lately, i'll have a day where i feel very lightheaded adn weak all day..then the next day it seems to get worse...then the next day I might get a full feeling in my head all day and feel very anxious, where it feel like I'm right on the edge of having a panic attack...
\
then the next day i feel like my head is separate from my body adn i'm kind of floating through the day...then the next day it's pressure in my head and weak again, feeling faint etc..this keeps going on and on...
does this sound normal? I do get hot flashes, and sweats etc..I do get prickly sensations on my arms and on my scalp sometimes...

I also sometimes feel liike i get more lightheaded when i have to have a bowel movement etc...I[m 45 and dgoing to test hormomes etec tomorrow...everything else has been negative...have some joint stiffness etc...but mostly this dizzy, sweaty stuff....sometimes my eyes bother me..like they hurt, or feel like stabbing pains in them;.no blurriness etc...ruled out ms etc..

help me please!!

Lisa

As you continue to read this forum, you will find that you are no different than all the women here who have experienced what you are going through and who have been to doctors only to find out nothing is wrong with them except the "change." You also found out that each day is different and it is anyone's guess what the next day will bring. Coping is the most important strategy one can learn and you will also learn that on this board. Hope tomorrow brings on a better day. Asking for one day a week isn't that bad - just to remember what it felt like when we were feeling good.

I am having the dizziness and lightheaded feeling, but it is usually just before my period starts. The first real bad time was last December, the dizziness was terrible and I went to my Doctor who diagnosed an ear problem. Since then I have been having a period every 21/22 days instead of my normal 29 days and each time I have had the dizziness. Yesterday I felt absolutely terrible and even though I know I have felt like it for the last few months before a period I still get the nagging doubt that it is something more serious. I also get this crashing fatigue and this floaty feeling and its a real effort just to stand up. I go to bed at night and try to think tomorrow is another day and hopefully I will feel better, sometimes I do - sometimes I don't! I am going on holiday in 2 weeks time, its only for 1 week but if my period starts on the 21 st day as it has been doing it will be smack bang in the middle of my holiday and I am not looking forward to that at all. I is good to read the message boards and know we are'nt the only ones suffering.

Nurse Lisa....I'm right there with ya....here are my symptoms:

Numbness/tingling in legs, arms, feet
Burning feet
Visual disturbances (eyes hurt, etc)
Frequent urination
Floaty feeling
Hot flashes
Memory lapses
Have to think before I speak or I mess up common words
Joint pain
Dizziness so bad I had to call in sick one day last week
Gait is off some days. Feel weird when I walk.
Very weak legs and cramp like sensations

It's amazing how somedays I will wake up with none of the above and other days I'll have it all!!

wow, sounds like me....I"m getting these days more and more....seems like i never have a normal day anymore. I go to a gyn who is very well known for testing hormones etc..known as the 'independent women' tomorrow..so hopefully I'll know more then...

when I sit, or when my pants are tight i seem to get more dizzy..what's that about?

i know my blood pressure is low...but the pressure, makes my dizziness worse...weird....

thanks all for the responses...
Lisa

I first posted to this board because I have symptoms just like yours. I have been tracking this light headed feeling since August 2004. The dizzy light headed feeling usually hits me around day 9 from the first day of my period. I also visit the bathroom more frequently. One person described the light headed feeling like walking on a bed. I currently have been feeling light headed the last 4 days along with neck aches. Oh.....I am going to be 48 years old this April in case you want to compare ages.

Terry

nurselisa....you said your head feels like it is seperate from your body and you're kinda floating through the day......that is one of the most distressing symptoms i have.But instead of feeling like my head is seperate from my body,i feel completely detached from my body,almost as if i'm beside myself watching myself,if that makes sense.Sometimes when i'm feeling that way,i wonder if it's really perimenopause or if i'm on the verge of insanity.

Lightheadedness/dizziness s*cks. It has been one of my most persistent and most annoying symptoms since my hormones started going nuts. The only time I've really been able to pinpoint it's entry, is just before my period. A few days before, I'll get it really bad, and that clues me in that I'll be bleeding shortly. I get it off and on all month. I'm at the point now where if I DIDN'T have the dizziness, I would probably feel ABNORMAL! Crazy road we're on, eh?
Hugs!

Yup, that's me -- exactly.

It really makes me feel "off" ... weird, and floaty, and unbalanced.

I remind myself of a carpenter's level, and that little bubble that should be right in the middle of the lines is nowhere to be seen -- that's how "off plum" I feel.


It's good to know I'm not alone.

It's good to know I'm not as crazy as I feel.

To Nurselisa,
when I was reading your post, I thought it's mine. I feel exactly the same, to the point that I only go outside around the house or for a short walk. The head symptoms are debilitating.
I knopw it's temporary but we have to live with it.
I'm 49 and it started 3 month ago, however I had other perimenopausal symptoms since i was 45. I also have this separating from the body experince quite often and I know it's scary.
It's good to check your hormones. Yesterday, I started using progesterone cream (bio-identical), prescribed by a doctor, which supposed to help me with the anxiety and head symptoms. Will see.
I also started going for acupuncture and take some multivitamin supplements.
This is the time for us, to look into ourselves and see what we really want in this life. Stop pleasing others and start pleasing ourselves. It's a wake-up call for us women.
It's good that you done these hormonal tests.

Nurselisa, hang in there, it will go away, once the hormones are in balance.

Love
lavenda

I have my first acupuncture appointment this Thursday. I have heard good things about acupuncture in regard to meno, so I'm jazzed about the possibility of something quelling my anxiety and dizziness.

I agree, lavenda ---this time in our lives is definitely a wake-up call. I have to remind myself daily ...that its all about me now.... and its bout time

Hi everyone! I know how you feel. It sometimes starts a few days before my period, sporadically lasts during it then leaves OR it now sometimes starts AFTER my period! Same thing as mood swings! It's certainly scary stuff at times, eh? (yes, I'm Canadian so I guess you'll all get used to the "eh" bit and British spelling for colour instead of the American "color" , etc. ha) Anyway, it is nice to know you are all here and we can all share and support each other . I am new to this site , actually new to the computer, internet , so haven't quite mastered it all yet. Thanks for being here ladies! Sue

I check this site occasionally in hopes of reading a post about a cure for this spacey feeling. I've been dealing with this for 3 years in varied degrees. During these 3 years I've had brief moments where I feel almost completely "normal" and spacey-free. Some have posted about having this spacey peri. symptoms around the time of their period, well are there others like myself who deal with this daily? Like someone else posted here this is a unreal feeling. I try to press on and not think about it, but it's not easy trying to forget that you feel lightheaded and spacey.

Hey MyFaith, you sound like me. You sure aren't alone. I think when I DO feel 'normal', it scares me! I'm so used to feeling 'spacey' and out of it for the past several months. I think I've almost adjusted myself to the fact that I'll feel like this forever. If I DON'T think like this, then I get discouraged and start getting really down. I am the type of person that tends to hyper-focus on every little thing, and that in turn sends my anxiety into a tail spin.

Hang in there - I hope every day that this whole mess will mysteriously go away, as fast as it came on.
Hugs, Kleeo

Kleeo, I had to chuckle when I read your post because we sound so much a like. I also feel weird on those days that I feel "normal" , but it is definitely a welcomed feeling.

I find myself trying to analyze what I did or didn't do in order to duplicate that feeling, but I haven't figured out the pattern yet...may not even be a pattern to figure out. One thing I know is that when I have those "normal" spacey free days it's encouraging and refreshing and helps me to realize that this is temporary.

I believe that my body normally wants to feel normal , but with these sputtering, fluctuating, failing ovaries putting up a fight to the very end I guess I'll have to tolerate this sensation until my ovaries become silent .

As I go through my day at work I wonder sometime how many other women around me are also walking around in a fog and not saying a word. I do have one co-worker who confessed to me that whenever she forgets to change her hormone patch the first symptom to return is the spaciness. She's 56 years young and postmenopausal. She did well using Premarin, but like so many other women she stopped after the report. I have another co-worker on Premarin and she feels normal everyday. So did my mother and my mother in law. I'm not pushing Premarin, I'm using Ovcon 35 bcp, but I'm just making note. Why can't I find something to make me feel normal 24/7 that doesn't consist of horse urine. I believe that my day is coming soon .

You know what I think? I think that probably half of these women are right here on Power Surge and we don't even know it! lol!! I have always been one that talks about EVERYTHING and anything. (People call me "Jaws", FYI! Not a wonder I have TMJ, eh??? ) There are lots of women who don't dare breathe a word about how they are feeling because they think others will consider them nutso or something. Can you imagine keeping ALL of this inside? I am sure I would burst! Talking about my symptoms, and realizing that I AM NOT ALONE, makes it all somewhat bearable. I used to post on a Yahoo Group and there was a gal there that I became 'internet pals' with. Come to find out? She lived in the town right next to me! How ironic, huh???? I've made SO many wonderful friends since entering peri and finding Power Surge, as well as some amazing friends from other 'menopause' places.....my ONE good thing that has come out of this whole mess!! One special lady, who calls herself HomemakerJ, has been my life support system since I became peri about 6 or 7 years ago in a menopause newsgroup. We are the best of buds and email/chat/telephone on a regular basis. She is about 9 years my senior, she is now Post, and reassures me through all of my misery!! I love her with all my heart.

ALL of this from that 9 letter word that begins with "M"!!

Hang in there girl.....we'll just call ourselves the "Spacey Sisters"! They say misery loves company!! We'll just cherish each and every space-free day that we can get!
HUGS!

Kleeo did you friend also have to deal with the spaciness? I think I have to accept the fact that this peri symptoms will fade away on its own...the same way it came is the same way it will leave...All of a sudden. I've met a few people via the net who dealt with this symptom and two got rid of it by using Paxil, another through a combination of bp med, antid, and birth control pills. And then another by just using bcp for about a year then all her symptoms faded. So I guess although I've been searching for a one pill fit all method of eliminating this spacey feeling I now know that it's a matter of finding what will work for me.

Yes she did have to deal with the spacey head feeling. Still does on occasion, and she's post now. But NOTHING like before. She has actually written a 'menopause journal' that consists of tons & tons of different writings from women going through menopause. It's very, VERY interesting reading. (She was kind enough to share it with me!) You would not BELIEVE all the women that have gone through the exact thing we are going through! It's a curse, I swear!
I refuse to take BCP, A. because I'm a smoker, and B. because I am doing this the natural way come hell or high water. I do take .25 xanax every night. If I don't, FORGET sleeping. I've tried antid', but they did nothing for me, so I gathered I must not be depressed. VERY anxious though, because the xanax works wonders for me. I wish, DON'T I WISH, there was a cure all pill that we could take for this madness. But I'm afraid there isn't. If you DO find one, let me know! I'd be GLAD to try it if it works for you!!!!!!!!
Hang in there, my friend!
HUGS!

I initially tried to do it all natural, but after 3 days of crying for no reason at all, walking around feeling unreal, feeling like when I woke up that I was still asleep, and mild depression I had to do something else. I was constantly feeling faint and had to always move my head slowly to keep from hitting the ground.

I was using Vivelle and progesterone and then Prometrium and they did nothing for my fluctuation hormones. They did lift my mood, but my goodness the rapid mood swings were horrible. I tried not talking to my family or anyone just to keep from biting their heads off. I was angry at myself for feeling the way that I did.

I even tried the over the counter herbal remedies, but they made me feel worst. Then I read Dr. Lee's book and decided to try just using progesterone and it threw me into a nasty depression and made me feel even spacier all in one day. That's when the nurse practioner that I was seeing at that time suggested Yasmin, but I was afraid to use any birth control pills because they caused me to feel depressed one week out of the month back in the 1980's. I now know that todays bcp are in no way as strong as they were back in the 80's.

Beside the days of crying, 24/7 dizziness/spaciness, my memory was fading fast. One day one of my students asked me my daughter's name and I almost had a panic attack. For about 5 minutes I could not remember my only daughter's name. I could remember the first letter of her name and even her nickname, but I could not remember the name that I had written on her birth certificate 20 something years ago. Talk about PANIC! I thought I would have to run out the room and call my husband just to ask him the name of our daughter. I could only have imagined the expression on his face when I called him at work to ask that question Thank God that one of my students yelled out the name of another student in my class...it just so happened that this student's name rhymed with my daughter's name Needless to say after this incident I knew that I had to do something.

I mentioned my emotional dilemma to a co-worker who told me that her sister also had a difficult time like myself and had to go one hormones which helped her tremendously.

Believe me if I find that magic pill to eliminate this spaciness you might see me advertising it on television, I'll put up a billboard, take out an ad in the paper, scream it from the top of my roof . Look for my advertisement in your local paper .

Recently had an email from an old schoolfriend, who said she was fine but her sister (a teacher) had had a bad time through Meno. My other schoolfriend (who was my bridesmaid) said she wouldn't wish menopause on her worst enemy.

So how come you read in books about the menopause that this spacey feeling and psychological probs are a myth. Who are these women who get through unmarked?

Maybe because most of these books are written by MEN???!!!! Who DARE to talk about menopause??? If they HAVEN'T experienced it, I say DO NOT COMMENT ON IT! Hmmmmmph, I say. My doctor says quote unquote: "I can only go on the hundreds of complaints that I get from women during their menopause years. I will never go through it myself, therefore, I must believe what you girls tell me. I don't believe we can ever truly grasp the agony that you go through."
I love my doctor!

Kleeo, You are one lucky lady. You better keep him a secret or we will all be calling for an appointment and he will be to busy to see you. LOL

Kleeo,

You better hang onto your doctor. He sounds too good to be true! Good ones are few and far between. I had one like your until he took a leave of absence. I miss him and have not been happy with what I have been left with. Too bad you live on the east coast and I live on the west coast or I'd be making an appointment with him.

Maeflower

How refreshing to hear that a male doctor has such a compassionate attitude. I stop seeing male doctors years ago, all my drs. are female, because of their negative attitude. Definitely keep this doctor. What a blessing!

I fell this way almost all the time and I'm 24. Anybody know of anything else it might be caused by??

Anxiety will cause this. Are you anxious.....good luck

Sofia

Hi Lisa,

I could have written your post almost word for word. I have these feelings some days and just want to crawl in a hole and stay there until it passes but alas that is not to be.

It is "normal" as can be in perimeno. Please dont feel crazy nor alone.

Hugs to you,
Jeaninne

I came her tonight feeling so spacey and dizzy--it hurt my head to read the screen....but i am so glad it did. All of what each of you has written has made me feel better. i have had the dizzy-spacey thing before, but its been a little while. So when i felt it tonight---naturally i got nervous thinking i had a brain tumor! Thanks to all of you for reminding me that i am soooooo normal! O.K. well maybe normal is not the word! but not alone!

Ditto for me. Dizzy, spacey, weak, etc. etc. It's awful and goes on and on for years.

I wish we could hear more from the ladies who have been through alll this and are now doing better...that would give us hope!