Asthma worse in peri
Posted , 9 users are following.
Morning all! Was just wondering if anyone else's asthma has got worse during peri? I have suffered with a winter cough for many years before being diagnosed with asthma about 12 years ago. Since then I have only needed 1 or 2 preventer inhalers a year during the winter. This year however things have got worse and I have been needing the preventer all through the summer as well and am taking the prescribed 4 puffs a day, every day and still not feeling entirely in control of it. I am going to make another doctor's appointment but would like to know if anyone else is suffering like this because otherwise my theory will no doubt be dismissed out of hand! Thanks x
1 like, 15 replies
michelle92591 lucy53348
Posted
Wow Lucy, i was just diagnosed with asthma this week after a cough that wouldnt go away! i am 52, saw a pulmonologist for a year and that was his conclusion . I was like,where did this come from. Just a year ago i was walking two miles or more each day. Now i am on meds everyday. I will see him again in three months to take another breathing test and see where my lung function is. Very discouraging!!!
crazycatlady67 lucy53348
Posted
Hi Lucy, absolutely! I have had asthma for 20 years (I'm 52 now) was always controlled with clenil preventer and the odd puff of salbutamol. now I am uncontrolled and have had to change to a combined preventer all year round and a long acting antihistamine in the summer. All due to peri menopause. Now my HRT also causes worsening of asthma so i can't win!
you are not alone
C x
ImagineOneDay lucy53348
Posted
I developed asthma during perimenapause. I have to use my preventer twice daily. It took me a while to accept that I am diagnosed with asthma. It has been a few years now
lisa95354 lucy53348
Posted
No, you are correct, I developed a type of asthma, like, the week before my period, years ago. I also read an article many many years ago in my gynecologist office about this very subject. However I was never able to find that article or anything to support it, so strange. Also as we get older and during Peri/post menopause, oir allergies do you get worse and I believe there’s even evidence to back up that asthma does. Do you take a probiotic, all of Health starts in our “gut." It has to be taken every morning faithfully. I have done this for years and I swear by it. I still find myself wheezy at times tho, in the summer in the extreme heat and off and on. and sometimes out of nowhere, like last night, I will start coughing, like a fit for a few minutes and then it’s gone. you really have to advocate for yourself, I hate to sound negative, but there’s proof in the putting we can’t really depend on the doctors, since they know absolutely zero about Menopause. Blessings your way 😉
Ella23ps lucy53348
Posted
Asthma is usually a sign of Low Progesterone and magnesium. As you age you loose progesterone and this will happen until it all goes away. Your lung problems can keep getting worse and worse as years go by. Anxiety and stress is like added fuel to the fire by causing air hunger on top of asthma. Try boosting you progesterone naturally or with progesterone cream and it should help also start taking magnesium.
lucy53348
Posted
Thank you all so much for your replies - as always its nice to know I'm not alone but sad to think others are suffering too! I will definitely try the probiotics, magnesium and progesterone cream 😃 I had found plenty of websites that said asthma could get worse in peri but no explanation as to why and which hormone is to blame so thats very helpful. Fingers crossed 😃
lori92895 lucy53348
Posted
I have been diagnosed with having asthma after never been before I entered peri. I have a slight cough at night and have a little wheeze during the night too. I'm wondering if peri may have caused it. I have problems taking a deep breath in when I get too hot and when I work hard too. What kind of inhalers do you use?? My doctor prescribed one for me but it does not work well as it made it worse. Since I've just been living with trying to breathe.
lisa95354 lori92895
Posted
hey Lori, I am post menopause three years but what you’re describing sounds exactly exactly like me. I did try an inhaler several years ago but unfortunately it threw me into a panic attack, as they can make your heart race, and I ended up in the ER, never tried another one. I also same as you had trouble taking a deep breath actually in general but especially during the heat and during exertion. but I also still wears at night and I get this crazy cough sometimes the last minutes and is gone as quick as I came. One of the ladies on here mentioned it’s related to declining progesterone. All I know is years and years ago I read an article that said women can have asthma during their cycle and a week before and when I asked the doctor about it ...he didn’t know what I was talking about, ironically I read the article in a magazine in his office, no surprise there, and I never found any information on it at that time again or an article. clearly asthma is yet another symptom that happens during this time. As a matter of fact I’m just thinking now my husbands Aunt developed asthma in her 50s and she thought it was from working in their restaurant over the Fryers, but I think it was more related to perimenopause. I mean if we think about it, our mothers came from the era where they were basically taught to ignore their bodies, ignore their feelings erc... basically ignore themselves, so it’s no wonder we know very little about this even though the doctors don’t, we weren’t taught anything by our mothers either. It certainly wasn’t their fault as unfortunately it was the era they were born in. we however are in a very progressive era so this should be changing drastically but it’s moving like a turtle walking across the street unfortunately. well at least we are all on the turtle express together 😉 xo
debra16694 lisa95354
Posted
hi Lisa - Debra here again...i am 7 years post & about 3 years ago, i experienced several episodes of "air hunger" where i felt i could not catch my breath - i was diagnosed with allergy induced asthma in 1995 after we experienced extreme flooding, i only used my inhalators every so often after that & eventually just taking an allergy tablet controlled it. This "air hunger" thing was all together different...i was gasping for air & for long periods of time - When i went to my allergist & specifically asked her if menopause played a part in this, she didnt say yes or no, but did say she does see an increase in middle age woman....hmmmm
lisa95354 debra16694
Posted
That’s terrible, because with the anxiety we had going through perimenopause, that only added to that, prolly. You would think one of these dr's would get it together and think, I could really make money off this and branch off and start a wonens health clinic. I mean for the love of God, what do we have to do....GRRRR
CinnamonCat lucy53348
Posted
Hi there Lucy
Add me to the list! I never had any problems with my lungs all my life until peri at 51, suddenly got very persistent cough and trouble getting full breaths, to the point I stupidly would find myself holding my breath for no reason, and had to consciously try and make myself breath!!! very strange, I know! but, I put this down to anxiety as my father (who never smoked and I have never smoked) had just died from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (a fatal lung disease - hardening of the lung tissue) and that scared the bejeezus out me because there is a 20% hereditary chance. Any hoo, got all the X-rays, breathing tests, allergey tests etc, and thankfully nothing came up, however, they said it seems like mild asthma!... I did ask if there might be a connection to menopause and the specialist said there may well be, but that the bodies hormones and genes are very complex...so basically he couldn't give me a definite answer. I was also carrying excess weight which I thought might not help, but I have since lost 2 stones and my lungs are still the same, but, I am glad I lost the weight. I am trying not to worry about my lungs but have become pretty fanatic about protecting them. Things that really set me off are my husbands anti-perspirant!...he's not using it now 😉, car fumes are like poison to me, & wood smoke too... and then there are other things that you'd think would set me off, but don't! I guess each body is different and I believe my body's auto-immune system is affected because of having other never had before symptoms eg. bad restless leg, all over aches and pains, post nasal drip, sinus issues, reflux..... which can actually affect the lungs ....you really have to be your own detective and keep going back to the doc.... I'm still trying to work it out! Lastly, I decided to try HRT because I was bloody miserable. Interestingly, I started on a synthetic HRT called Duavive for 6 months and it really did significantly help my asthma/ lungs, however, after I found out that it was made using pregnant mares urine I couldn't continue, thinking about those poor beasties forced to be preggers!... so I've gone more natural "body/bio Identical" patches and progesterone, sadly the asthma symptoms came back....don't know if there was anything in Duavive which supported the lungs??? sadly, couldn't find any studies. You do hear of drugs used for certain diseases of the body suddenly turning out to help another disease by chance.
Sorry for the 'tome' but its always good to share experiences, best wishes to you x
lisa95354 CinnamonCat
Posted
Hey there, Try the supplement Bromelain for your lungs & try to eat alot of fresh pineapple. I had those symptoms during meno. What I find ironic is my sister & I both experienced what you said you did, the part about consciously making yourself breathe, that is bizarre, thought we were one of a kind there. I think thats related to anxiety tho, thats when we were care taking my mom post stroke. Maybe accupuncture could help w/ the mild asthma issue. Years ago I had the mild asthma, difficulty breathing before my cycle, I'm post meno 3 years now. Well ...at least we are not alone 😉
mamamia03 lucy53348
Posted
Finally! Thought I was losing my mind!. I've never suffered with asthma, then 3 years ago Peri hits, and suddenly my breathing is all over the place, scared the living daylights out of me. Doc sent me for breadth test which resulted in being told I've borderline asthma. But the cough! I literally sound like a dog barking! I've been to the doctor about it every winter for 3 years and was told the same thing, your lungs are clear use inhalers! Soooo frustrating!
lisa95354 mamamia03
Posted
My husband had a terrible cough for years and years un end, until I got him on Supplements. I know we are not men, but I think if you meet with a natural path they can get you on a line of supplements that can really help. also do you use essential oil’s, those, in a diffuser could really help you. I know when I went through this years ago, I read an article in my gynecologist office and he didn’t know what I was talking about, big surprise, not, I never found the article again and that was years ago and I never found anything online, it was so strange. anytime I’ve had to go to the ER which in perimenopause stage was like twice a year, it would’ve been six times or more, but my husband always talked me off the ledge, it was hormone related anxiety and the SVTs , The heart palpitations we get with Menopause, had to tell them that I didn’t have asthma that it was related to hormones and they all looked at me like I was crazy. I stood my ground, I was not gonna back down, I told them I don’t have asthma, it’s hormone related. It’s pretty sad when someone with only a high school education knows more than someone with a doctors degree or a medical degree. I mean come on!
aliseanya lucy53348
Posted
I also have bad asthma. In peri my asthma seemed to get better. I couldn't understand why. This last month it has been horrible. I had a water leak under my sink that caused mold. That's now taken care of and I am doing a bit better. I kept wondering why my asthma was not as bad as it use to be. I really haven't had issues since I started peri. I live in an area that is just prone to all asthma triggers and my area has also had bad flooding. I should be so ill. I have to take magnesium since I started peri. I just found out that magnesium helps with asthma. I realized that around the time I started taking magnesium was when my asthma got better.
Peek into the research about asthma and magnesium to see if it could possibly help. Talk to your doctor if you can take magnesium.