Hello ,

I am a new person here. My name is Shona. I am 43 years old. I came across Power-Surge site a year back when I was fighting my symptoms. I am a silent reader and don’t post much. I am a full time working mom having stringent deadlines and work hard and always under stress. Have a son who is 19 and a daughter 10.

My History : From 10 days, I have severe Nausea and I am not able to eat anything at all. Also I lost 4 lbs in a matter of 1 week. I have bad headaches at times and at times (not regularly ) suffer from insomnia. Lately I am doing a lot of Yoga (Surya Namaskar) in the morning and Meditation before I hit the bed. I walk for almost 2 miles everyday and I eat healthy food. Blood work was done 3 months ago and everything is normal , except for Viatmin D deficiency. So Doctor (Endocrinologist) has asked me to take Vitamin D supplements along with Calcium . My thyroid is normal. Last year my thyroid nodules were swollen when an Ultra sound was done, after a small dose of Levothyroxin everyday for 1 year and plus doing yoga, the nodules were not there. So he asked me to stop

I had severe nausea for 5 days and went to Doctor (Physician) on Tuesday and he said that is due to viral which is going around and also I had acidity, he asked me to take Nexium for acidity and drink lots of fluids. He also said if it does not subside for the next 10 days, goto gastroenterologist and he will do an Endoscopy to find out what is wrong. When I said I had all the above symptoms, he looked at me funnily and he said you are having major anxiety problems and you are on the verge of DEPRESSION . LOL. He prescribed me AD (Anti Depressants) . I can tell all of very clearly I am not depressed, but anxious because of my job and also at times my kid stresses me out. I am an extremely busy person and I don’t have time to feel low in life as well. In the evenings, I help out few kids in their studies and behavioral habits. I enjoy doing that. When I went to the Doctor last week, my BP read 130-80 and he said ur BP is high and he suggested Metaprolol (50 mg). Currently I am taking only Mataprolol and no Anti Depressants. I am taking the usual supplements like Calcium, MV, Vitamin E etc.

But today I was having this strange symptom and I was kinda forced to post. I have pain in my throat , kind of tightens the throat sometimes on the left side and sometimes on the right side and sometimes in the centre. It feels like somebody is choking my throat. My ears make funny sound inside and my jaw kind feels stressed. Does anybody know whether it is related to Perimenopause at all. Has anybody had any symptoms like this before, please share. Every day I have a strange symptoms (10 days nausea, dizziness, muscle ache, twitching, headache, insomnia at times), I am fed of sharing it with my husband as well. I don’t want to become a nag or a whiner in his life, Im in such a state of confusion and anxiety I am shedding tears every nite before I goto bed. And when morning comes, I am even more scared and tensed what the new day will bring in the form of peris symptoms.

Thanks in advance
Shona

Hi Shona,
Welcome to PS. I have been having this throat tightness on and off for 5 years, it can be due to hormones or to acid reflux, but overall, it is part of the menopause, for me, at least. Acid reflux is multifaceted but for me it started along with perimenopause. It is almost gone now, with few flare ups, but again, it is hormonal and not related to any food. There are days when I can eat whatever and have no pain, and some days ( before my period) I have it for no good reason.
Acid irritates esophagus and it goes into spasm. I had mine accompanied with horrid chest pain, chocking sensation, etc. Now I am used to it, so I take sometimes plain antacid or baking soda mixed with club soda.
I tried the purple pill and PPIs, both had nasty symptoms, but I see great improvement now without any medications, mostly due to hormones settling down slowly.
Your nausea and weight loss, I had it too, lost 35 pounds almost instantly, could not eat more than 2 bites at a time. This is all hormonal, I underwent all possible tests, scopes upper and lower, LOL, and nothing was found. I wish I listened to my late mother back then and saved myself from all the testing related anxiety.
hang in there, it will get better. I would avoid acid stimulating food when you have a flare up: coffee even decaf, alcohol, spicy food, raw garlic, fried and fatty food. Play with it and see which one impacts it the most. I gave coffee completely for this reason, and avoid raw garlic, sometimes cooked tomatoes, it all differs from time to time. Oh, the most important, is to avoid all soft drink, coke, sugary desserts, and sweets, these are the worst acid triggering food.
Don't drink too much fluids at a time, it will make stomach acid rise. I would suggest chamomile tea, home brewed, very soothing and calming, and dandelion tea to get the bile flowing.
To my surprise, hot water with juice of 1/2 lemon before BF works great too. I am sure you are fine, I had this started at 45, and now just don't pay much attention.
BTW, enjoy the weight loss while it last, I have regained almost all of it back once the initial symptoms subsided.
As for Metaprolol for high BP, I would rather buy a home BP monitor and make sure it is not a rare event, and also 130/80 is not that high BP, so I am a bit leery of dr. who Rx BP meds based on single reading.
try Nature calm magnesium citrate, it may lower your BP and calm you down without meds.
Metaprolol is beta-blocker class of drug, so it has serious side effect, so don't stop it suddenly. But it has serious side effects and unless you really have hypertension, it is better not to take such serious medications.
Try life style and diet modification, rest more, eat right, and take your anxiety under control. Your BP will drop naturally.
Good luck and HTH.

I've been having something similar -- little spasms in my throat, under my chin and in my jaw -- , but I've been in the throes of some really horrible anxiety, so I don't know if it's being caused by hormones, the anxiety or my acid reflux. I take Nexium for that and it actually has helped me a great deal. The only side effect I've had is a little nausea while the pill is dissolving.

I love how every doctor seems to believe that every woman who is having peri symptoms is depressed. It reminds me of the bad old days of heart disease. Men with chest pains got heart medicine, women with chest pains got Valium. I was ranting in another post about doctor's hesitance to diagnose menopause, so I won't go into it again here. But being treated like we're either crazy or toddlers by doctors when we KNOW our symptoms are real drives me nuts!

Thanks a million Iradan, you may not believe it is huge relief for me. My diet has gone down considerably ad I dont feel hungry at all. Not tempted to eat even my fav dishes. But thanks for all the tips where food and other habits are concerned. I have just taken metaprolol for 2 days only , do you think I can stop asap. I hate taking drugs.

Thnak you again
Shona

Thanks a million Iradan, you may not believe it is huge relief for me. My diet has gone down considerably ad I dont feel hungry at all. Not tempted to eat even my fav dishes. But thanks for all the tips where food and other habits are concerned. I have just taken metaprolol for 2 days only , do you think I can stop asap. I hate taking drugs.

Thnak you again
Shona

Hello Webalina,

Thanks for your reply. I really feel better after reading the reply. Hope we all feel better some day and some day comes soon.

Your symptoms and mine seems to be almost similar now. I do Meditation at nite before I sleep for my anxiety problems. I have heard quite a lot about Claire Weekes, plan to get her CDs and books. Have you tried that?

I hate my PCP doctor so much now.... yes I agree with you, he so easily said I am depressed. It is easy to say but very difficult to accept and the best thing is I have stopped complaining about all my symptoms to everybody. (My husband, my sister and my doctor). Al these 3 are getting on my nerves these days, they refuse to accept that I am suffering inside.

I really envy certain section of ladies who dont go thro these symptoms at all. Why are we the chosen few and why are we cursed

Cheers
Shona

For me, I have always atrributed this symptom to anxiety as this was/is a commom symptom of mine for many years and still is after my 2nd spine surgery in my neck last August.

This is one of my first indicators when I become anxious - I feel like I am unable to swallow and have even chocked on my own spit in my mouth. I know it sounds strange but I think it's pretty common amongst those of us who have anxiety problems.

It's been almost a year since my 2nd spine surgery (in my neck) and the frequency of me feeling like I am chocking has subsided just a bit except when I am eating, especially in public. If I am not careful, I can end up having a full-blown panic attack in a restaurant just worrying that I will choke on my food in public.

Yes, I am a strange bird but this is one symptom that continues to stay with me especially when I am out with a large group of people.

When I am eating at home, I am just fine - it's usually only in public. When I have company over, I am not as bad as when I am in a restaurant.

I had the same problem when I would get on an airplane and when they would close the cabin door, I would think that I couldn't breathe and that I would choke to death on the plane. I did get over that with the help of medication so perhaps there is help for me when I am eating out in a restaurant.

Take care everyone,

XOXO,
-Tina

Hi Shona,

I have been on and off (mostly off) these boards for months. What brought me here to begin with was the fact that I had this awful, nagging nausea that would not go away for days or weeks at a time. What has brought me back today is the recurrence of the nausea, three days before I am due to go on a wonderful family vacation.

I can totally relate to your post. I have also had the throat tightness. All this makes me anxious, at times, and then it becomes a vicious cycle of nausea creating anxiety and anxiety creating nausea!

I had all kinds of tests last year and the year before and nothing was found. After finding these boards, I am convinced that the nausea (which feels a lot like morning sickness, which makes sense since both peri and pregnancy both cause homone frenzy!) is all related to perimenopause. What caught my eye on your post was the "10 day" comment. Do you mean that you have had it for 10 days? For me, it seems that my symptoms rear their heads 10 days after the start of my period. My periods have changed a lot - they used to be 6 -7 days. Now they are 3, with the first 24 hours being HORRIBLE, then the next two mild.

I guess I am just writing to sympathize. I know what you are feeling! When I feel good, I don't worry about this stuff at all, but when the nausea comes back, I start getting all these thoughts that I am dying, that the tests missed something, or that something new has cropped up in my body, that has yet to be detected!

I can honestly say that these boards are the best thing that have happened to me. It is so nice to be able to come out here and find a group of people who know what you are feeling, who are feeling the same way, and who can tell you that you are not alone, and you are not dying, AND you are not going crazy!

Hang in there. I feel better just posting! I hope you will too.

Hi "Shona1" I could write a book on the choking sensation. Mine started at or around 30, got put on anti-depressants and it got better, Then got pregnant with my children and it didn't bother me during pregnancy. Now, I'm 40 started peripause at 39 and my health anxiety issues as went over the top.
In fact last week I had a bad day and I felt like someone had a strong hold on the right side of my neck and I had trouble swallowing, went t my doctor and he put me on clonzipam he said it was my nerves and high anxiety and panic from hormones. Maybe you could ask your doctor to put you on these, No I don't like taking nerve pills but I'm taking them as prescribed, during the menapuse stage we all need something to help us cope. The bad day I told you about I even threw up and I had not done that since I was pregnant with my daughter and she is 16 now.
You are going to be o.k. but please think about asking your doctor for some meds to help you manage your nerves & stress.
Keep us update and know were here for you.