I am having a terrible time with dizziness and a feeling of being off balance. It happens all times of the day, at any time of the day. If I move suddenly WHAM it hits me and then I am covered from the waist up in hot, hot hot heat! Takes about 3-5 mins and then it is gone. I am sweating around my neck like crazy. It is scaring the beejeezus outta me. I have had a MRI of my brain - all within normal limits. This was done back in August. I have had cat scans - I have polyps in my sinuses and chronic sinusitis.

I am hoping (and praying) that this is a symptom of perimenopause. The dizziness scares me to death and that causes the hot whizzes more and more. Does vertigo or anything similar go along with perimenopause?

Any and all help would be appreciated. I hate waking like this and the panic of it just absorbs me for the day.

UGH!

Anna

You did not say how old you are, but from what I have read, and of course depending on your age, it is a symptoms of peri or because of your chronic sinuses. If you continue reading, you will find many women with the exact symptoms you are describing, me included.

Sybilleruth,

I am sorry, I am 41 years old. I guess I just get so upset and panic when this happens to me, I forgot to write my age - duh!

Anna

HI Crazybedbug,

I SUFFERED with lightheadedness/off balance feeling for about 7 months. It was not due to sinuses. Mine was due to perimenopause. I went through a few doctors before I had my hormone levels tested. My lightheadedness and off balance feeling was with me everyday for about 5-6 months then last month I had some good days and bad days. Now the last two weeks I have been lightheaded FREE. I feel as if I have my LIFE BACK! Everyone says I have my zest and zing for life back. I am praying that symptom does not return. At least I know it really is from peri menopause because I think if it was a brain tumor or something I would have starting showing additional symptoms such as headaches, pain, vision problems etc. Menopause can cause symptoms such as vertigo and lightheadedness. After my hormone testing my diagnosis was Perimenopause and Vertigo.
I have chosen to not take anything other then the Centrum vitamin I have been taking for 15 years. I chose to tough it out although it certainly did get the best of me at times. I do not even like to take a Tylenol for a headache so I am stubborn about taking anything for the natural changes my body is going through.

Hang in there,
Jill~

Hey janne
I'm with you. I'm stubborn about taking anything also. Only a multi-vitamin. I don't want to take anything that is only going to postpone these symptoms. I read somewhere, I think it was in our local newspaper, about women who had been on HRT and went off of it when it was discovered it was not what it was cracked up to be. Some of these women were in their 70's and had been on HRT for 20 years. They stopped taking it and perimenopausal symptoms, anxiety, hot flashes, you name it, hit them like a ton of bricks..........and they were WAY past actual menopause. I would rather deal with these symptoms now not 20 years from now. I want my body to get used to the lower hormone levels as soon as possible! I agree, it is hard at times but this too shall pass!

CrazyBB.. hun, Im 41 soon to be 42 in oct. I too suffer with polyps and chronic sinuses, plus the "Change" heh..

When I have a sinus infection, i can tell by the way my face is all congested and the burning sensations and of course I get even more off balanced. Make sure you are not suffering from sinuses first.

Yes, what you have described as your symptoms can also be peri...

I have researched on this site about the different vitamins and herbs that is beneficial to me. and since I have added some, i dont have near the problems with my sinuses nor with peri....

I had been on HRT for a little over 3 years and premarin and progestrone.. and I have weaned myself off of it, now almost 4 mos. I feel sooOOOooo much better..physically and mentally since then

Hi CrazyBB,

When I first started peri, the dizzies were my first symptom along with anxiety. I was sure I had a brain tumor or was having a stroke or something equally as life-threatening. This site has been such a God-send to me. As soon as I realized that I was not alone with these symptoms, I was able to relax somewhat and not be scared out of my wits. I am post now, for a little over a year. I still get anxious and lightheaded from time to time, but at least I don't freak out when it happens. Stay here and search for all the posts on dizziness. You will be amazed. Take care. Donna

Dizziness, off balance feeling, and anxiety were my first symptoms. The anxiety associated with peri menopause is horrible. I tried to think, think, think, what I could be anxious about and nothing in my life ever seemed to match the amount of anxiety I was feeling. I am much better now but I can remember how even my startle reflex was exaggerated. For example, if I was driving and someone 20 cars ahead of me put on their brakes or made a fast lane change my heart rate would shoot up to about 150-180 beats per minute. I would tell myself "Oh c'mon its NOT that scary"! I am so glad the hypersensitive startle reflex is gone. There are tons of posts on here related to dizziness. Enjoy reading and knowing your not alone!

Take care,
Jill~

Hi there: Just read your post and I want to tell you that what your going through is more than likely peri-menopause or menopause. I was suffering from vertigo and dizziness for almost 1 year. Prior to getting the vertigo, I was suffering from the shakes and trembing. My legs felt really weak and my arms felt like they were trembling. Then that went away and that's when the vertigo hit me like a ton of bricks. My doctor ran a blood test to confirm that I was in menopause - yep I was. It wasn't fun. I would know when I was going to have a bad day because I would wake up with vertigo. There would be days I couldn't move from the sofa. Lying down for me was pure torture. Mine never came on during the day or evening, just in the morning upon awakening. It was as if something occurred while I was sleeping that would make me wake up with vertigo and dizziness. I also felt off-balance. There would be times I would walk down the hall at work and feel like I was going to topple over. I thought maybe I had a brain tumor or MS. My doctor sent me to a neurologist to rule everything out. Thank God, all my test came out negative. There is a light at the end of this menopause hell. For the last two months, I have not had any vertigo or dizziness spells. I still can't believe it. I keep waiting for something else to happen. Right now I just have to deal with anxiety attacks. Because of the vertigo which is very frightening I started getting panic attacks especially when I drove. My fear was that one day I was going to get a dizzy spell on the freeway and I would lose control of the car, hence the panic attacks. I'm now taking the trolley to work and that has helped my panic attacks a great deal. I believe several things will help you feel better. Stay away from food with perservatives. You don't need any extra junk upsetting your body balance. Get plenty of sleep. That's key. Drinks lots of water. I recently found out that vertigo can be caused by dehydration. Take your vitamins. I take calcium with mag. My mulit-vitamin and extra B50. They say vitamin B is great for the nervous system. I drink soy milk every day and I walk everyday unless I get vertigo where I can't move. I hope this has helped you to some degree. Hang in there. Your not alone.

I have felt some dizziness too since I am in perimenopause. The weird feeling is mostly when I am lying down sleeping, sometimes I wake up at night, and when I move my head the room looks like it is spinning, but during the day I am fine and most times when I sleep.

Has anyone else had this weird dizziness? <_<

Mylightheadedness is not when I lay down. It use to be a constant but now it has leveled off alot. NOW when I get the lightheaded dizzy sensation the palms of my hands will sweat and sometimes I will have a thin film of sweat over my entire body. When the off balance feeling started I did not even think about it being part of a hot flash, I thought my hands would sweat because I was nervous over the feeling I was getting and it was causing me to be anxious but I see now from careful documentation of my symptoms that is not the case at all. I see now that when I get that "wave" of lightheaded/off balance my hands will automatically sweat at the exact time I feel that wave. My doctor says it is a form of a hot flash. I use to wake up every morning with sweaty hands and feet. Thankfully, that has stopped but what I am most thankful of is that I have not had any lightheadedness for the last two weeks! YEAH!

Jill~

Hi Southern Lady,

My very first experience with vertigo was upon awakening. I went to turn my head to look at my clock and the whole room started to spin. It only lasted about 10 seconds, but that was enough to scare me to death. It happened twice after that, both times when I was getting out of bed. Throughout my peri, I continue to get the lightheadedness, but not the vertigo (thank God). Who "woulda thunk" that would have anything to do with menopause. I think we women got the short of the stick on this one. Have a great day. Donna

Hi dcamp,

The second time I had this was in the morning today. The first time yesterday. I do have sinus issues, but never had this with that.

Today, my husband walked into the room to ask me if I was awake and when I opened my yes and answered yes the room looked like it was spinning and I was actually waiting to see double....lol..thank God that never happened.

This peri is awful. I feel like I am loosing control and that my body has taken over.

Thanks for your reassurance!!!!

SL

Thanks so much for all of your input. It has really made me feel a whole lot better. I, too, thought I suffered from a brain tumor or from stroke, MS, or anything else I could possibly conjure up. I had a CT scan, MRI, tests, electrocardigrams, etc., etc., etc. only to be told - everything is within normal limits.

My dizziness starts in the AM, as soon as my feet hit the floor. Sometimes when I wake up my room will spin like I have just gotten of a amusement ride. It doesn't last long, but it sure does scare me.

I stay in a cold sweat all the time. I spoke with my mother last night in detail and she said that she began this wonderful journey when she was 39. So...according to her...I am well on my way now.

I have made an appointment to get everything checked out. Is there anything specific I need to ask for other than a saliva test?

Thanks so much all,

Anna