathing and thinks I ve stopped breathing, thus causing me to gasp , as he calls it, for air. I saw my Dr. in Tucson some years ago about this. He prescribed wearing a pulse oximeter on my finger for several nights, which I did. The results concluded that I DID NOT have sleep apnea. Yet, my husband and I still both wonder what is causing my gasping for air during the night.
posted on Mon, 14 Mar 2016
Twitter Wed, 15 Jun 2016 Answered on
Twitter Thu, 16 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on
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Ophthalmologist,  's  Response
Hi
I had gone through your question and understand your concern.
See , this seems to be like a case of sleep apnoea.
If i were your treating doctor , i would have performed "Sleep Study" test for confirming the diagnosis , as wearing a pulse oximeter is extremely vague test for diagnosing sleep apnoea.
So , i would suggest you to get the sleep study test done.
Let me know if you need any other information regarding this.
Wish you good health.
Thank you.
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What Does Gasping For Air Only While Sleeping On The Back Indicate?

Hi I had gone through your question and understand your concern. See , this seems to be like a case of sleep apnoea. If i were your treating doctor , i would have performed Sleep Study test for confirming the diagnosis , as wearing a pulse oximeter is extremely vague test for diagnosing sleep apnoea. So , i would suggest you to get the sleep study test done. Let me know if you need any other information regarding this. Wish you good health. Thank you.