Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Bobidy on August 17, 2019, 03:27:59 AM
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Hi
Does anybody struggle to get their breath and fill their lungs properly?
This is something I've had intermittently for a few years now. I used to put it down to anaemia as pre hysterectomy I had v heavy bleeds so was on iron tablets.
I'm not overweight, healthy diet, regular exercise, not stressed etc. Taking Oestrogel 2 pumps.
In the past I've had chest X-ray, the asthma blow test thing and all ok.
I do get acid reflux which deffo irritates it but generally can keep that under control. I have also had an increase in allergies which I think may be linked and normal for peri.
I'm due another blood test shortly to check iron levels again but I'm no longer having periods due to hysterectomy so I'm expecting it to be normal.
So, do you suffer with this and has anything helped to alleviate it?
Thanks x
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Yep. So SING Girl, SING. It fills the lungs properly ;)
I had this prior to each period. I also get it occasionally these days [last bleed, 2002]. I also have reflux which causes a reflex cough >:(
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Yes and breathing difficulties is a menopausal symptom.
Have a look at this link which takes you to a checklist of symptoms:
https://jeanhailes.org.au/contents/documents/Health_Professionals/Menopause_symptom_scale_Greene_Climacteric.pdf
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I get breathless which is a nuisance especially as I enjoy walking. I would be doing more excersise if it wasn't such an issue although it has improved greatly since taking HRT & weight loss.
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Hi Bobidy, yes, I had very bad breathing problems caused by taking oestrogel. I was taking 2 pumps a day. I started by getting a bit breathless. It got worse and worse until I was gasping for breath.
When I told the specialist, they told me to come off the gel immediately. I did and the breathing difficulties went. X
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I've also had this periodically.
People have noticed and said..."Why do you seem out of breath trying to finish a sentence"
I wasn't able to finish saying something in one puff lol! That's not when I've been active but just sitting chatting. Acid reflux is alive a present I feel you on that front too.
Hang in there and hang on to each breath.
TD
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Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I had mine pre Oestrogel so I don't think mine is that. If I do some deep belly yoga breathing it does seem to help.
I know if I go to the docs they will trot out the "are you stressed and anxious" line. I'm not.
I will try the singing! (poor husband)
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I had my breathlessness pre HRT also, would say some improvement on HRT but not great still (exhausted & breathless on and after bike ride).
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Run the shower, put DH in it and sing?
Right now I can't breath properly.
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Yes I am suffering from shortness of breath at the moment. I feel as if I have to keep gasping for air. I'm not on HRT at the moment and have been tried on 4 different antidepressants. I'm coming off them as they have just made things worse. The doctor told me I'm mildly asthmatic a d gave me an inhaler, which has made no difference.
It's definitely a hormonal thing and I have also got into s pattern of shallow breathing. It's called hyperventilation syndrome. I'm having breathing physio to get back into belly breathing. Unfortunately, it's not a quick fix as you have to practice several times a day to retrain your brain. Ask your doctor if they can refer you to a breathing physio.
It is quite scary when you can't get your breath but just keep telling yourself it is hormonal and it will pass. Hope you get it sorted soon x
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Yes I have breathing issues sometimes. Feels like I can't get enough air down my lungs.
Havnt been to docs about it, as it comes and goes, I think sometimes it's due to anxiety.
When I'm more relaxed and don't have anxiety, I don't have it....🤷♀️
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Jules 53, i was on AD's for a short time some years ago and I had the same breathlessness which got worse and worse to the point of gasping for breath again. It is very scary indeed.
When I came off the AD's this went. For me it has been caused by AD's and HRT. X
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Hi all, I found this interesting article:
https://d2931px9t312xa.cloudfront.net/menopausedoctor/files/information/340/Men(achoo!)pause.pdf (https://d2931px9t312xa.cloudfront.net/menopausedoctor/files/information/340/Men(achoo!)pause.pdf)
Makes perfect sense as all the allergy stuff has recently reared its ugly head for me. Could there possibly be any more damned symptoms!?!
I'm seeing Dr Newson tomorrow so I'll ask her a bit more about it x
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...... then let us know?
My symptoms were definitely related to periods because it happened prior to a bleed. Now it's reflux >:( ::)
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Thanks for that Bobidy. I wish I'd know as much as I know now 3+yrs ago!!! x
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I'm having this issue, and been having it every month at day 14 and day 28 for nearly ten years (since they took my thyroid out), and then in the 12 days I was on estrogel it went off the charts (last day resting heart rate 120, and my face and lips went numb, and my entire body was shaking, including my vision!!). Suffice to say I stopped, but still trembling like a leaf days later.
I'm fairly certain it's estrogen mediated mast cell over activation, and it seems I'm not alone, lots of women get this. For me it's caused by, I am fairly sure, peri surges of estrogen.
It's also connected to methylation in ways I don't understand but estrogen is a methyl donor (as is betaine, stomach acid), and the biochemical pathways are too complex for me, but this is connected to methylhistamine. I have that MTHFR defect which means I have issues tolerating certain B vits and folate.
All the other women I'm talking to about this also have thyroid issues. I'm due to speak to my func med doc, as she think she knows what's happening, so once I know I'll report back. I'm also due to speak to an immunology clinic, as these are the symptoms that prompted me to seek gynae help in the first place, as they are so cyclical it HAS to be my sex hormones.
However, I can confidently say I have NEVER felt so ill as I did taking estrogen, and it does beg teh question why my gynae gave it to me when my blood tests said my E was 300 points over the top of the range at nearly 1,600!!! I appreciate that hormones swing in peri, but I find it hard to believe that doctors haven't come across this before.
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I get a slight, intermittent cough which I have almost everyday. I did wonder what was going on but when we went to Norway for a week it went completely. I have now come to the conclusion that it is caused by pollution and is probably slight asthma. I'll keep an eye on it and only bother the doctor is it gets worse.
Not all are ailments are meno related and things like asthma can appear later in life anyway.
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Rebut
Did your doctor test your MTHFR levels or did the consultant do it? I had half my thyroid removed last November and have had problems with shortness of breath since then.
I'm not on HRT and am 3 years into menopause.
Thanks
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Hi, no, it's one of the things flagged on thyroid forums if all the usual tricks to get your 'ducks in a row' still leave you feeling sub parr. I had my genome mapped which shows your genetic 'SNPs', and then you need to do a whole raft of organic acid and nutritional marker tests to work out which pathway is doing what, and which SNPs are expressing, so that you add the right supplements in the right order. I had my entire thyroid removed, it's been hellish and anyone in the same boat has my sympathies.
Although, my life changed immeasurably when I switched from synthetic levo (and then levo + T3) to natural dessicated thyroid, it was like going from night to day. Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to chat.
I don't get shortness of breath, I get a flood of histamine, I get a rash, and I feel 'buzzy' and jittery, my heart goes too fast and I get digestive issues, react to food, it's really like being 'eaten alive by a million ants' it's hard to describe and then it disappears again til day 14 and 28 roll around again. But this coincides with points in my cycle when my own prog should be opposing my E, but isn't, as I appear to now be anovulatory. There is much quackery written about estrogen dominance (as an entire theory I'd agree) but it does seem to be a thing in peri women. I'm wondering whether at this point in my meno journey I just need P and T, and no E, or whether there's some way to mimic my own cycle, rather than piling in more E every day.
I'd say if you have thyroid issues, getting all that optimal first is probably key, otherwise you won't be able to see the wood for the trees?