I'd be concerned with shortness of breath as an accompanying symptom and get that checked out.

I have had plenty of hot flushes but never short of breath.

Good luck
Joan

Before I chalked it up to a weird menopause effect, I'd have my doctor check it out. Shortness of breath is not typically a symptom of menopause or an effect of hot flashes. It is serious enough to not wait for a routine appointment to mention. See your regular doctor as soon as possible.

The advice above is correct, it should be checked out, but just a thought.....could the shortness of breath be from anxiety? It may be possible, hot flashes can be scarey. Talk with your Dr. soon. Good luck

Hi! I agree with the others, that shortness of breath should be checked out with your doctor, but I have to mention something. I have Fibromyalgia, so I don't know if that affects anything, but a few years ago, when I started my downward spiral of perimenopause, I went through several months of breathing fast. I never went to the doctor, since I had no other symptoms, and my lung sounds were clear. I didn't feel real out of breath, but my body just needed me to breath fast. This went on all day and all night for several months. I would just huff and puff.......like my body was trying to correct a pH imbalance. Is this the feeling you are having, or do you feel like you're not getting enough oxygen? Do you cough?Do you have a nurse friend who could listen to your lungs? Just to be on the safe side, just go have your doc listen to them and check them out. But personally, for me, I just have this intermittant feeling of being short of breath that I really think is hormone-related. Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.

In that ovarian hormones have actions related to neurotransmitters, they can indeed affect your respiratory function. There are women with asthma who note an increased need for treatment corresponding to certain parts of their monthly cycle, as the proportions of hormones in circulation change. In fact, especially delicate asthmatics can have more of a challenge balancing their HRT if they elect to use it during peri/menopause. In some cases, this effect extends to panic or anxiety attacks (in which air hunger features and hyperventilation can lead to serious disturbances in body pH), and even to the ultimate extent of seizures caused by an excess of estrogen (for which the treatment is progesterone). So in that respect, yes, respiratory difficulties can relate to perimenopause and hormonal fluctuations.

But because so many other things of considerable gravity can also elicit respiratory symptoms, the advice to check it out rather than assuming you can explain it by hormones is exactly right. This one is nothing to mess around with.

Hi,

I've certainly experienced what Catherine is describing. Though I hadn't thought to call it shortness of breath, I guess that's what it was.

I would be lounging around, and would notice that for a few minutes I would be breathing much more deeply, as if I had been exercising, and then my breathing would go back to normal. This happened quite often, but it wasn't uncomfortable . At night it was definitely associated with the abrupt waking that preceded a hot flash, but in the daytime I didn't notice the association. My heart rate would go up transiently too at the same time my need for oxygen went up.

I assumed it was due to the adrenaline surges that (I remember reading) are part of the 'vasomotor instability' that causes waking and hot flashes.

Rosie

I notice I have much more anxiety when I have PMS. This includes shortness of breath.

Another cause of shortness of breath is iron deficiency. I was recently diagnosed with this - what a difference it makes to get some iron.

I have to say my experience was very much like Rosie's. I would be sitting in my recliner and I would notice a feeling of more concerted effort to breathe, followed by the over all hot flash . Then it went away as strangely as it came. The heart palpitations were also along with this or separate of, at night time when I was asleep , wake me up and then insomnia of course resulted. Now! don't confuse shortness of breath , fibromyalgia or pleurisy with this seemingly harmless shortness of breath. As I found out I developed walking pneumonia after my 3 weeks of bronchitis. I now have either scar tissue or some other suspicious density on my lung. Will follow up with a pulmonary expert. So beware of lingering symptoms. Always tell your doctor your latest new experience leading up to or after menopause. My advice for what its worth. Sunflower_55

I just spent the night in the emergency room having my shortness of breath checked out. I have never had asthma or other breathing problems. After the doctor checked my heart, x-rayed my lungs, did a blood test to check for blood clots, hooked me up to monitors that checked my oxygen content (100% by the way). They could find nothing wrong with me--my lungs were just fine--I just felt like someone was sitting on them and I couldn't get a deep breath. I am 42 and the nurse told me that she had a similar episode a few years before--she is 47. She said she actually had chest pain too. It turned out it was from a drop in estrogen levels, and she started low dose hormone replacement therapy and has been fine. She suggested I get my regular doctor to check my hormone levels. She said they see a lot of women in their late 30's and early 40's with these symptoms. I feel so much better knowing that my heart and lungs are functioning correctly--I am sure the stress of worrying about not being able to catch my breath made it so much worse. I'm breathing much better today, and going back to the doctor next week. Anyone using "Estroven"?

My boss said she experienced that right when she was in the middle of menopause where it felt she couldn't breathe good. She is extremely healthy, and slender. It went away for her after menopause. I have had that heavy feeling before also where it is hard to breathe in my 40's occasionally and my heart was checked out by stress test, echo and EKG, I was told my heart was perfect. I think menopause can cause a lot of symptoms and it is irritating when someone says that something is NOT a symptom of menopause. I have nocturnal panic attacks and they started at 46 years old and only now at 50 starting to decline a bit, but online a lot of reputable medical specialists will say this has nothing to do with menopause, all the while they will say "anxiety" does. So if multiple women are saying, HEY I HAVE THIS AND I AM IN PERIMENOPAUSE, it could be something to it and be due to menopausal symptoms whether Doctors want to believe it or not. Right now, there is not enough research done to rule OUT any symptoms of menopause, and most Doctors are themselves men, or women Doctors who just happened to NOT go through a particularly symptom, but don't discredit it just because you yourself did not experience it, or because you did not learn that as a menopausal symptom. It makes women go crazy when people say, NO that is not menopause. I mean, you don't really know.