Breathing problems while sleeping

Question

Dear expert Team,
First of all, thank you very much for providing the opportunity to ask questions here.
I am a 39-year-old female with CF and an FEV1 that usually hovers around 67%. There are no modulators available for my specific mutations.

Despite my FEV1 still being relatively good, I experience significant difficulties with sleep:

For instance, I have reached a point where I can barely lie on my back at all anymore. Depending on my general condition at the time, the situation varies: sometimes I cannot lie on my back for even a single second without immediately feeling as though I cannot catch my breath; at other times, I can manage it for 2–3 minutes, but during that time, the urge to roll onto my stomach grows increasingly intense until I simply cannot bear it any longer. These 2–3 minutes of tolerance are usually possible when I am taking antibiotics. When lying on my stomach, breathing is still not easy, but it is significantly better. By now, this has become so ingrained in me that whenever I see people lying on their backs—anywhere—the thought involuntarily flashes through my mind: "Oh God, how do they manage that?!"
Unfortunately, due to being forced to sleep on my stomach, I suffer from considerable neck, shoulder, and back pain.

Furthermore, someone recently mentioned to me that as I am falling asleep, I experience periods of severe shortness of breath lasting several seconds (at least 10–15 breaths per 10 seconds), followed by 2–3 normal breaths, and then another 10 seconds of shortness of breath—a pattern that repeats itself continuously. When I wake up in the morning, I am similarly extremely short of breath and can only make my way to the couch—bent forward at the waist—to perform my inhalations. My breathing improves once I begin inhaling.

Throughout the day, too, I experience intermittent episodes of sudden breathlessness that seem to come out of nowhere.

I have Salbutamol to treat this (which helps little to none at all) and Berotec (which provides slightly better relief). However, neither of these helps much—if at all—with the shortness of breath I experience when trying to fall asleep, and they do absolutely nothing to alleviate the need to sleep on my stomach.

Unfortunately, I have to say that my outpatient clinic doesn't really address the issue of breathlessness at all. I’m not sure exactly whether this is simply because there is no treatment for it and I just have to accept it as is, or whether they perhaps don't quite believe me—since (naturally!) I never happen to be experiencing breathlessness during my appointments there, and my FEV1 levels are still quite good.

Therefore, I wanted to ask if you have any ideas on how to improve my sleep situation, or if I simply have to resign myself to it. Could this possibly be a sign that I need supplemental oxygen at night?

Thanks in advance. Best regards.

Answer

Good day,
The symptoms you have described could originate from sleep apnea—either obstructive or central in origin.
Therefore, I recommend an outpatient polygraphy to help narrow down the possibilities.
If the situation remains unclear, a visit to a sleep laboratory might also be advisable.
That would also provide information regarding your oxygen levels during the night.

Best regards,

Fischer

17.05.2026