i feel like im dying

Hi Maria i am going through all Kim describes. Ladies have replied to Kim that they are still going through this hell for years... I like Kim feel like I am dying... Why does it go on so long? When does it subside?

Hi yes tell me about it heave knows when will stop just have prayer, I'm going try some thing soon just looking..my sister went through this and family they are ok hotflashes stop and that so I guess. Everybody timing is different for all of us.

HI Maria,  please. PLease tell all of us when this will subside .    How long is this torture going to last ?   But pls tell us the truth.  Some ladies say it never stops. 

Hi Leisa, are you any better ?

HiMaria76995, that sounds really encouraging, you must have met people who told you that it will finish

Hi Marjorie

could you share a bit more about the sensation you describe as your brain shifting in your head.

I have had lots of what I think might be similar sensations that come out of nowhere...once I had to pull off motorway as was so scared of what was happening to me. It also just happens when sitting in my office working. I find it most frightening...I described it to my gonna as if my head and brain were out of sync and one was ahead or behind the other...it s as if I have a split second vacancy and I have to force the parts to catch up with each other.

This  must have felt  really scary.   That’s why this forum is so helpful for us.   Once we understand why - by  learning from each other it will become less scary hopefully.  I had ‘only’ (bad enough) the shortness of breath with dizness plus other symptoms (nausea and stomach pain).  No doctor gave me any hint that this may be connected to the menopause.  I always thought menopause means mainly hot flushes ..... nothing much else.  I was so wrong.  They checked my lungs, my heart, nothing wrong, but. No doctor thought of the pause.   As.  I see that   So many have these symptoms ... why is there no awareness?

This sounds very much like something that happens to me. It’s sort of a dizziness, but not really. It happens at the most random  times. I told a doctor once that it feels like I nearly fall asleep but it’s so quick. It’s as though I fall asleep with the speed of a light switch. Then I feel weak and very anxious - almost like my heart needs to reset. He said it sounds like syncope. It’s differdnt from the Adrenalin surges I get at other times. 

Indeed! Starting at about 45, I began perimenopause. I'm now 51 and in the past two months every odd symptom possible has cropped up---shortness of breath, nasal swelling, dizziness, fullness in the ears, weakness, lethargy, exhaustion, chills, hot flashes, weight loss and gain, blurry vision, stomach pain, burping, burning, and indigestion, heart racing. I could go on. Yet, all tests are negative and nothing is suggestion for relief except an inhaler which cost me $59 because I am uninsured. Anyway, I am willing to try BHRT but only if it's plant-based and only if it takes away the one unbearable symptom, which is shortness of breath. My doctor chalked that up to returning asthma that I had as a child but didn't even speculate as to why it came back other than mostly blaming anxiety, which is not the case at all. Anyway, it helps even a tiny bit just knowing we're not alone.

I have never had asthma. But about 2-3 years ago diagnosed with it. And now a regular inhailer user. It all started as part of peri. SAD. You are definitely not alone.

Οmg!! You described all my symptoms!!! I felt fairly good for the past year but its been couple of months all the old symptoms are popping up!!! I had a nuclear stress test about 2 years ago for the shortness of breath and everything was fine..now it comes back and im scared to go through all that all over again!!

Hi Marjorie94005,

I'm new to this forum. I too have many unexplainable issues that seem peri related. You mentioned asthma. I got sick over two years ago. I've heard illness can be an onset for peri/menopause.  I developed breathing issues, food allergies/sensitivities, and a host of other symptoms. Seen many docs. Everything had been checked. Lungs are clear, gut is leaky but nothing else so far showing up. My most bothersome issue is breathing poorly. Can you describe your breathing/asthma issue. And anyone else who reads this please feel free to let me know if breathing has become an issue along with everything else. I do have a lot of the same symptoms as most women on this site.  Thank you!!

I had bad breathing issues years ago that lasted for a long time (almost 3 years).   It took very long for me to analyse what caused these problems as also my lungs were in good shape and I also had no asthma.   as you’ve seen many ladies also have stomach problems .... nothing sinister but just the stomach is ‘upset’.  When your stomach is upset your Vagus Nerve is often irritated and can abuse all sorts of horrible symptoms like nausea, feeling sick, feeling dizzy, tired, feeling like you can’t breathe !!!!!  you feel really down ....I’ve had this for years...it can make you feel very unwell 🤧 indeed and - making it impossible to function properly.  As the Vagus Nerve is a ‘wondering nerve’ it is not only in the stomach but (fibres of it) are also in other organs like lungs and heart.  Therefore it’s very difficult for your brain to interpret where this type of pain or seemingly breathing problems are coming from.  Therefore you may think the problem is in your lungs however it may be just an ‘upset’ stomach.  In my case the feeling that I couldn’t breathe was not really ‘breathing problems’ as such but there must have been so much pain from my stomach that it sort of ‘automatically ‘ stopped me from breathing deeply (because of the pain it caused).  And I wasn’t even aware of it.  I know the pain feels really horrible but   once you (your doctors ) have excluded anything ‘sinister’ going on in your upper GI or lungs or heart, and it is ‘only’ some horrible feeling like being unable to breathe due to functional’ but not sinister stomach problems .... the good news is that eventually you WILL get better.  

Thank you for your encouragement and response, LCat. Very helpful.  Did your chest get tight with your breathing issues? Sometimes it's so bad that I just sit there and wait for it to pass. I do breathing excercises to calm it down too. Sometimes I do need to clear something out though. I've had X-rays and tests and everything looks fine. Had endoscopy the other day. No hiatal hernia, which can cause breathing issues. Everything upper GI related looked normal. It's so frustrating. I just want to breathe normally again!!! I do get a pain on the side of my stomach.  So did your stomach pain and breathing issues coincide? I need to pay attention to mine to see if they do. 

I just want to be me again. I've got 4 children to love and care for. They are amazing at taking care of each other while I feel horrible. I thank God for who they are.  

Sometimes msg can cause weird breathing. It did For me big time. And other horrible symptoms too. Once I removed that from my diet I was much better!

This is what drives me crazy, like you said, not enough awareness. We suffer, we spend $1000.00 of dollars on Doctor visits, testing, medications, the list can go on and on. This morning I woke up with a migraine, upset stomach, heart racing and unsteady on the feet. This afternoon I'm doing all I can to stay awake. Here it is Friday, a day where most people look forward to going out with friends, dinner, etc. and I can't wait to leave work and just go home to rest. My weekend will be useless because I'm sleep deprived this week so I'll spend my weekend trying to catch up on sleep. Feeling annoyed

Thank you, Carlycat. I have a very limited diet of about 15 things I can eat. I don't eat anything with any additives. Very clean, whole diet. Msg actually makes my right eye swell. I learned that a long time ago. Not fun. Glad you figured that out! I wish it was that simple for me!!! I'm going to look into the vagas nerve being a possible issue.  But I'll take more advice from anyone who has had this issue.  Not being able to breathe well is scary. 

How did you figure out your breathing issue and what did you do for it?

Yes I also had chest tightness.  Sometimes it is together with pain in the stomach area and sometime not.   I had this twice.  First time for 3 years.  Then it went away and I felt fantastic for 2 years.  Then it came back with a vengeance.  And now (after many months) it’s disappeared again. 

 I figured it out as I’m very good in physiology (thanks to my university background)..... by excluding most other possibilities like lungs and heart issues.  I had even ventricular arrhythmias (but no cardiac issues to worry about).  I felt also horribly dizzy.  As other sinister stuff was excluded (and that’s very important).....by exclusion there seemed only one thing left : stomach.  I know that the Vagus Nerve can cause various symptoms (not just pain).  You said you can eat only 15 things ... that means your stomach doesn’t feel great.  You said your endoscopy showed nothing sinister.  The same as in my case.  The doctors would think that we should be happy as it’s nothing ‘sinister’ (never mind how horrid we feel).  

I also sometimes I had to clear something out as well like you.  The problem was in the upper GI area but sinister causes were excluded.  Therefore doctors call it often ‘functional’  like ‘functional dyspepsia’.  And here is the problem :  Unfortunately there hasn’t been much research done in the GI area.  We’re still in the Middle Ages here.  ‘Functional Dyspepsia’ is something doctors have no clue what it is nor what causes it nor how to treat it.  (A bit like IBS where they also have no idea what it is nor what causes it nor how to treat it but in your Upper HI area).  Good GI Consultants appreciate that it feel horrible but the problem is :  there is no cure yet for it.  Some doctors try to give their patients PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) :   I tried them ... I felt so much worse.  My GP also has many people who got worse from those drugs.  Sometimes doctors suggest Probiotics .... didn’t help me either but at least they’re not dangerous.  

Most important :  what are those 15 things you say you’re able to eat ??   In view of what I explained above there was no magical solution ..... therefore I focussed on eating the right things .... and avoiding food that irritates the stomach.   I’ve also done some serious medical research and reading since I had these horrid problems ..... with some interesting results  which helped me deciding how to change the way I eat.