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Perimenopause/Menopause and shortness of breath/chest tightness/ Belching

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Gypsy014
Gypsy014

Anyone have the symptoms of shortness of breath with chest tightness, (air hunger) with lots of belching after eating? If so please describe... And does it get better? Mine started like 3 weeks ago and it's awful feels like i can't get a deep enough breath.

I'm also experiencing food allergies/sensitivities also to soaps and flowers and different smells, all make me choke/ cough and feels like chest tightness. Never ever have I had asthma in my life but feels like it now! My anxiety/ panic attacks are bad, antibodies are high for rheumatoid arthritis, and hashimotos, just don't know how to deal with all these new symptoms that keep getting thrown at me other than to sit and cry, cry cry! Anyone else having similar issues??? Are these symptoms all consistent with the menopause change??

15 likes, 197 replies

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  • gailannie
    gailannie Gypsy014

    Edited

    Gypsy,

       The air hunger that you describe is definately a symptom of menopause.  Our entire body changes and yes, women can have allergies/sensitivities/arthritis pains and anxiety.   These are all very normal reactions.  

       I'm sorry and wish there was something more to offer.  Some women have seen improvement with HRT.  But also those who struggle with replacement.  So hang in there, not sure if these symtoms will go away.  Typically women simply discribe that they problems continue to change over time.  Not sure if you are menopausal from your title, but am assuming you are skipping periods, yet not a full year past your last period.  

     

    • Gypsy014
      Gypsy014 gailannie

      Edited

      Hi Gailannie,

      I did figure the air hunger breathlessness was a symptom of peri/meno, Thank you for confirming!

      I just love to read about all the good advice and knowledge you offer on this forum to all these ladies who are struggling everyday with these awful symptoms! You are very knowledgeable and much appreciated!

      Also may I say with all your knowledge if you don't already blog about it on the internet about peri/memo , then you should, I believe that is your calling!!! Take care, and big hugs....

    • gailannie
      gailannie Gypsy014

      Posted

      Thank you for your kind words. I'm certainly happy to offer my experience, years of study & research.

      None of this is easy. And for some, like me, not even replacement therapy is easy.

    • mary27278
      mary27278 gailannie

      Edited

      Hi Gailannie

      I definately agree with Gypsy, you are so knowledgable with peri. I too have been having the shortness of breath,I guess you would call it chest tightness, the best way to describe it would be it feels like something is sitting in my chest and i feel the lump feeling in throat. While moving around, I get tired quickly whereas my body begin to feel weak and off balance with the shortness of breath ,chest feeling and heart palpitation. This brings on the anxiety. The chest hurts sometimes. I do have gerd also, i dont know if gerd is contributing or what? But this has slowed me down where im at the point where i cant do much. I have seen cardiologist and lung specialist , all check ok. This breathing issue and chest feeling has been going on for about 3 weeks now. The palpitaions have been going on for months, at first lightly but now its ongoing. A few days ago I also had a cardiac blood test done to check for blood clots , it was fine. I know that my progesterone level is at 0.4 . One of the ladies mentioned iron level could be low. Well my rbc and hemoglumin are fine. As far as the iron itself ferritin and iron saturation i havent gotten it checked since months ago and at that time they were extremely low. What are your views on all this?

      May I add, when stomach is bloated the symptons are worse.

    • gailannie
      gailannie mary27278

      Edited

      Hi Mary,

         I'm sorry I won't have much to offer.  Did your doctor recommend anything to bring your iron levels up?  Low iron levels can make you very tired.  

      I also had heart palps in peri.  They can be frightening, but they did go away.  What's important to remember, is that during this peri stage (considered a 10 yr transition) your hormone levels can be bouncing. Over producing on one day, under producing the next.  Since ALL our hormone systems are interconnected, this can lead to some very strange symptoms.   When we feel all these strange sensations, it can be an over expression of certain hormones in relationship to others.  

         I did try BCP and bio identical hormones in peri.  They all made me feel worse.  I finally went back to my own system and had to ride it out for awhile.  But then I did fine with slowly dwindling periods until they stopped.  

         We are so used to hearing about the night sweats and hot flashes that we forget there are a untold amount of strange symptoms as our systems are slowly changing. None of it is fun, or easy.  

    • liz67338
      liz67338 gailannie

      Edited

      I just had to say I'm so pleased to hear you say that it's not just about the night sweats and flushes...that's my biggest frustration that apart from this group there doesnt seem to be any public info about all of the other multiple symptoms and strangly one of the worst anxiety! (Incl medical field) all the stuff you read on internet etc or you hear get spoken about (apart from here) are only a few of our issues. If it wasn't for this forum I really do think we all would think we are going crazy!

    • katherine41206
      katherine41206 mary27278

      Posted

      Mary, how are you doing? I have your same symptoms. Everything checks out except for my ulcer. The air hunger is absolutely awful.
    • mary27278
      mary27278 katherine41206

      Posted

      Hi Katherine..how are you getting on? Im sorry i know its been 4 months since you posted but somehow I must have missed your post. I hope you are feeling better with your symptoms. As for me, my symptoms come and goes but thw heart palpitations seem more frequent now and the air hunger. Hope things are better on your end.😊

    • clair35260
      clair35260 mary27278

      Posted

      Hi Mary,

      I know you wrote this a month ago but I've just picked up on this thread. I'm suffering a lot with the chest tightness and air hunger the past week along with palpitations. I've been on a low dose of HRT for almost 3 weeks now. Has it got better for you?

    • mary27278
      mary27278 katherine41206

      Posted

      Hi Katherine ..just checking up with you. i hope you 're better now. How did you know that you had an ulcer? im having these issues again.

    • CINDIANA
      CINDIANA gailannie

      Edited

      Gailannie Exactly!!!! every time I Google on symptoms of perimeno or menopause I got night sweats and irregular periods, vaginal dryness and insomnia. even my doctor was flummoxed when I mentioned nausea and airhunger. it was so terrible, I thought I was going mad. it has eased out now considerably. you're right, this is something that we must ride out. vitamins help. drink lots of water...and eats plenty of nuts and fruits. roasted flax seeds are a good phytoestrogen as they regulate the ups and downs. I also did seed cycling and found it helped.

    • Breathhelp
      Breathhelp gailannie

      Edited

      I wonder why shortness of breath isnt in the list of 66 menopsuse symptoms.

      This shortness of breath just HAS TO go away. I struggle to breath 27/7. I am 47 and always out of breath.

  • littleme1969
    littleme1969 Gypsy014

    Edited

    Yes pretty common symtpoms with the shortness of breath, its mainly caused by increased heart rate and anxiety just makes it worse.  You will find that it comes and goes and gets worse around ovulation and period... it does settle over time as most of the symptoms seem to do .. but then you get new weird ones. Over time you learn that its just part of the cycle and as new stuff comes along at first you freak out.. then you deal with it.  The alergies too pretty common.. i had them really bad 4 years ago when peri first kicked in.  You just need to cut out things that are stimulants of any kind.. alcohol smoking.. caffine.. refined carbs and sugars.  again you adjust with time.. 4 years on and my allergies are alot better .  TRy and get some meds for your anxiety so you can calm your system down a bit and that will help settle things.  for alot of people things do get better with time and you learn to adjust. 
    • mary27278
      mary27278 littleme1969

      Posted

      Hi Littleme, did you ever get better with your shortness of breath? You are so right, i have been noticing that mine usually comes around ovulation and period time It is so awful! Im on my second week of it and 2 days away from period due. (If it comes) . The closer the time gets the worse the breathing seem to get.
    • Breathhelp
      Breathhelp littleme1969

      Edited

      littleme did you have shortness of breath? If so, for how long before yours completely went away?

      You mentiioned that they come and go. Mine didnt come and go. So far Im on 15 months of constant shortness of breath and globus.

      Do you still think that since mine is constant that its from peri menopause?

      I feel like Im dying here. I did every test possible and doctors cant find anything so they say anxiety. But I havent heard of manopause causing constant breathing problems.

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