Hi girls I've been posting on here for a while and last week have raised some issues regarding my balance and the lack of knowledge and understanding from any dr I've seen.
Long story short, went to dr last Thursday, he always maintains that my dizziness/off balance problem is due to anxiety. I told the dr I have been speaking to others on this forum who have similar symptoms and problems with their balance and it has to be recognised as part of meno
After a good chat with the GP, he read through my blood tests which were done in July this year, he said that my estrogen was so low that he would consider me now menopausal, estrogen was less than 70 (what ever that means) fsh 76.
Anyway, he said that the menopause sometimes causes some woman to develope benign positional vertigo and that it should settle with time. He said normally by the age of 55 things would be better....I'm only 51, will be 52 in Feb 🙉🙈 don't think I could suffer this for a long period
Dr had taken more bloods as I asked for progesterone to be checked as well as estrogen
I've made another appointment to discuss the results but another dr told me briefly over the phone that the estrogen and progesterone have both came back low even though I've been taking livial HRT for 3 months
I went on the internet last night browsing looking at hormone levels and was redirected to another website as I typed in dizziness and OMG I've been in such a state since
I'm wondering if any of you ladies can help if you Google MdDS, it's a balance condition and please tell me that my balance problems will be hormone related
I'm staggering around today balance terrible and feel woozy just unbalanced
I'd be grateful for any help or reassurance
Thanks xx
hi brendababy
I'm post menopausal and yes there are times i do get dizzy. I am not on HRTs but i think i am going back on the HRTs because i have been feeling tired woozy, not in to it sick nose bleeds, stuffy nose.
I AM going to take estradiol 1mg at dinner with my ativan and provera 2.5mg at bedtime with another ativan to see how i feel if this makes me feel better.
Has HRTs made you feel better since you have been on them
Hi Brenda,
Unfortuntately no-one on the forum would be able to say your balance problems are not due to MdDS as none of us are medics but considering your GP said that some menopausal women develop benign positional vertigo does that not reassure you that it is hormone related? And the fact that there are a number of women on this forum experiencing the same as you? I think we can often Google things and presume the worst. I would like to say that the balance of probability must be that your symptoms are hormone related, as your GP has said, rather than this rare syndrome.
Try not to worry about this rare syndrome. I am sure there are many conditions that can cause dizziness and I wouldn't want you Googling any more and worrying.
Of course, the prognosis from your GP is that it will settle 'with time'. This does not help you at all and I hope you find some relief from your symptoms.
Thanks Maggie, I just have that awful feeling of doom and hopelessness
I hope and pray my balance returns soon
Take care xx
Hi Elizabeth, I don't feel any different since being on the HRT, maybe slightly less tearful, not sure
My GP said the only way of finding out if the HRT is working would be to stop taking it and then see how I feel
All the best and hope you feel better soon xx
I think the dizziness is all part of menopause. I have it a little bit bit not too too bad where I have to take something yet. II just know my one friend gets dizzy or vertigo feeling a lot. So it is a very common thing. Sucks though having to deal with this sh**t another 5 or 6 years. I think I may just be in menopause now. 2 mos., knock on wood, with no period. Then again last year I thought I was too. Went 9 mos. without it and then boom got it back in the late Spring, so aboit 4 mos. J w its Fall and so far no periods. I think it goes into hibernation like a bear in the winter. Just craziness. I just turned 50 this year and it was the worst birthday for me ever.
Not sure I can take 5 or 6 more years of thus crap.
Hi didi, your meno may not last 5/6 years everyone's different.
I feel I could accept this better if I knew it was defo meno and would be self limiting. I have a tendency to worry and was suffering from severe anxiety when the peri meno hit me
I love to be outdoors but my balance is so bad some days.. Like today I can't walk far because my head feels woozy, weird, dizzy and feel my legs are not mine lol
Hope you feel better soon xx
Hi Brenda, first of all your GP needs to stop making assumptions and be more proactive with testing, ENT referral along with head MRI, and please do not think I am being alarmist here, I too am constantly on a rocking boat (as I have posted on here previously ) with out the vertigo or dizziness as in spinning sensation, but had a whiplash back in June which I wish to eliminate from the equation also. IF they can't find anything then I shall go down the hormone route, yes this is frustrating BUT I would rather testing was done than let my GP insist on a diagnoses without ANY investigations, we all know that GPs have control of nhs purse strings and don't like to spend BUT Brenda this is your health and I would be insisting at least a referral to get the ball rolling. Only then may you get some piece of mind. If mine turns out to be hormones (and it may well be then I will look at other treatments).
Best wishes
gookygal.
PS . MdDS is generally a diagnosis given only when all other possibilities have been elimated.
Thanks gookygal, do you mind me asking what age you are? And have you had any other symptoms related to hormone decline like anxiety, insomnia, tearfulness etc
Xx
Brendababy, hi there!
Yes, peri and menopause can cause a lonnnnnnng list of symptoms and dizzyness, brain fog (woozy), arrithmia, thinnitus and etc. Most doctors do not acknowledge it and they blame everyhing on anxiety and depression - what is not ever true!
It will get better - I now know I started my perimenopause 2 years ago and I am still on it - but symptoms receaded a lot, even though I am still have my (very irregular) period.
After I loocked for medical help 2 years ago and without finding any solace or acknowledgement, I lost my confidence on doctors. At least they served to prove me I was health
, so no other issues to concern besides my irregular periods (and all weird symptoms that appeared just after my firt missing one)
I have not tested any hormons, they are tricky and many times hard to track, specialy if we are at the start of our perimenopause. Besides, many women with low levels of hormones that should not be bleading, still are. So much for doctors and tests, I have to say...
<3
Hi brendababy
Should i start the progesterone pill tonight to see how i sleep. He has me on provera 2.5mg and tomorrow start the estradiol how should i start this
I totally agree with you on drs. I was so scared with all my stomach issues and weight loss I was convinced I had cancer somewhere or something horribly wrong with my my intestinal tract. Every test you can imagine and many of the tests I had made me worry and caused more anxiety to find out all were negative. I worried myself sick for 4 mos. thinking I was dying. Even had a lymph node removed from my necjk worried I had lymphoma cause of my night sweats and weight loss. Turns out it was negative too, but my PC and ENT convinced me to do it. The only way to test for lymphoma is to have the node removed. Now I have s big scar and again felt like an idiot. I just wish one doctor out there would have convinced me that all my horrible symptoms were menopause related. Just wasted so many tears and time worrying I had something incurable or life threatening that makes me question if there are any good and trusting doctors that truly understsnd menopause and how it affects women like us. Why there isn't more research and better treatments for it. The medical profession is such a farse. All they do is guess and then prescribe prescriptions that don't help. They think anxiety just comes on for no reason. Well duhh... its menopause. I've become my own Dr. and learn more about my body and symptoms of this horrible disease (called menopause). from reading this Forum, and different medical sites on the internet. Just so glad we're all here to support and help each other. You ladies are my rock, and best therapy for me. I thank you all!
Hi didi, thanks for agreeing
I do had myself many opportunities to get desappointed and worried. I feel doctors here just want us scared all time... I DO understand they have to check everything but they SHOULD know it may come from perimenopause and they SHOULD informe us they are just rulling out more scary things - that would aliviate the stress of those terrible tests.
I live in US - every thing here is scary, every thing they want more tests. Some time ago they would be OK with a regular mammography, eve for me that have a tough breast, but nowadays, better to get a 3D mammography or they will call you back and stress you over that... I guess everything is a way to get more money
.
Hi brendababy,I have un compensated Labythrinitis,I'm 46 and in peri menopause,I can suffer a lot from vertigo because of my condition,but in the last year or so the dizziness has been very different,I often feel like I. Going to faint,falling forward I seem to constantly feel lightheaded.I spoke to my doctor and she said it's very common for women to feel dizzy/lightheaded during peri,she had an auntie who suffered from it.Try not to google about random conditions,it just kicks off the anxiety.Your results are saying that your in peri/ meno,so chances are more likely your dizziness is meno related.It is a bit of a scary time and our bodies are going through a massive change,some people are lucky and through this change and not experience one bad thing,unfortunately there's a lot of ladies like us who seem to have a hard time.I hope you are feeling are little less anxious now x
Hi Brenda, yes I am 50 full throws of peri protracted times between periods, aching joints, mood swings, hot flash (rather than a flush) insomnia,and crushing anxiety. And the off balance feeling which I will leave on a separate list until I am certain it's down to hormones and not a dodgy neck or ear injury sustained from the whiplash. So yes with you on all of those things.
Hi gookygal, sounds like you have similar symptoms to me and other woman on here. It's a nightmare!!
I feel so sad and angry at my life being like this. I hear my sons going out the door going to college and uni and it makes me feel so alone and isolated
I hope the balance problem settles soon because it's this that's stopping me from living my life
Keep in touch and let me know how your getting on
Brenda X
Hi fudgeybear, thanks for trying to put my mind at rest, I just get so scared that I'm going to be left like this I just feel I couldn't cope with it
Apart from the dizzy lightheaded sensation do you feel like your staggering, sort of drunk sensation, it's hard to express, but I feel like I can't walk properly, like my legs are affected
Add all the anxiety, low mood, weird shaky sensation to this and life can just seem unbearable
I also struggle to wash my hair because it makes things worse moving my head around shampooing & rinsing. Does this make sense?
Take care
Brenda x
Thanks BellaRubia, I think the worst thing for me is that I ruminate all day from the moment I wake up going over and over in my head thinking what I was doing before the weird dizzy sensation started in March this year
I know worrying dosent help but again anxiety and low mood are all peri and meno symptoms
My husband and sons are sick listening to me going on about it but my life has changed so much, I used to be such a happy active person, out at work, shopping, out at the weekend with my husband and friends, now I just sit at home all day crying and hoping this all passes soon
Sorry for the negativity but thanks for trying to reassure me
Take care
Brenda x
It makes perfect sense brendababy,i have to wait for a good momment to shower and wash my hair,I can't go out on my own to walk my dog,because I feel so unsafe.my legs have a mind of their own yes sometimes they kind of lock,I think some of the symptoms are due to the high anxiety we are feeling,because I notice when I feel calmer some of the symptoms dissapear.i m a walking jibbering wreck,I'm only 46 and when I get scared I try and remind myself it will go away one day when my hormones settle.xxx
I'm having a really bad day today, I'm always off balance cleansing my face getting ready etc but keep going
Today I've broken down felt sick n dizzy while I was getting ready, became hysterical been crying sitting in bed for about an hour, just feel today I can't go on
I've developed a fear of this symptom which will be making everything worse. Just feel so out if control, feel everyone around me is getting on with their life and I'm just sitting here
Just don't know what to do today, I'm not getting periods anymore but I've had that crampy full feeling in my stomach the last few days hormones must be all over the place
I just feel like a weak person and that others can cope better
Just don't know what to do xx