Sleeping with COPD
As my COPD gets worse I’m finding it impossible to sleep what with gasping for air all the time I don’t know what to do
Hi
. You must be frustrated and exhausted. There are lots of options for people with COPD who have trouble breathing at night from changes in positioning to oxygen to nebulizers. Have you talked with your doctor about your nighttime breathing issues? Here is an article about sleeping in a recliner that might interest you: https://copd.net/living/sleeping-situations. I hope you get some good advice from your doctor and lots of input from the community. Best wishes. - Lori (Team Member) Thanks for reply I would just like to say and it may help people to sleep last week I caught COVID and found it totally impossible to sleep what with gasping for air all night and by chance took 2 paracetamol 500 ml although had to take them every 4hrs what a treat sleeped really well I’m not saying thay would work for everyone but certainly worked for me every night hopefully it might help other people
Thanks for sharing what helped. It must have been a huge relief to get some sleep. - Lori (Team Member)
I have problems sleeping as well, feelings of breathlessness, like I am drowning and gasping for air. I had been simply accepting the fact that it was a new way of life for the last few years, but recently I did some research.
My daughter has mild asthma. She off handedly mentioned she stacks her pillows to put her more upright. Huh. Sounded interesting, so I did some info searching, and bought a wedge pillow.
2 days now in use. Not a cure-all by any means, but it promoted a 5-hour solid sleep on the initial test run, and 5 hours as I nap as well.
My conclusion is, as long as the 5 hours is leaving me feeling better during the day, falling asleep is easier, this seems to be the new gold standard for me. I can live with 5-hour naps as needed. It sure beats the heck out of 2 or 3 troubled hours of trying. My wife supports the new direction of 'sleep when you are tired' as a replacement to the 'go to bed at night'.
Hope it can help others.I am glad you figured out something that helps. That must be such a relief. If you find you are sliding down the wedge pillow, try putting other pillows or a knee wedge under your knees. Having your knees bent and supported can keep you from slipping. Thanks for sharing! - Lori (Team Member) 
Fantastic advice here. And if you ever find yourself in the market for a new mattress, these days they usually include a free adjustable base, so you can raise yourself up without the need for the wedge pillow. Some of them even have separate raising and lowering for each side, so your wife can sleep flat if she wants to. I appreciate your approach to sleeping when you feel like you need to. It's all about listening to your body, and sometimes it needs things that are less conventional, and that's just fine. Have a good weekend! Melissa, team member
