New member, lynnieD, sent this to me in a PM instead of posting it to the board. I'm reposting it here, so you can all add your experiences and reactions.

Dearest

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lynnieD

Hi everyone,

thanks for being here! i'm 48 and have recently been plagued by the most annoying shortness of breath. there is no real chest pain, what i feel is kind of what you'd feel if you were running in really cold weather and your bronchial tubes breath in cold air.
the weird thing is, this shortness of breath doesn't seem to be related to exercise, in fact, it's worst when i'm just sitting. last night i walked with a friend for an hour, and it didn't really bother me. it's worst when i'm trying to talk over noise, in a car with the windows down, for instance. i've been healthy as a horse my whole life, although i realize now that i have had shortness of breath from time to time in my life. i went online and found that i have more than 1/2 the symptoms for mitral valve prolapse, but i have never had an anxiety attack...until NOW, just thinking about breathing makes me anxious!! it doens't bother me when i sleep, and have no palpitations, or maybe i'm just not recognizing them...sometimes my heart DOES feel like it's beating pretty hard. i have never smoked, and not (real) overweight...my peri symptoms so far are just irregular and sometimes heavy periods, vaginal dryness and diminished desire...and occasional night sweats. i've been using progesterone cream 2 weeks per month and it's helping a little.

i know the obvious answer is, get it checked out, but i am self employed, so have insurance with a really high (5K) deductable. i'm reluctant to go and submit to this barrage of expensive tests only to be told it's all in my head, or there's nothing wrong...from what i've read here and elsewhere, that's a very common outcome for women our age!

thanks for reading this, and if you have any insight, please share it with me!

Lynnie

I wouldn't neglect to check it out if, as you say, you're "being plagued by shortness of breath." Sure, it may be nothing, but if you have so many symptoms of MVP, you should find out for sure if you HAVE MVP.

Shortness of breath could be a symtpom or side effect of so many things -- especially at this time of year when allergies are running high. That could result in shortness of breath. Another thing is that frequently women of menopausal age develop asthma. You should eliminate that possibility. Shortness of breath can be the result of anxiety, of generalized fear - of simply not knowing, but worrying about something you know you should have checked.

As for the absence of chest pain, this is not intended to alarm you, but it's a fairly known fact that when women have heart issues, heart episodes, heart attacks, they're often NOT accomanied by "chest pain" unlike men. Women experience heart issues much differently from men.

Whatever your insurance may or may not cover - deductibles or what - you can't put a price tag on your health and it shouldn't be neglected because you "think" you "might" know what's wrong. As long as you have health coverage. I strongly recommend using it and getting yourself checked out. Chances are, you'll get a clean bill of health. But, that doesn't mean you should ignore problems such as continuous chest pain.

Dearest

Hi LynnieD,

I'm 46 and I still bleed regularly. I had shortness of breath and thought it was related to school produced anxiety (I'm completing my M.A and I teach at a University so I experience a lot of pressure from time to time). Had the heart palps too at the same time, and thought they were perimenopausal.

I went in for my pap smear and my n.p. suggested I get a blood test for thyroid etc. since I hadn't had one in years. I got the test and found my thyroid was low.

After researching extensively, I found that thyroid imbalances (both low and high) can produce anxiety, shortness of breath, palps, bp problems, etc. plus a whole host of other symptoms that mimic perimenopause.

I'm now taking armor thyroid (natural) and I feel 200% better. I've never been one to take the first medication that a doc throws at me without research, natural alternatives, or a way to try to fix the underlying problem without meds, but I can say that I'm glad that I'm taking this particular one.

I understand your concern about the high deductible, but you might consider getting a blood test done to test your FSH and thyroid to see if you are indeed experiencing thyroid imbalance or perimenopause.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing,

Riv

Hi,

I also want to add my voice to Dearest's: It's not uncommon for people to develop asthma at any age. The same goes for allergies. These are both important to have checked out.

Also, I am prone to spasms in the esophagus (harmless) that sometimes make me feel like I'm short of breath.

I SO understand your situation with the insurance!! It's just terrible these days that people are afraid to go to the doctor for IMPORTANT stuff! Remember that you are worth the money - it's best to be on the safe side, and also, if there's not a problem, it will really put your mind at ease.

I wish you well with this. Please let us know how you're doing.


Jacquie

hi everyone
thanks for your replies and advice. i have noticed that this problem does not affect me at all at night, i sleep like a baby, and the first thing i think when i wake up, is, how will my breathing be today? and then i feel the shortness of breath begin. i have never had panic attacks, although i think i get more anxious during situations that other people take in stride...like, being pulled over for a traffic violation, you'd think the cop was shoot first and ask questions later!! anyway, this morning i decided i'm just going to be calm, and be aware of how being anxious about breathing makes it hard to breathe...and tell myself that i am fine. and today was much better. after posted last night i walked on my treadmill, and no problems, which leads me to believe that this is not cardiac in nature...but anxiety related, which is so weird, b/c i have nothing to be anxious about!! but i've heard that anxiety is just one of the many thrill rides that peri puts you on.

anyway, thanks for reading, and responding. have a great evening, everyone!

Lynnie

Lynnied,
I can't believe what you wrote. It seems like your "shortness of breath" is exactly like mine. I have no reason to be anxious but all of a sudden I'll be trying to yawn to catch my breath. Sometimes I can't yawn right away and then I get anxious because I feel like I'm suffocating. I too don't experience this at night, but think right away when I wake up "am I going to be able to breath right today?". It's the weirdest thing. I don't think it's your traditional anxiety/panic attack as it's not really an attack. This lasts ALL day long. It usually starts about day 14 of my cycle to get really bad and goes away right before my period. I'm noticing this month though that it's back right after my period has started...damn I thought I would have at least two weeks without this feeling this month. It's somewhat comforting to read someone else has the same thing going on. Doctor couldn't find anything..had blood tests done for RA, Lupus, Diabetes, Thyroid and Lyme because of some other nasty symptoms recently like extreme pain in muscles and joints...only positive thing that came back was elevated sed rate which shows nonspecific inflammation....they are thinking fibromyalgia for that but I wonder if that just isn't more of this perimenopausal stuff causing those symptoms. Sure wish I knew what to do..get more confused by the day. PLEASE let me know if you find out how to "fix" this breathing thing, although it's not painful it is the most annoying of all my symptoms...face it, it's horrible to feel like your suffocating most of the day!!

Warmly,
Ilene

Hi, i'm brand new to this. I'm 44 with 4 children and an 8 mo old baby girl, i first noticed my shortness of breath with pregnancy it's still occurring. Its not painful, annoying. My estrogen levels are low, so doc says i'm perimenopausal. I have the brain jitters, warm flashes like some warmth comes over me and feel like i'm gonna pass out. Puts me out of my element for a little while.

Thank you for this sight, this is where i found "brain jitters", and put my mind at ease that i wasn't dying of brain tumors but entering into a new stage of my womanhood, by the way i first had them when i was pregnant. Could this be my change of life baby?

Does nursing a baby lower your estrogen levels enough to indicate perimenopause?

Thank you all for sharing your "stuff".

Dear Lynnied,

I share you shortness of breath issue. I am 36 and have three children. It started mid-February of this year, and was around the time that my father's health (terminal cancer) began to go downhill. Although this was an expected demise, I guess it has been more difficult than I realized. The SOB began a month or so before he passed away, and is still going on. I experienced some palpitations near the beginning, and that has become tightness in the chest, neck, and a "pressurized" feeling in my head. After seeing a cardiologist and being diagnosed with MVP, I felt a little less worried. The atenolol he prescribed has not made me feel any better, and the SOB almost feels debilitating at times. I was never a runner, but could walk for miles without thought. Now I have a hard time just getting my breath while I walk. I can't help but wonder why these symptoms would show up so suddenly if I've most likely had this all my life. There were times before I went to see the Cardio, that my mind was made up...that this was all in my head. I have tried in earnest the "mind over matter approach", and it hasn't done much for me. A couple of weeks ago, I had a stomach bug and felt horrible for three days straight. For almost that entire time, I felt almost no shortness of breath and only mild tightness in the chest, which led me to believe that my mind couldn't handle two stressful situations at the same time. In reality, the SOB seems to be more imagined than real, but unfortunately that still doesn't make it go away. Would consider some mild anxiety meds if they would help, I'll be talking to my doctor soon. Good luck to you, hope we all feel better soon!

at first when you wrote sob i thought you were saying son of betch lol- silly me !!