Why am I so breathless?

[ShouldersBackChestOutChinUp]

It's been noticeable for six months that I have been breathing heavier.

And in the last week, I've found it harder to catch my breath.

I run three times per week for 30 minutes each time.

I walk my dogs every day for an hour.

I am active and reasonably fit. But I am perplexed. What could it be?

I'm making an appointment at the doctor but I'm really worried.

I'm 49. Used to smoke heavily but stopped 17 years ago. Could I have developed COPD or even lung cancer?

If it were iron deficiency wouldn't I feel so fatigued all the time?

Period is a week late too so that's definite changes going on there. Not pg!

Are you fancying cold crisp veg (celery in particular) or ice? Also classic severe anaemia symptoms - discovered this some time after I was diagnosed. Perimeno periods are often so heavy they cause anaemia- I was also checked out for coeliac disease. Do see a gp - it might be serious like anaemia but easily fixed.

After 3 years of being told my breathlessness was 'just my asthma' or 'stress' when I KNEW it wasn't, I have at last been diagnosed by a Gastroenterologist with hiatal hernia and told this is one of it's many symptoms!

I suffered with this a lot and think it might be my anemia as it got better after talking iron. It's weird, not like an out of breath when exercising, just a feeling you need to stop what you are doing g, let your body rest then move on.

It got so bad I had it just walking to the end of my street.

@gnushoes I have been having extraordinarily heavy periods.

Anaemia sounds very likely then - you'll need heavy duty tablets from the gp and also tests to confirm. Try the meno boards but if the periods are that bad a Mirena might be good

I had this and it was anaemia. I still get it if I don’t manage my iron levels properly.

It’s also a symptom of peri-menopause, which fits my age bracket. So it’s a lovely double whammy!

Don’t panic. Some ferrous fumerate will put you right.

Anaemia

Extremely heavy periods caused my anemia. I would push for the blood test, my levels were crazily low, needed hospital treatment.

I was diagnosed as asthmatic in my 50s. Breathless but not connected with exercise and I was doing similar levels of exercise to you. The GP gave me a peak flow test (you blow hard into a tube - v low tech!)

I have an inhaler and it feels like it's all sorted

Do you have any other symptoms - night sweats, bruising easily, bleeding easily (eg from gums), catching everything that's going round and finding it taking longer to shake off, fatigue, aching joints and bones?

If you do, then you need to see a GP asap, and even with the current shortages, you should have a full blood count done straight away

Mine was anaemia.

And don’t be fobbed off with ‘it’s your age/perimenopause’ for heavy periods. I got a great gp who insisted on further tests and turns out I have a polyp and fibroids.

@Aquamarine1029

Shortness of breath is a common peri-menopause symptom, op. It's caused by a decline on oestrogen.

Is there anything women are allowed to have once they hit their mid thirties that isn't attributed to perimenopause?

It's the Hysteria of the 21st Century. Symptoms suggestive of autoimmune disease - just the peri. Symptoms that could be anaemia, lung disease, heart disease, infection - just the peri. Symptoms that could be an allergy, nutritional deficiency, gut issue, overtraining - just peri. Ones that qualify for a TWW referral - just peri.

(Not digging at you personally, I just find that it's ridiculous that peri is now an automatic assumption for any woman feeling unwell because it's the ovaries that make us defective)

I was extremely short of breath when anaemic

Do you have a blood oximeter? If so, what's your SpO2 level?

I just came to say anemia as well. It was my most noticeable (in fact one of very few) symptoms when I was severely anemic.

Hey! Wondered if you for to the bottom of this? Hope all is well

I had also been going to mention perimenopause...

If your GP wont do bloods and you can afford it, you can order blood tests privately from MediChecks.com. I would do iron, ferritin, B12, D and thyroid levels.