i feel like im dying

Beautiful and very encouraging post! Thank you so much. God bless you for sharing to all of us 💜.

I love to cook and bake too! That has helped me so much. I try to focus on other people and it helps. It is SUCH a tough time. Prayers for everyone on this site.

Hi Lisa

I recently went to ER in desperation after having heart palpitations and weird chest sensations. Every morning seemed filled with nausea or feelings of potential doom. I was feeling the body aches as well with serious stomach upset. The stomach upset seems beter today, but I had a terrible nauseated doom feeling that was beyond words. You may not really have missed beats with your heart. I think it has to do with the body's nervous system. Wow... never knew hormones or the lack of could be so horrific. All my tests were ok too, just wish there was something to help get the body back on track again. My gynecologyst didn't really seem to want to talk to me about solutions. Looking for something natural.

MeleMel, The feelings of impending doom. Goodness, I always forget to mention that in my posts. It is the worst feeling and when it is coupled with the stomach upset/nausea, it is the pits. The heart palpitations have been ongoing for several years, very disconcerting but my tests have shown nothing. Hope you feel better, it sure makes me feel better with all the support I have found here.

Hi Melemel

Its horrible isn't it, I woke up this morning with the upset tummy feelings and tiredness. It seems like every day brings another symptom, its so draining. I hate the missed beat feelings, they scare me so much which makes me scared to do anything. My gp would'nt prescribe antibiotics so I am having homeopathic treatment to see if that helps. Hope you are feeling ok today x

hi Melemel,

my last reply typed antibiotics instead of HRT, I meant to say my gp won't prescribe HRT 

Look up Dr. Bruce Frye in Oklahoma, USA. He has created something called GFM that has really helped me so much. Best of everything to you!

thanks for sharing....it does make me feel less alone in all of this. been in peri about 5 years

Thank you so much! its been almost 10 years for me..

I'm glad it helped - after I hit the 'send' button I was concerned I would depress instead of help people! But sometimes just knowing we're not alone in it is better then hearing all the positive stories!

I'm going through it too. It's so rough!!!! Thanks for sharing you aren't alone!

You're welcome!! I do hope hearing a little (a lot!) of my story was helpful. It really helped and continues to help me hear about other women's experiences. Thanks for letting me know. Thankfully we live in an age where this is becoming talked about, shared, and studied. There's lots of help out there now. Keep strong. : )

Thank you!! It is rough ugh so rough. I wished I'd written a long time ago and heard from other women like yourself. It would have made such a difference to not feeling so isolated. Hearing from other women helped/s affirm my experiences. That alone is so healing. : )

Gosh I'm replying to my own message! Sorry It was just to say what captured me was the comment from Kim74983 's original message that said it felt like she was dying. Yes! I felt exactly the same way - and a sense of disppearing. Like I was dissolving in thin air -physically faling apart and disappearing in my mind. Hard to describe but it's an awful feeling. Once i got estrogen back into my system with HRT I felt like a wilting sunflower come back to herself. And when I stopped HRT I started disappearing again. I felt psychotic. Hard to admit this....

thank you so much for taking the time to write this. thank you thank you

Oh you're welcome!! And thank you for taking the time to let me know. That's very kind. I was concerned my post was way too long and self indulgent! But I do fine that reading other women's experiences, the more detailed the better, so helpful and reassuring that I, we, are not alone!

I seen on here that you have been going thru this for 10 yrs. I was wondering if you had issues with in between shoulder blade pain? Acid reflux? Ear and throat pain? If so do they get better?

Thank you for writing my story.

Hi Vicky

it seems there is different symptoms for each year..i had acid reflux issues 4 years ago for a while..went through every test possible...gallbladder, pancreas, stomach ultrasounds endoscopy and so on. everything came back normal ...one day stopped and never came back...the shoulder blade pain I'm dealing with it off an on the past 10 years ..i take 3 Advil, sometimes i use heating pad and acupuncture..does it help? it does but i notice it hurts the most right before my period.

I did had the left ear pain, or l should say more of a burning sensation, i did go to ENT had an MRI done and nothing again..it went away by itself..

The shore dry throat is new symptom for me, along with this horrible chills..im like a crazy woman one minute sweaty and hot and the next freezing cold!!! the majority of the symptoms went away , and believe me i had them all and some!The ones I'm dealing right now with are the headaches, anxiety and the dry/shore throat, chills. i just realized the horrible body aches are not as bad as they use to be, also the emotional outbursts, the sadness and feeling lost and alone got better!! so i think slowly is getting a bit better...

How long you are going through this change?

You're more than welcome. Although I wish I had had a better story to tell! btw I developed severe (silent) acid reflux and something called 'histamine intolerance' during menopause. My symptoms were difficulty swallowing, even breathing at times, throat tightening, and had constant nasal drip causing me to cough all the time. It was awful and made daily living hell. I had to quit my job and stopped socialising. The doctor thought I had throat cancer because symptoms so bad and sent me for an endoscopy within two weeks (normally waiting time would be 1 -3 month). All came back normal. The risk factors listed for developing (silent) acid reflux I didn't have, except of course menopause. It took two years to get under control. PPI's and H2 blockers gave me bad side effects couldn't take them. So many foods caused me problems and as I cut out more and more I couldn't keep weight which being small and petite wasn't good. In the end what helped the most was taking digestive enzymes, cutting out wheat, and taking something called DAO, which is another enzyme called Diamino Oxidase. After reading up a lot on my peculiar and scary symptoms I found out some people lack this natural enzyme DAO which is what helps break down histamine in the body. If I had foods high in histamine ie alcohol, tea/coffee, chocolate, fermented foods, smoked foods, avocado my throat would tighten and I'd get flushing (red itchy marks) on my stomach, pubic area, and knees of all places. I thought I was allergic to everything! Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. IN the end I figured it out myself but it took me years. But when I found out about DAO and began taking I didn't get these reactions with these foods anymore. I live in the UK and found a product called 'DAO food plus' on Amazon. It has literally been a lifesaver for me. Also the general digestive enzymes - they really helped me get through the acid reflux, the stomach bloating and constant gas!

Esmeralda,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I am 44 with all of these symptoms just appearing over the last yr. The throat tightening has been so scary and never would have thought post nasal drip could be related. I am going to research a few things you have mentioned. Thx again for your insight ans hope you're feeling well.

me too I have nasal dripping especially when I'm eating!

Now I've got piles and anal fissures issues it's never ending and New symptoms are always occurring.

I call the Dr every 2 weeks now in the past 6 weeks!! feel so anxious 😟

Its so frustrating! I feel your pain, luckily we can support each other here and share whats working! I had no idea all of this was coming and hormonal related.

me too! Perimenopause hell

Ah it's my pleasure Shelley. If i can help anyone not feel as isolated and vulnerable as I did, and help them find a way forward a lot quicker than I did, I am so happy to have taken the time to share. I felt so alone and scared for years because of these symptoms. But I'm really happy to report that all of this is generally behind me. Not in a million years did I ever think that would be the case. What I think now was a big part in this was gluten intolerance combined with low estrogen due to menopause. (Before menopause we can get away with a lot of 'intolerances'!) On the whole I was feeling inflammed. I think this was from toxins floating around my bloodstream due to undigested foodstuff in my digestive track, caused by the digestive track losing its effectiveness from low estrogen Which is then what then caused all those allergic reactions and skin flushing problems.. It was like a perfect storm. With menopause we lose estrogen which is everywhere in a woman's body not just sex organs, including digestive track and brain. That's why women get all these digestive problems and brain fog when menopause hits. The lack of estrogen is massive in how many problems can arise without it. For me, by giving up gluten and finding an HRT which I could tolerate (Everol Conti patch) well I feel pretty darn good these days. No breathing problems, no post nasal drip, no swallowing problems. I can even drink black tea again, thank God! I still take Dao supplments when needed, but nothing like before. Same with the digestive enzymes. Only when I really need them. I always take a probiotic; this helps enormously.Sometimes you have to try different kinds to see what works best for you. I take NutriZing 16 strain multibiotics. If you have histamine issues skip just take a probiotic and not one that includes pre biotic. So this is a post to say to you and everyone out there, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And you aren't alone! And you're not crazy or imagining what you feel during peri/menopause. So much is going on causing a million different effects. The more we share and report the more we can help eachother and get the medical world on board with much needed research, funds and focus on menopause.

I really understand Sandee. And I'm really sorry you're going through all this. Please know you're not alone. And that there are solutions for all these, yes, never ending symtpoms that come up in peri/menopause. I just posted a long message to Shelley maybe something there will be of help.

I remember also calling the doctors often. And then feeling embarassed or just throwing my hands up and saying forget it and letting long lapses of time pass while I suffered alone because I felt I was bothering doctors with my weird issues. That's how I was made to feel. I remember one doctor lumped all my symtpoms at menopasue to 'anxiety'. And made me doubt all that I felt in my body. Some doctors just looked at me blankly. However.....things are changing all the time! Menopause is so much more in the public eye and doctors are more aware of the symptoms and treatments available. There's so much on the web now too like there has never been before. If you can find a doctor or practitioner who focuses on women's health and menopause, that would be really helpful. Please don't despair! There is a way forward! For me, finding an HRT that suited me helped with a lot of my issues. But everyone is different - just reach out and get the help you need and deserve. I wish you well! : )

Oh my, Esmeralda thank you for taking the time to send this message! Ive been in bed all weekend with chest pains along with many other symptoms "thinking that I am dying" lol. So happy to hear your research has paid off and you're feeling much better. What a relief!

You mentioned you had shortness of breath, did you also experience restrictive breathing, as in taking a deep at times would tighten chest? I definitely have shortness of breath but this weekend resulted in pain with breathing in deeply. It lasted all night Friday. I almost went to the ER. I did eat a package of nuts that had chipotle spice just before so could have triggered it.

I live in Australia, I am

going to see if i can get the same probiotics shipped here. If not, you mentioned finding one without prebiotics?

Your help is so appreciated and cant thank you enough. We are in lockdown here and Ive been putting off doctor appointments due to the outbreak. I know just telling my GP my throat feels tight would create a series of doctor visits and scans and am hopeful its all just related to hormones and peri-meno.

Thanks again!

You're very welcome Shelley! I'm really pleased if anything I experienced and can relay is of help. Re chest pain/restrictive breathing, I had both too. It was awful. Restrictive breathing at times when walking. Chest pain got so constant I ended up at ER. It was scary in that I felt it on left side and into armpit. In the end what happened for me was as soon as I got on HRT the chest pain went away. And the breathing issues did too. I think the lack of estrogen was tightening my muscles. I also had bodily muscular aches all round and joint pain. But again once the HRT built up in my system this abated as well. I'm not a doctor and don't know your personal history but it's possible the hormones are creating a domino effect of symptoms for you. Also I know when I had my histamine/breathing issue any kind of spice would often aggravate my skin flushing and throat tightening.Not to be waving the magic bullet card but with hormone replacement I can have spice again - not loads but at least can enjoy it. I'm sure being in lockdown doesn't help with anxiety either. Do you do yoga or know the yogic breathing called Ujjayi? Ujjayi breathing helped me a lot with the anxiety....If you don't I have an audio tape on this breathing on Youtube and could direct you to it if your'e interested. I'm a yoga teacher! Re probiotics. They're everywhere so you can purchase them online easy. Pre biotics and fermented foods (like yoghurt, smoked fish, even tinned foods) can raise histamine. This may not be your situation but it was for me so I avoided at that time...Hope this was helpful. Take Care and hope you feel better soon. : ) : )

post nasal drip and throat tightening is mostly caused by allergies x

have you tried low histamine diet, my diet is stupidly strict x

estrogen actually stimulates mast cells, so the higher the estrogen the higher the histamine, my estrogen is high and i have awful allergies all of a sudden, most in early peri have higher estrogen x

if you google low estrogen histamine nothing comes up, its high estrogen and histamine, chances are by the time you went on hrt your estrogen had dropped anyway, progesterone is actually a antihistamine x

Hi Toria, Thanks for the clarification. Yes that's true about the estrogen, and progesterone. If I take too much estrogen my body tells me with histamine reactions. It's a finely tuned balance. The HRT I take is a combined form of estrogen and progesterone. And it's a patch so I can cut it up to a dose that suits my body. I need enough estrogen to function properly while enough progesterone to combat estrogen dominance including histamine excess. However I should point out that when I tried progesterone creams, as well as Utrogestan (a bio identical progesterone tablet), I would get throat tightening, sometimes severe. The same symptom I get with high histamine. I'm not sure why except that if you go for bio identical progesterones you do have to take a lot more of it to protect the womb. Something about it being unstable in this form enforces a higher dose. This could have been why I was unable to tolerate the bio identical progesterones because I had to take too much. But honestly I don't know. Maybe more research is needed in all of this. My estrogen must have been extraordinarily low because I ended up with almost every symptom you can find on those lists titled 'the 45 symtpoms of menopause'. I needed estrogen like my life depended on it. And of course progesterone but less strikingly so. It took me a long time to find the right amount and the right kind of admistration (between pill, patch, cream etc) for the two hormones, estrogen and progesterone. I also tried Chinese herbs and I remember the practitioner saying 'It's hard to get it right'. Meaning the estrogen/progesterone balance. Was that ever a true statement. But I still think it's because medicine has ignored many of women's health issues, most especially menopause. It's the ultimate taboo. If it were considered important enough, the money and research would have come up with answers that I have spent years and money trying to figure out myself. When I was at my lowest. To me it's criminal how many women suffer from a value judgement that has determined science goes elsewhere to study and investigate and leaves us flapping about on forums trying to solve this ourselves!

totally agree, doctors are awful, im avoiding any type of hormone at the moment, ive had several hormone bloods and each time my estrogen is super high, i have fibroids which are estrogen driven and my periods are closer together and heavy, i can hardly breath right now as ovulating (progesterone low, estrogen high) its awful x

Oh Toria I remember this stage at peri menopasue! It IS awful. For me it was right before my period when I'd get into a high reactionary state and seemingly be allergic to everything; various foods/drink/pollen, smells, etc Things I never had problems with in past. I would get the throat tightening and skin flushing, especially on my stomach and pubic area. Sometimes I'd feel my body in such a hyper state there was no substance to cause a reaction but I would get one. At one point I felt allergic to my own hormones. I also got for the first time in my life severe reactions to anti biotics, which I hardly ever took in my adult life but needed a dose at this particular stage. I had no idea what was wrong with me as never had allergies before. I felt always on the cusp of anaphylaxis. .....For yourself I wonder if taking progesterone only could help balance the high estrogen/low progesteron? I'm certainly not a doctor! It's just a thought if you wanted to ask a specialist. But I also understand when everything was causing me a problem I just didn't want to take anything! X

emeralda i could cry youve literally just described me, im also allergic to antibiotics and even vitamins with fillers. my doctor is clueless, offered me estrogen and i refused then she agreed as i suffer awful migraines and have fibroids, i asked for utrogesten (natural) she said no, its only normally given with estrogen, so i got mini pill, not taken it yet as it synthetic, want to ask gyno but been waiting 8 months for an appointment. so fed up x

Oh Toria I feel for you. Exactly the kind of situation I was in - doctors never got my 'sensitivities' and no one would refer me to a specialist. But 8 months is a crazy amount of time for you to have to wait with the kinds of symtpoms you're experiencing! If you are able to afford it perhaps seek private help with a menopause specialist/doctor. I know it's so unfair to have to go outside the medical system to get served medically! How ironic is this?! And to plow money and time in to get help with a condition that affects 50% of the population. My disgust know no end in this matter as you can probably tell by now. Just don't give up hope, because as I've said in my long winded replies (lol!) if I got through this I really believe anyone can. Xx

youre an angel, i really need to hear this today, allergies off the scale and have my second covid jab later, which i had a delayed reaction to the first one grrrr ive taken an antihistamine but they dont do much to be honest. im going to send in an e-consult and see if any news on gyno ❤ xx

Just a quickie. Vitamin C helps clear histamine. I take between 500 mg to 1000 mg if I'm reacting to something. It can really help. : ) xx

thank you, im going to look for some thats not made from soy 😃 xx

how are your allergies now? my diet is so limited xx

hi emeralda I've been having perimenopause for 3 years now. Awful symtoms. I've been in and out of hospital for the past 3 years

I'm getting itchy in my privates now! All external. I used canasten and now taking an oral pill as I'm still itchy. I'm on my period too! Dr said its thrush

I had a gynaecologist check twice and last month to remove a polyp.

I'm so fed up with this new symptom. Not sure if it's got to with my period

My diet used to be incredibly limited too. Thankfully this has all changed; I can eat a wide variety of foods now without fear of reactions. The only thing I have to stay well and truly clear from is gluten. Never thought I'd have to give this up but alas, I do. I also can't tolerate alcohol very much - but I never could really only now it's pretty much zero. Citrus can still give me mouth ulcers, a food group that never gave me a hint of problem until I hit menopause. Why would nature turn citrus against us when it's so healthy?! But at least now I go through periods where I can enjoy it in moderation. : ) x

Hi Sandee, I'm so sorry to hear you're going through a hard time too. It can be so difficult! I do remember getting episodes of thrush, both around my period time and also when going into menopause when estrogen levels really fell. In addition to the canasten you could try a probiotic specifically aimed at women and helping balance vaginal flora. Thrush is an overgrowth of candida so the flora needs re balancing. Some basic things that help is wearing cotton underwear instead of anything synthetic, avoiding tight jeans/pants, and even having some time to let the whole area 'air' without anything on! Thrush loves damp/heat. So some open air can help cool and dry the whole vaginal area and help dissipate the thrush... Hope this is a little help. : )

i had that, the treatment didnt work so i waited and it went away x

aw thats good news 😃 im as thin as a twig x

thanks ladies......I don't know where to begin have an itchy vagina and bottom with anal fissures! just cry

how are your periods now? x

I had those both too. i took all different meds to clear them and they always came back- now it happens randomly. I am in full menopause I just have to keep telling myself it is hormones.

I've got a tear in my anal area! everything time I pass it hurts and bleeds! I'm taking fibre and scared to take a cream prescribed by the DR as it can give headaches!

How did you manage it?

still the same heavy and go on for 10 days! nothing has changed after my procedure back in May

oh no! im getting worse, allergies through the roof but due on soon, look into coconut oil for your bottom x

thanks just bought anal fissures natural oil and sitting in Epsom salts

i love epsom salts i use them everyday x

Yes I was too! I have a slight build so losing weight is not good for me. Maybe try protein shakes or replacement meal shakes? : ) x

my bmi is 17 😦 protein shakes are probably high histamine, cant do dairy either x

17 is low. I think mine was, is 18. How about Hemp protein??

will look into it thank you, im quite tall too x

I'm quite short! 😅

good things come in small packages.

Oh....what a nice thing to say! 😌 xx

❤