Dizziness

I'm 39yrs old but I seem to be having a lot of weird symptoms.  Not sure if this could maybe be perimenopause ... Like clockwork (I have kept a journal my symptoms are so bad)  The first 16-18 days of the month before my period I get skipped heartbeats, hot flashes, very edgy, DIZZINESS THATS AWFUL, and a host of other lovely symptoms that leave after my period.  Its  really affecting my quality of life because I feel so miserable 50% of the time!

I would love any advice or comments ....  

[cindybee]

I just read about your dizziness.  I too, age 49, just was diagnosed with the start of menopause and one of my symptoms is daily quick flashes of dizziness.  I've asked my doctor and waiting for a response.  I hope you find an answer.  If this is related to menopause, I'll be okay with it, but if not then ... that's scary.

[cindybee]

Are you still having dizziness?  I too, am having dizziness like crazy, and every single day.  It's a lightheadness/dizziness feeling that kind of sporadically pulses through my head.  Have you found any answers that you can share?  

[pollysocks123]

hello
i have just read your post and it could be me that is writing it.
i am full of anxiety to start with, then i go dizzy without warning and the anxiety gets even worse. i have not had a period for 2 years now i get severe hot flushes both day and night which i somehow have got used to. but the dizzyness and anxiety are driving me mad. i never used to go to my doctors but since all this started i go regulary, but i havenot been for a few weeks now as the last doctor made me feel terrible by saying 'what do you want me to do for you' as if i was a lost case. i feel that no one cares or understands.
just wanted to know if you have sorted your problems out

love pollysocks123

[cindybee]

Hi pollysocks123
In response to your post, my dizziness has subsided some.  I still get dizziness, but not everyday and not all day long.  I've been reading a book called "Before the change" by Ann Louise Gittleman.  It's a great book and has lots of information.  It's helping me more than any doctors, as they can't seem to figure out anything.  I'm having to deal with my sporadic dizzy spells myself.

[givinghimpraise]

Hi I have been having a lot of dizzy spells very very strong so bad my eyes will even jump at times I feel i am going through the change I am 47 I have not had a real period in 6 months I have the hot flashes I'm having the dizzy spells even now, I got to wondering if it could have to do with going through the change that's why I'm looking it up the dizzy spells are everyday pretty much all day also, now if i lay down it seems to help but when i get up it starts again
thank u shelia

[heart2heart]

Why do you all assume dizzyness is due to perimenopause?  There are over 200 reasons for dizziness, some of them pretty serious.  Dizziness thats awful or what sounds like vertigo is most likely a vestibular or inner ear problem. There are other causes, low blood pressure, drug  interactions,  epilepsy, MS, brain tumors, migraine, anemia, blood problems and other disorders. So if you're having frequent dizziness and/or vertigo it's best to get it checked out.

[worriewort]

I'm 40 years old. I had a bout with dizzyness in August and it lasted for about 1 month.   I have anxiety also.  I was seen by my dr, blood pressure was normal, I take no medicines, and had no other symptoms to relect a tumor or Ms or blood problems as they took a series of blood tests. I even saw the ears, throat & nose specialist, etc. They found nothing.  They said it was vertigo, and possible inner ear thing. And they said anxiety can bring on dizziness too.
What I do know is my periods are starting to get different, more anxiety around my period, vaginal dryness and dryness during sex too. Also I get very emotional,  I will cry at the drop of the hat, whether it be something sad or even wonderful, for example, a lady won on the deal or no deal, I cried, my daughter's soccer team won the championship, oh my god, I had to go to the truck I cried so hard because i was so happy for her.   Now how riduculous, but that's the way it is.  I never use to be this way.  That is why I think I'm starting to go through the change.  Has anyone started around 40 years old??  And if so, any books that can help?

[worriewort]

I forgot to add, I also get skipped heartbeats around ovulation and my period.

[michellew723]

i know im answering late its feb now you posted in dec? anyhow i am 42 have started dizzy spells around my period time and now it stays until it ends with heart palputations and it drives me crazy i feel i cant do anything and afraid to go out and faint. im going to the er room to check everything out but i did that months ago and they found nothing so maybe this time it will be something will post it if they find something, i have never missed my period but it seems to come sooner now every 21-25 days

[sev555]

Seems to me the dizzy spells are the root of all evil!  I am 100% convinced it is them that cause the anxiety, followed by the panic, followed by the erratic heart beats, then the 'oh my god i can't do this'.
If i could find a cure for them I know i could cope with everything else.
At 53 years old I wonder how long it will all go on for.
I have changed from a happy, confident, bubbly individual to a shaky, boring wreck!
Ps When things get really bad I chew a JOY RIDE travel sick pill but i can't eat those all day  

[Mary 53]

There is hope! I am not a doctor (I work in Mentla Health) but just someone who was thrown into surgical menopause and thought I was going to lose my mind.

I have been a member of Medhelp since about 2003 and I don't sell anything. I say this because (to me) I am starting to sound like I am giving some kind of sales pitch. Now, having said that, I will say that I have studied this hormonal situation as it is related to perimenopause and menopause, surgical or otherwise and feel I have a good take on all of this (to the extent I can) and feel confident in the treatment I use. I occasionally get the dizzy spells and right away to me it means I am out of balance hormonally.

Please drop by my profile if you want. I name some resources that were invaluable to me (and still are) and also give an explanation of what I do and why. I am a huge believer in the Bioidentical hormones but I am also extremely upset with the media scaring women half to death by lumping all hormones into one big pot and calling all of them "Bad."

Sev555..I hear you. I am just a year older than you are. I mean...hey!!! We Don't have to live in such misery, do we? I don't consider myself "old," so I don't want to feel that way every day....Oh, and if you can, change your name to "blue" by adding some kind of information, as much or as little as you wish, to your profile. I think the directions are on the first page of this website. I was resistant at first but now that I have "gone blue" I love it. You can check old posts....and, leave messages, etc.

Oh, if you don't want to sift through my posts on my profile...there are many...I do have some more current information on this forum as well as on the hysterectomy forum and the Ovarian Cancer patient to patient forum.

Mary

To better health!

Mary

[Toni530]

Glad I found this site.  Today had the worst dizzy spell and wondered what it is.  I am 51 still having regular periods but have never had this before.  It felt like a buzzing also as the whole room was spinning. I was sitting at my desk at the computer.  I did break into a sweat but did not know if it was anxiety related, took off boots everything.  Well still at work at just wanted to see what the cause of this is.  Going to the MD on Monday, not related to this.
thanks
toni

[kt816]

I too Im glad to find this site. I posted earlier on the anxiety board, and found this forum as well.I am 48 and have not had a period since January.  I was on the pill previously for about 4 months but did not like it.  As soon as I went off, my problems started. I got my period right away for a very short time and then have not had it since.  I am dizzy almost daily, and thought it might be an anxiety issue (heavy stress right now).    I went to gyn who took blood work and said my estrogen level is that of someone in the middle of menopause. Im glad to have found this forum because I was thinking my anxiety was causing dizzyness, but maybe its a combination of the both?

[reva1040]

I'm 54 have been in menopause for several years and have not had really bad symptoms other than hot flashes (no night sweats) and headaches that can last 2 days.

However, over the past few months I've had dizziness and vertigo so very bad and it's kind of freaking me out.  

I'm not able to relate it to any foods or anything I've done differently which is even more disturbing.  Sometimes I feel as if I'm walking way forward just to stay upright.

Has anyone found any effective relief from acupuncture or holistic meds?

"Anxiously" awaiting your input.

Reva ***@****

[lonewolf07]

Hi

I am 20 yrs older than you are and can only tell you what little I know.  Feel  free to disagree.    Menopause is  a process with no cearly defined beginning or end.  Menopause is not a pathology or an illness.  According to one recent study done in Toronto, the only provable negative thing about menopause is that women become more senstive to heat/cold.  No two women experience menopause in the same way. How did women handle menopause in the past?  How do they handle it in different cultures?  I am not trying to downplay what you are saying.  If you think you are pre-menopausal, there is a test for that and I think you'd have to go to your dr.  It is also possible that something else is causing what you are describing.  It could be hormonal or related to your moontime.

Historically, in my culture (Métis) menopause is seen as a good thing because that is when women become more powerful.  However, this is not your culture and I respect that.  The post about holistic or accupuncture sounds promising.  Accupuncture helped me with anxiety and personally I think almost everything should be holistic (body, mind, emotions, spirit) - if one is broken, none will work.

If I haven't offended you, please feel free to contact me.  The ironic part of menopause is that women and their bodies have been defined by men for SO many years that we now believe that what is "natural" is sickness.  Good thoughts to you ....

lonewolf (who often has a big mouth but good intentions)

[reva1040]

Thanx for your comment.  I was just saying to myself that I am no longer to be defined by this thing called menopause as I am not a man and, therefore, don't care for something that begins with men.

I know that in other cultures it is a good thing and our culture has defined it as a negative.

I am going to continue on my holistic route as the dizziness is very uncomfortable.  The hot flashes and headaches I can abide - the dizziness is a little overboard.

Thanx much,
Reva

[lonewolf07]

Hi Reva

Actually, the comments were aimed at anybody who wanted to read them and inspired by Carey01 who began this thread.  I was afraid folks would think I was lecturing or something.  In my opinion, the holistic route is the best one but respect those who don't agree.  If you can find a reliable Native American/Canadian website on here, you might get some ideas as to what herbs and roots, etc. help with your particular problem.  Some women take black cohosh for hot flashes but for dizziness - that could  be caused by so many things.  I felt dizzy for awhile when I had the flu and it was an awful feeling; I walked like I was drunk (and I don't drink alcohol).

Acupuncture I tried for anxiety and headaches and it worked.  Also, it has a cumulative effect so the more you have it done, the more its healing effects work.

Liked your comment about "men".  Seems like anything with that "men" word in it is not particularly good for women - as in "woe"-man LOL

lonewolf

[sone48]

I have gone though dizzy spells for over a year and a half.  I am 48 soon turning 49.  It didn't dawn on me to time these dizzy episodes because I was totally in a panic behind them.  I had been rushing to the emergency room everytime I had a bad attack and they did a CAT scan and checked my blood to make sure that I wasn't having a stroke.  Everything checked out clean so I scheduled an appointment with my doctor to find out the source.  Unfortunately, dizziness is hard for doctors to diagnose because it could be a number of symptoms related to it.

Because of my pretty good health and the fact that I have been controlling my blood pressure for over 6 years; there was nothing the doctor could prescribe.  Finally, I shared my symptoms of dizziness with a friend and she said matter-of-factly that she thought I was entering into perimenopause.  I never thought about that, who me a 48 year old woman entering into menopause :)!  I told her that I had these symptoms of needing to urinate so badly right before my period and that I began to time my dizzy spells and just like she said, it was right before my periods.  I thought to myself...why couldn't my doctor come up with that???  Maybe it is because they can't prescribe anything for you to help you?  Maybe it is because I have to just go through the symptoms?  I don't know.

The dilema here is how do I expect to run a very active/career oriented life with this debilitating problem.  When it hits it hits hard and I become disoriented and because I don't want other people to see me in that state, I shy away from everyone in the office for a whole week while I allow my body to take its normal course.  This can't continue and I really need help to alleviate this problem.  What should I tell my doctor to get him to get on the ball with a remedy????

[peaches1975]

I get dizzy feeling also, I will be talking to someone and I will start swaying I get hot and walk away or if I'm in a crowd..I don't know what my problem is either.

[geegeesc]

i am 53 and two years ago i thought i was losing my mind.  i couldnt sleep at all and was having hot flashes all the time.  i went to dr eldred taylor in atlanta and he gave me progesterone 150 mg.  he did hormone testing using saliva tests.  it was truly a miracle. within a very short time i could sleep again and hardly ever have hot flashes any more.  if your doctor is not using a saliva test to check your hormone levels, they are operating in the dark ages.  it changed my life and improved it so dramatically.  I cannot imagine how i could have survived without having my hormones balanced. do not let someone blindly prescribe you estrogen without checking your hormone levels.  my estrogen was very high and i needed the progesterone to balance it all out.  God bless you all.