today is the third day of my period....heavy with clots today...dr. says it s the egg dropping out...normal..ok/ but I feel very weak and dizzy/lightheaded today...could it just be my blood sugar is low...yesterday I was ok with the heavy bleeding, but my head felt very full etc...

it seems like my symptoms move around alot...I feel a little warm today today...but no temp..also my arms feel tingly, or like I can feel my clothes touching my skin, if that makes sense....I know, i'm going crazy , arn't I?

the dizzines has to stop. I'm supposed to go away on vaca to see my dad in fla tomorrrow with my son on a plane..gotta feel better..any suggestions? my gyn appt to discuss all this new perimenopause stuff i've just discovered isn't until 3 weeks from now...what to do until then??????

Please anyone have suggestions?

Lisa

Lisa, I was like you from my mid thirties til about 47. My periods were terrible. I had to wear the biggest tampon with two sanitary towels. I was paranoid about seeping through. Nightime was a nightmare. I had to get up and change in the night.

I too got the dizzies but I was anaemic. If you can I'd try a liquid iron supplement or iron tablets. I'm not sure whether you should check this with your doctor first.

alice, did you ever feel feverish, or get odd sensations in your arms etc>? sometimes i feel like my body is fallling apart on me? I just had my blood work done and I think it was ok..but i'll do it again just in case...I'll also restart my multivit which has iron in it which should help too..

my period seems to be slowing down today which is good...how long after a period starts does the progesterone usually come back up? that 's usually when my dizzies/whoozy feeling go away...so i'm waiting for that...

Lisa

Yes, I felt "buzzy" in my arms and regularly had that feeling before you get flu, weak and no energy, this seems to be much less often since i stopped having periods last May. I hope that I'll soon be able to light that bonfire of the sanitaries!

i guess I meant at what 'day ' after your period started did the symptoms start to subside? usually my dizzy/woozies tend to get better once my period starts, but this month, not so much...anyone else? I thought it was when the progesterone level started comign back up again????

Lisa

The rushing in the arms is likely adrenaline. As our ovaries produce less estrogen, the adrenals kick in and try to help the body out (they are capable of producing estrogen in small amounts). Unfortunately, you also get a shot of adrenaline at the same time, which causes anxiety, rushing in the arms, trouble sleeping, etc.

Anxiety can cause dizziness, by the way. You might persue some methods for decreasing stress and seeing if that helps. Your vacation may actually help some of these symptoms!

And I agree with Alice that your iron may be low. I have had very heavy periods like both of you (afraid to leave the house some days!), and would get very pale-looking and feel weak and shaky.

Hope with your period easing up, your hormone levels will begin to stabilize and you can feel really good on your vacation. Remember, if you need us, most libraries have computers! I've been known to visit Power-Surge while on vacation, just for a little morale boost!!

Oh, I love that "bonfire of the sanitaries..." I'm 3 months without a period, and just WAITING for the one-year mark to light that goshdarned match!

Have a nice vacation, Lisa!

thanks, so much..I"m actually very nervous to go because i won't be close to home...i know that sounds crazy..but sometimes homebase feels so safe and secure..which is really dumb..I know...

I just want these dizzies to go away! my period has all but gone..went from hugely heavy with clots this morning to barely there this afternoon..go figure! so I wish now, my hormones would even out enough so that my dizzies would stop...

either that or I have a brain tumor or something...


LIsa

Lisa,

I was troubled enough to see a neurologist about my dizziness and feelings of being off-kilter, so I don't underestimate how challenging this is. They tested me for MS at the same time.

After this, I saw an ear specialist. Diagnoses? They had no idea. It passed, and I'm going to pray it will for you.

I've been told by a counselor that anxiety can cause this. Also, Claire Weekes mentions it in her books. She breaks down these feelings, which she refers to as "Giddiness" into 2 types:
1. stationary objects may seem to move
2. one feels dizzy and unsteady

I just looked up the section (her books live right on my bedstand!) where she speaks of this, and she writes: "Severe tension disturbs coordination between muscles and balancing apparatus." Also: "Fear dilates pupils, so that vision can seem blurred." For me, these 2 symptoms would often coincide - I felt off-balance, but also like I wasn't quite seeing well. Hon, I was CONVINCED I had a brain tumor!

Do try to take things as easily as possible on vacation - some nice quiet time, along with the exciting stuff. It is intimidating to leave "home base" when we're not feeling right. Don't be shy about telling people if you need to do things slowly. I used to hate to "put people out," but it's been necessary in the past year to take things at my own pace.

Please come back and tell us how it went, okay? We'll be thinking of you, dear Lisa!

Perhaps starting your vacation is heightening your anxiety level. That seems to do it for me. I don't feel anxious but deep down my insides do. Our ovaries are shutting down and the remainder of the body is saying - "oh no you don't" and overcompensating by doling out more estrogen from unlikely resources. Progesterone for me seems to even this battle vs estrogen and can keep me on an even keel, though there are times my body does betray me and I get those anxious feelings and whatever seems to what to raise their "heads." Four years into menopause, post and I know, once I round that corner, there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Gee - right now, that corner seems to be a long, long away.

thanks everyone...jolie, I saw a neurologist and ear specialist too...everything of course has come back fine...had cat scans, cardiac work ups, neurology workups etc, etc...all is fine..HA! i do have great days, where I feel good, then i have days where i 'm so lightheaded and faint it's hard to work adn stand...those days i'm usually very anxious too, adn my head feel full..the anxiety starts to build adn build in my head....drives me crazy!! I can feel it tonight..until it gets so unbearable I want to run away from my own body...

not anxious about the vaca...it's disneyworld..who could be anxious about the mouse! i 'm anxious as i'm so far away from my dr. or ER in case of emergency..isnt' that crazy?? I never kno;w from day to day how i'm going to feel..are others this way too? I always have to wait a few hours after I wake up to see how i'm going to be feeling....why is that?

Lisa

I have to go to my son's home to help with the twins while he goes on training. I love to drive; I hate being three hours from my home, which I consider a safe haven. And yes - familiar places.

I think once our bodies decide to get moving in the morning, it had an all night conference with all organs and already our day has been decided. It just has to be sprung on us. The last few days I felt just fine; this afternoon, for no reason, major anxiety. Breathing helped and soft music also did their trick. Don't know what caused it. Just kept telling myself - "This too shall end" albeit, quite reluctantly.