Feeling lethargic, breathless and anxious in the heat

[Whereistherain761]

Does anyone struggle like this in the heat? I'm 44, perimenopausal but not sure if it's that or something else?
I notice my BP is lower (95/62), I feel lethargic, tired and quite anxious. It's worse when I wake up in the morning and also in the early evening. I even notice I feel a bit more breathless in the heat, even if I'm not doing much.
I do have low ferritin , not sure if its that or something else but I can't help but worry. I am definitely an anxious person.

Are you drinking lots of water? Low BP and lethargy are signs of dehydration.

@RelievedNoYouTubeMum Yes drinking loads of water

Anyone else experience something similar?

Not personally but you might find this BBC News article interesting:

BBC News - UK weather: Why heatwaves hit women harder - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gyp1knzzxo

Take some electrolytes , drink coconut water, eat watermelon, put magnesium in your bath, the heat depletes us of a lot of things. You sound as though you need to take B vitamin complex too.
Personally, if I were you, I’d drink mullein tea to ease breathing and take l.theanine to lower anxiety.

anxiety can create shortness of breath. Mineral and vit b depletion can create anxiety.

I feel the same OP, I am in a terribly low mood and have nausea, headache and breathlessness. Had some blood tests last week and my oestrogen is very low, even though I am on HRT. So I think I am not absorbing which is exacerbating all my symptoms - not good in this heat! I really wish I could embrace it, but it just makes me feel rotten.

Yes. Menopausal, breathless, headache, nausea, super grumpy

I think it's my body telling me to lie down and rest instead of trying to carry on with the day as it's struggling to maintain it's normal temperature.

I will be glad when I am able to lay in a darkened room eating ice lollies and eating crisps (to prevent a low salt headache of course!)

OP you already identified the most likely issue for your symptom combo: your low ferritin! Are you on an appropriate iron supplement, taken every other day and avoiding tea/coffee/dairy for 2 hours either side?

Drink water with electrolytes
Address your low ferritin
Use 8 7 5 breathing
Use ice on your neck
Add magnesium glycinate capsules to your regime

It's not unusual, but you can try some things that might help. The fact that you have low ferritin is probably contributing anyway. Are you getting that treated?

I suffer similar, but for a different reason. I have Atrial Fibrillation, and even a short walk (100m) in the heat sets it off and it's a horrible feeling to have your ticker beating out of your chest, trying to catch a breath, and praying that the 150bpm rate goes down. That leads to worry and fear, which is a vicious cycle as the heart rate goes up again with anxiety! But I now stay indoors apart from early morning and late evening. That helps a lot, but not everyone can do that I know.

One thing I found really helpful is to make up my own jug of rehydration drink. Look it up online, the Mayo clinic one is easy, just water, sugar and salt. I add half a fizzy magnesium tablet aswell, and eat half a banana every day. The salt will help raise your BP also.

I'm sure you are well aware of all the other advice about coping in hot weather, so I'm not going to lecture you on that. I hope you feel better very soon. It is awful.

@ikeepforgetting @user1471538275 it's the breathlessness (feeling like I can't get a full satisfying breath) that worries me the most. Yesterday if was triggered by going to collect the kids from school. I was so hot when I got home, I uses fans to cool myself down but for some reason I started to feel the air hunger and the feeling only went away after an hour. Can I ask how your breathlessness feels?

Low ferritin will definitely make your symptoms worse, as will dropping blood pressure from being too hot.

Because these symptoms are unpleasant and worrying, you likely have anxiety/panic feelings on top of that. Relaxation techniques will help with this aspect of your symptoms.

You need to do what you can to keep cool and also manage your ferritin levels as well as you can. Use tepid water on your skin (not ice or super cold water as it shocks your body too much) keep your hair wet and do whatever you can to stay out of direct sunlight ie shade windows, sit in the shade, use an umbrella for shade when walking anywhere.

You could try an antihistamine. The pollen has been exceptionally high and has really knocked me for six.

You're not on any type of SSRI are you, OP? I'm on fluoxetine and it's notorious for disrupting your body's ability to tolerate heat.