Hey folks,

as of late, i've been experiencing some unusual breathing troubles. It seems difficult to breathe in at times. This could be any number of things - allergies, stress, heart trouble - but I can't seem to pinpoint one over the other.

The worst part is when I get to sleep. I'll dose off, then wake up suddenly not so much out of breath, but feeling like... I don't know, like my heart stopped or my blood pressure drops. Sometimes I feel a great deal of heat in my body as well, and sometimes I suddenly get this jumping feeling, though that might be the fear of it happening.

However, I discovered that it becomes no problem if I sleep without a pillow under my head. Thus I figured it wasn't too important, probably just allergies. Then, just tonight I talked to a teacher of mine whose in his upper middle ages and he described the exact same symptoms with the exact same fix - removing the pillow.

He's my drama teacher, and we're both fairly interested in health and well-being, as we focus on our bodies as our instruments. Perhaps stress has gotten the best of both of us - shows are quite a strain to put on - but i'm just not satisfied with that answer.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks,
~ paul frazee