Why does my husband's sleep apnea not stop when he awakens?

This question was asked in Holden Beach, North Carolina on 03/14/2014.
My partner suffers from sleeping apnea, but in his case he wakes up completely, because he can't breathe. Then, while being completely awake, he keeps struggling to breathe for a while, until he manages to unblock his throat. You can imagine that this is very scary for both of us. So I would like to ask what can I do to help him during this, and what can he do to help himself? He is not using any machine, since his "choking" incidents happen around once per month. Why does this happen?

Doctors Answers (1)

SomnoDiagnostics, Inc.
Answered on: 4/18/2014

He is still having trouble breathing since he is trying to catch his breath. Although these dramatic incidents do not occur nightly, he could still have sleep apnea and should be evaluated by a Board Certified Sleep Specialist.