I'm experiencing chronic dizziness, nausea and panic attacks, any advice?
Posted , 12 users are following.
Hi everyone - I am new to the group and wishing all of you well. I am 52 years' old and, according to blood tests, am post-menopausal, although it has only been three months since I last spotted. I woke up in the middle of the night on July 13 and have never been the same since. Chronic dizziness, heart palpitations, nausea, tingling, numbness, and panic attacks. Since that time, I have been to the ER (heart is fine), an ENT, a neurologist, two OB/GYNs, primary care physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, and acupuncturist. (I am seeing a cardiologist later this week.) I tried 20 mg Prozac for 12 days and had to stop because it made me so sick (no sleeping/eating for two days). Xanax and Clonozeapam made me more anxious and dizzy. I had to stop working but need to go back very soon as not working is not an option. I do not drink or smoke, and I exercise regularly. I also take vitamins, although I am hesitant to take Relizen or other such menopausal supplements because of potential side effects. Anyone else experiencing this and how are you coping? I want my life back; the anxiety is much worse now because of the uncertainty as to when this is going to end. Thank you so much for your help!
0 likes, 27 replies
debra16694 karen156794231
Posted
Hi Karen - I feel for you, I really do, it’s a nightmare - One thing that was suggested to me by a naturopath is to take a really good Probiotic (Gut/Brain connection). Also take magnesium, (calming) a good Stress Vitamin B vitamin & Vitamin D. Really try to get into meditation...there are plenty of meditation apps out there, I personally like Mindspace. A little trick I have learned that if I am actually in a panic attack, I reach for a handful of ice or drink cold ice water. The cold makes your brain focus on the cold rather than your panic attack.
Getting regular Acupunture has also helped me & of course any kind of massage is so helpful.
I have experienced ALL of your symptoms & then some & drs don’t know what we are talking about - I would always suggest getting “checked out first”, but understand this is part of the journey. I have chosen to do this without HRT or anti depressants or anti anxiety RX’s because I am super sensitive to RX’s and couldn’t even tolerate birth control pills when I was young. However, that said, you should do & take whatever is going to bring you comfort & well being. Be well -
karen156794231 debra16694
Posted
Thank you so much, Debra. I hear you - I am super sensitive to medications. I can handle my daily "vitamin regimen" with no problem (calcium, D3, magnesium, multivitamin, Omega 3 Krill Oil, magnesium, probiotic), but could not handle the Prozac and am now too afraid to try anything else. I've heard some women take over the counter Bonine or Dramamine for anxiety; would be interested in knowing if others have tried this. I am predisposed to have anxiety, but was able to manage it until I woke up in the middle of the night in July with a massive panic attack. Just comes out of nowhere. I am not thinking of anything in particular to trigger it.
Take good care.
Finny2018 karen156794231
Posted
Karen - if you have a chance to do some research on Hot Flashes and Night Sweats (the ones that wake you up in the middle of the night) - they have the exact same symptoms of an Anxiety Attack/Panic Attack. I didn't know any of this until I started this in June!!!!
I assumed a Hot Flash or a Night Sweat would include sweating or being warm - NO - you can have these all day long and in the middle of the night with our without sweating.
They can have physical feelings and emotional feelings with each one and can last as short as 1 minute up to 30 minutes for each one. My first intense flash sent me to the ER. I am starting to understand after 3 months of this what it is and when it's happening to me. It's a physical manifestation of the hormones plummeting - nothing triggers it - just the hormone fluctuations for me. It's so hard to get used to.
karen156794231 Finny2018
Posted
Guest karen156794231
Posted
Hi Karen! Welcome to hell! I am 41 and got hit out of nowhere at 40...July 5, 2017...to be exact! I was out for breakfast and thought I was having a stroke. Spent the rest of the year with a bunch of other weird stuff, ER visits, a million drs appts...Tested up, down, inside and out! Also, acupuncture, naturopath...ugh! Tests All clear. The only thing it shows is BPV ( inner ear vertigo) and of course anxiety. fatigue and vertigo awful the past few months, however, my periods are very light and closer. My bloods have come back post meno a few times. Tests are not accurate until 12 months of missed periods. I stopped working last December, I am self employed, I love what I do, but the vertigo is just too much. Hard to drive with a spinning head too, I have been on Lexapro for the past 3 months...once I got past the side effects... it has helped the anxiety a bit...but not the dizziness. I have weaned myself off. Going back to dr tomorrow and gyno after to figure out a different plan. I take a multi vitamin, vitaminD, omega3 and lysine ( my immune system is awful since perimenopause). Nothing has really helped. This has thrown me for a loop too. I do not drink, smoke, not overweight. Some women are years post meno and still having symptoms. You’ll be glad you joined this forum. There is no symptom too weird that another women hasn’t experienced 😀
karen156794231 Guest
Posted
Finny2018 karen156794231
Posted
Karen - I am so sorry you are going through this! I joined this forum when it all hit for me June 11, 2018. My hormones crashed and the scary symptoms started. I should say that I did not join this forum until nearly a month of reading and reading posts on this forum. I lived on this site for days on end trying to educate myself while in a pile of despair wondering what was happening to me. I knew I needed to get on here to give my thanks to these women (they were and are a Godsend to me!) as well as reply to other women experiencing the same things.
The "experts" say that about 20% of us have a very rough time with the change (peri/menopause). My mom had a breeze of it! All she could remember were a few hot flashes, her periods were heavy for a bit and then wa la! Done! Not so much for me. I have had so many of the symptoms listed on the 66 symptoms list her on this forum. LIke many of the women on this forum - I went nonstop to Dr's appt's, the emergency room, urgent care etc thinking there was something seriously going on and of course. all clear. I've had EKG, CT Scan's all the bloodwork etc. I have palpitations, tingling in my body, numbness, pain behind my ear, joint aches, the LIST GOES ON - anxiety and depression feelings! This was all NEW NEW NEW - all of it - NEW for the first time at 49 and right around the time my first period was missed. Now I'm irregular, having night sweats and hot flashes more regularly than I've ever had before.
Many of the women usually try to go through it all natural with maybe some additional vitamins etc, or they try HRT or BHRT or anti-depressants or anti - anxiety. I am trying a "natural" over the counter progesterone cream that you can find at Whole Foods or online through Amazon. Since June I've read about 5 books and anything I can get my hands on online for reading and educating myself on the options. You are not alone, Karen! It is a scary place those first few days and weeks until you start looking into all of your options. I am SO much better - SO much better than I was in June and July. I ordered a saliva test kit online and had it sent to my home and then sent it back in for my hormone results. I was extremely low on progesterone so that is why I am supplementing with the cream. My depression and anxiety attacks/intense hot flashes have lifted since starting this cream. I will never know if my hormones were starting to level off and that is why I am so much better - or if it is the cream? That was the main reason I started the cream was for those 2 symptoms! One thing to also note, unfortunately, is that a lot of the women on here have had really crummy experiences/reactions from their doctors. I think a lot of us could say we had to become our own advocates - another reason I sure do love and am grateful for the education, support, wisdom and encouragement this forum has given to me! Take care, Karen - you are not alone!!
2chr2015 karen156794231
Posted
karen156794231 2chr2015
Posted
Hi 2chr2015 - glad the nausea has subsided! I know heart palpitations are a common symptom; they are so scary and I am sorry you are experiencing these, too. The neurologist, while very experienced, had a horrible bedside manner. He performed what I believe to be the "standard" exam, I.e., various balance testing exercises, looking in my eyes, checking my reflexes, etc., and attributed all of my symptoms to my anxiety. I had had an MRI in 2012 for migraines that came back normal. While he put in the order for a new MRI, he did say he could find no issues from my exam and recommended I take the Mirtazapine a psychiatrist I saw had recommended. I will not be trying that medication, based on my bad experience with Prozac and all of the not insignificant side effects with the drug. So frustrating... Most likely will not go forward with the MRI.