Shortness of breath with PMS

[joy122003]

I'll make this short, but since the birth of my child...3 years ago, I have been getting shorth of breath about a week before I start my period. My GYN says he has never heard of this and he thinks it is all in my mind. Of course it isn't! Anyway, I am a healthy 34 year old. The only medical problem I have is hypothyroidism and I am taking medication for it. Thank you for your time.

[Kelly2727]

Does anyone have any new findings or updates on this? I’m wondering if either birth control or magnesium (maybe both) could help?
I’ve been experiencing these symptoms for 2 years now (just turned 30). I was recently diagnosed with chronic fatigue and shortly after with mold toxicity so I figured this may have been related. Although, after noticing that the shortness of breath / trouble swallowing seemed to come with my PMS symptoms or at least get much worse I found this forum. Would love to hear if anyone had found information or anything that has seemed to help with their symptoms :)

[blackcat2000]

I too have the same problem as many here :( and while researching my symptoms came across this board. People write us off as insane and all doctors can do is shrug their shoulders. My breathing problems started about 2 years ago, in my mid 30's, and at that point I was convinced I was dying. Like many others, have been to numerous doctors, ER, etc. All ECG, CBC blood tests, lung x-rays and lung tests were all normal. It literally started driving me insane and all the doctors were telling me it's all in my head. I was gasping for air every 5-10 minutes day and night and at one point it was so bad especially at night that I was literally waking up every 30 minutes gasping for air, chocking with heart palpitations that would reach 200/130. Needless to say I developed a really bad phobia of sleeping. As a side note, I know I did not have a panic disorder because the attacks would come out of nowhere and last for days or weeks without any cause or reason. What drove me even more mad is that some days (about 3-4 days out of a month) I could breathe just fine day and night and it had nothing to do with anything external. Anyways, from the countless hours of research I've done, the only thing I am pretty sure of at this point is it does seem hormonal. How exactly it effects out breathing I'm not yet sure but it seems to have something to do with the nervous system and since breathing is literally controlled by the nerves, the hormones seem to mess up those connections so to speak. As far as what I've been doing to aleviate my symptoms is firstly I cut out soy completely out of my diet  (you'd be amazed how many foods contain it), I started daily exercising , drinking more water and drinking chamomile tea before bed. I myself don't have all the answers and am still struggling but I do feel a little better overall since I've added those changes to my life. Also daily bowel movement is important as others have already mentioned here, as the overabundance of hormones need to leave the system. Try to cut out as many stressors as you can since it does seem to be caused by some nervous system glitch even though it might not be directly caused by anything external. I hope I am making sense here. Anyways, that's my story and I hope that someday the medical professionals take us seriously and finaly do some research on the subject because people are literally living in hell with this.

[kiran_ars]

Hello girls.
I have the same symptoms.and now I have found the answers of this problem of shortness of breath before my periods.this is all because of water retention in the body.some people call it bloating. Now I m going to tell u the cure.its all because of magnesium deficiency.u can take calcium magnesium tablets.but magnesium is more important.a woman needs 200 to 400 mg of magnesium per day.and one more thing to reduce water retention limit ur salt intake.avoid sodium one week.before ur periods.eat cumumbers,bananas,almonds they help in reducing water retention.avoid sugary food as well.I am.anemic so I m also taking iron pills but not on the same time of calcium magnesium tablet.magnesium is very important to deal with PMS .basically its nor shortness of breath we r only feeling lije that.it is actually water retention in abdomen.sone people call it bloating.and also drink 8 to ten glasses of water before ur period days.I did all this and my shortness of breath gone in one day .I m feeling healthy better.

[Kbzkids]

Thank you so much, I thought I was going crazy. My breast swell and the shortness of breath follows. I will for sure be trying the calcium/magnesium. At least I know I'm not alone in this.

[CathH58]

Again, to echo many voices here: thought it was just me... Found this article (someone may have posted it already??) about a study out of Norway linking asthma, hormones, mensturation etc. NOT in our heads.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/menstrual-cycle-and-asthma-hormones-respiratory-symptoms-study_n_2102529.html

[Jenbean2016]

I have been having shortness of breath since 2015 around November when I started taking progesterone pills to bring down my menses. I started taking it and developed all kind of allergies at around the same time now I am allergic to shellfish, certain foods I can not eat any more, my GERD has gotten worst and albuterol does not help. I will be seeing naturopathic Dr maybe they can help. Around 8 years ago I was diagnosed with hormonal imbalance and I have noticed that I have gained weight and harder to loose it. If I find out what it is I will post it.if anyone knows what the diagnosis is please post thank you

[blairae]

I have had the same breathing problem as you all have described for many, many years just before my period! It goes away once I start my period, but in between those days I feel that I am suffocating at times. As I was getting an adjustment one day, I asked my chiropractic to wait to adjust my neck because I had to catch my breath. He said, "that's not normal you know. I can fix that with acupuncture."  He inserted about 6 needles and within about 1 minute I could "catch" my breath and started breathing normally. I could not believe it! Once I get a treatment, I am good for about 1 - 1 1/2 YEARS. It has been a really simple fix for me. So glad I stumbled upon it!! If you have never had acupuncture, it doesn't hurt, you just need to relax and not tense up. Hope this helps some of you as much as it has me!!