<human>: My 19 year old son is having the following: just before drifting off to sleep, comfortably resting in bed, he experiences shortness of breath that wakes him up with a start.He reports that he is eventually able to get to sleep. He is otherwise healthy but is treated for ADD with Stratera and Tourettes with a very low dose of Clonidine. This shortness of breath is a worry to him. Any thoughts?
<bot>: Hithanks for using Chat Doctor Strategy and clonidine cause anxiety symptoms but choking sensation while sleeping is rare. this difficulty in breathing may be due to panic attack or obstructive sleep apnea, which sometime occur during nighttime. If he has this episode only at night, better to go for polysomnography that would help u find out the exact reason.  For detail evaluation, consult a pulmonologist. Thanks