Flu like symptoms or perimenoause?

Posted , 13 users are following.

I am so sore all the time. Sometimes it’s my arms and hips but mostly my lower back. I woke up with aches right around where my bra strap would be. It hurts if I’m standing or sitting. Kind of a tingling pain and tightness in my back. Of coarse I look it up and fear for lung disease. Anxiety is the worst. I also get a sore throat right before my almost non existent period. I get dizzy some days and I have dry mouth and sometimes burning tongue. My hands and feet are like ice and I’m often so cold. I’m in blanket now and it’s 72 degrees. My hair falls out when I wash it. It covers my hands. My skin is so dry and cracking. Sometimes my

Gums are so sore. Most of these things I know are from fluctuating hormones but can it feel like someone is hugging you tight around your ribs all day without relief?

4 likes, 34 replies

34 Replies

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  • Posted

    I get all this mostly like in my shoulder blades under ribs and neck but I just up my oestrogen hrt and feel better today but like you googling all sorts re lung disease 🙄you feel so lousy like flu and fatigue I have been on hrt for some years but as 55 I try to reduce and got all these symptoms so with my consultant I have up again and feel better hope you feel more reassured 

    • Posted

      Hi Joanne, sorry for butting in. I have been suffering from sore neck under ribs and shoulders for months. GP thinks it is anxiety. I too worry re lung disease, liver disease or just a disease. could this be hormones. I am 47 been having  periods all over the place my last one lasted 27 days. I have no hot flushes, i am so worried. x 
    • Posted

      Hi Amanda sound u peri for sure and it seems you had allot of reply’s I had all weekend but like you always think something sinister but I am 55 fit eat well dont drink smoke excercise sleep 8 hrs but still get this gnaw pain through shoulder top arm in breast and feel under weather but woke up today feeling slightly better I think flare up and feel so real good luck 
  • Edited

    Jody, YES to ALL!!

    What started off all my anxiety was having a constant sore throat and then the breathing, squeezing issues. I thought lung cancer as well!! Don’t google!!!!!

    I’ve had all those symptoms you mention plus more! Every test, every specialist. Couldn’t believe hormones could cause so many things. Really awful. But indeed hormones can cause all these dreadful symptoms. I’m sorry, and I know exactly how you feel!!

    XOXO

  • Posted

    Hi Jody,

    yes to all symptoms with varying degrees. After the first few months and getting spooked out for every new / "serious" symptom, I have now kind of learned to live with it. And like Suzanne said, Dont google! I call it "Alice in Wonderland". You not only get what you are looking for (usually long down the page), but you get the worst results that most probably dont apply to you.

    Get yourself checked to rule out any serious illness (heart, blood, cancer...), and once the results come negative (they do come negative MOST of the times), then just find what works for you in terms of painkillers, vitamins, minerals, foods etc.

    Hang in there!

  • Posted

    Yes to all of the above. I have gotten plenty of the symptoms you've described. Recently I have been experiencing the upper back pain between the shoulder blades and in the neck and shoulders. I had this for about a month but finally it has begun to get better. All of these crazy symptoms can be so debilitating. But you are not alone.

    • Posted

      Hi sharderv the pain you get in shoulder blades is it like a gnawing pain through the scapula and under the ribs I have drive myself mad thinking something sinister I have had before but I bet flare up do you ?these forum are reassuring but I don’t get how hormones can give these real pain and symptoms 
    • Posted

      Yes I experience the same thing. Sometimes it's a burning sensation or a stabbing sensation. It is hard to believe that hormones can cause all of these crazy symptoms. But in my experience it is usually the culprit of all this mayhem. When I go to the doctor and they check me out, everything is normal, thank God. But I don't feel normal at all. It's a horrible vicious time in a women's life. Thank God we have each other on this forum to vent to. Hope you are feeling better soon.

      Take care

  • Posted

    It's very common to have these symptoms during the transition of peri into menopause. As for the pain around your breast area usually underneath the bra, stop using bras with wire. They tend to hurt and cause the nerves to become twisted during this phase. When it passes you can use wire but it will take a while before you can use them.

    For the flu like symptoms a good multivitamin, vegetarian kind, helps to increase your energy and helps calm the flu like symptoms, also take Epsom salt baths or drink magnesium. Taking vitamin d3 also helps remove the gloom and doomed feeling. If your hair is falling out stop using the conditioner after washing my hair. I no longer use a conditioner in the shower after washing my hair because, like you i was losing a lot of it. So my hair dresser, who really knows her stuff, said to use a leave-in conditioner and like magic my hair hasn't fallen out and now I have tons, which I love. Hope this helps.

    • Posted

      Thank you. I do take a ton of vitamins. Women’s one a day, omega 3, garlic and parsley, cranberry, magnesium, calcium, potassium, turmeric, vit E and vit C. 

      I will try the leave in conditioner. It is always the worst after applying conditioner. 

  • Edited

    Thank you ladies. I am always reassured when I read that others have the same issues. Last year I rushed to the ER twice thinking I was having a heart attack due to the horrible chest pain but everything was perfect. My doctor has run numerous tests this year and blood count and everything else was great but my liver enzymes were elevated. I drink very little. A glass of red wine once in a blue moon. I did have to have my gallbladder out. I used to google everything and I know better because I’ve been sure I had a yeast allergy and heart problems and cancer and brain tumors.( I get headaches often).  The dizziness was always the worst symptom. Some days I couldn’t focus at all and everything would spin. I just panicked a bit with the squeezing on my rib cage. I even googled where kidneys were located so I was sure it wasn’t a kidney infection even though I take cranberry supplements. There are days when I’ve completely had it with this whole thing and I’m one 44 and two years in. I’m sure I have a long road ahead. Support definitely helps!
    • Posted

      Jody, I had to look to see if this was an old post of mine!! I too had elevated liver enzymes and hardly ever drink, I thought maybe it was from the Zantac, but my levels were really high, in the 300s. They did come down and still not sure why elevated. I found I had reactivated EBV which couldn’t elevated them.

      I also had my gall bladder out, a casualty of all the tests I was having. I also had bad chest pains and have been to the ER more than once. I get flu feelings, they used to be awful. The pain in my back next to my left shoulder blade. I felt like someone was sitting on my upper back making it hard to breath, felt the rib squeezing. Seriously, all of our symptoms are identical!! Amazing 

    • Posted

      Hi Suzanne :

      I feel you I’m have all the symptoms you and Jody have.  I have been to the ER for heart palpitations High blood pressure all of the sudden .  And this morning I woke up with pain in my left shoulder and the pain radiates to the left breast like I’m bein squeeze and I don’t want to go to ten ER because is ok and maybe is because my period is due in 4 days. Is nerve racking! And I also feel like I have a cold 

    • Edited

      It's awful, isn't it? I mean, I hit total rock bottom with all of this. It was completely devastating. Two years later and I'm so much better but still having symptoms every day. My frozen shoulder is finally gone although still have pain in it depending on my cycle. The absolute worse part for me was feeling like I had the flu, just waves of illness coming over me. Never really had high blood pressure, but definitely high heart rate. Still not sure what symptoms were from all the anxiety and depression that came along with this. I don't think I could even list everything I've had, seriously, it's a long list!

    • Posted

      I usually don’t get High Blood pressure but I had one at work 165/125 it sent me to the Er by the time I got there I got lower and check for heart attack and blood clot and stroke and results were 0 . I’m just scare and I’m gonna see a therapist. 

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