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[KarineT]

Hi Everyone,

I am sure everyone experience perimenopause/menopause differently
but I need a bit of advice.

I will be 50 next October and I am experiencing some strange menopause-rekated feeling.  Sometimes, my heart seems to race for no reason and I also feel either bloated or very slightly out of breath.  The very first time this happened, about 2 years ago, I felt warm in the face.  To me, it seems like anxiety.  I have no heart condition or lung disease, as this has been ruled out.  I would like to hear if  you are having or had a similar experience.   Please let me know.

Thanks

Karine

[shoppingqueen]

Hi Karine T
I would say very much meno symptoms- I used to get a racing heart beat/ palpitations, like an adrenalin surge- anxiety/ panic feeling etc
Anything heart related should be checked with GP as a matter of course though. Do you have a blood pressure checker? Worth investing and checking just once a day when feeling relaxed. Morning or evening. Keep a note of your daily readings and if you know what your normal usually is, this should reassure you. This could help in the meantime as unlikely many of us will get a face to face GP consultation at the moment. However, a call to the GP might be worth it. Not because there will be anything wrong I'm sure, but maybe a phone all consultation with doctor would put your mind at rest.
SQ x

[shoppingqueen]

Ps sorry, meant to ask if you are on HRT? Having regular periods etc any other symptoms you have noticed?
Xx

[KarineT]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I had an echocardiogram and blood test done previously and my heart is fine.  As for blood pressure, I was on a 24-hour monitor and my GP said it was normal.  I am not on HRT as I don't think my symptoms are severe enough.

Karine

[KarineT]

I forgot to say that I've experienced dizziness and I've missed a few periods already..  All this, since 2018.  So far my last period was in January this year and it was light.  This now almost the end of April and still no period.  I am sure I'm going through the menopause but I was wondering if what I'm feeling is normal.

[shoppingqueen]

Karine
That's great you've been checked out.
Re symptoms dizziness etc yes an absolute resounding yes- was certainly a strong meno symptom for me.
When my symptoms kicked in, I started a journal just to keep a note of (sparse) periods and symptoms just so I had a story to share with my GP.
I think if any symptoms start to interfere with the quality of life, it's worth considering options eg Trial of HRT etc although you'd need to give any a good 3 month trial and not everyone seems to want/ need it. Personal choice. For me, I got to point - quite quickly- of just not being able to cope. It was interfering with my
Life/ work etc so it was an easy decision for me.
Xx

[shoppingqueen]

Ps when I listed my symptoms to my GP, I asked if menopause could cause them. His response was ?it can cause everything? so...
there are loads of links on here. If you search dizziness etc it will bring up all the threads where this is mentioned. You are not alone x

[shoppingqueen]

Apologies for ? Replacing punctuation don't know why it does this 

[KarineT]

I'm glad your GP told you that the menopause can cause all sorts of problems.  Mine told me that dizziness is not linked to menopause. The problem we have is that there is very little information about the menopause out there and it''s generally not taken seriously as it's not an illness.  But it can be problematic and sometimes I wonder if men go through a similar situation.  I believe I started having dizzy spells in 2012.  I would have been 42 at the time.  It would happen unfrequently and I would also get headaches but it didn't cause me any problems and I didn't think about the menopause at the time.  I believe this was stress related.  But then in 2018, the dizziness became more noticeable as it was quite strong and persistent.  I would feel dizzy almost every day and I really thought that there was something seriously wrong with me.  Then on a few occasions it was accompanied with a hot/fever sensation in the face.  At the beginning of 2029 I was free from dizziness for 3 months and I felt fine but then in April of that year it came back with a vengeance and from July 2019 to December 2019 it was accompanied with low mood and anxiety.  I wanted to get this dizziness investigated as it was becoming problematic.  Along with the various tests to check my heart,  I had my ears checked and had an MRI done.  I had the all clear on everything  so after ruling out all the medical conditions associated with dizziness,  I came to the conclusion that it could only be due to the menopause.

Are you still going through the menopause or are you postmenopausal, i.e. have you gone 12 months without or period?  I just hope that the symptoms will go away after 12 months without a period.  I believe they should disappear because the hormones , although quite low, no longer fluctuate at this stage.  I do hope this is not a lifelong process.  As for HRT, what happens once you stop?  Can you become dependent on it? I understand it's only meant to be taken for a short period of time. 

[shoppingqueen]

Hi Karine
Well, your doctor needs to read up on symptoms as dizziness is frequently reported. When my meno symptoms hit,  I was like you. Felt there was something deeply wrong with me. So I totally sympathise. I also had loads of tests scans etc initially, the dizziness/ vertigo, sudden anxiety attacks etc were infrequent in my early 40s. I guess that was peri stage, but then at 46 it all really ramped up. I was struggling to function as symptoms there every day. I just didn't feel well- ever, or like myself. Tbh, it was quite scary. I had some terrible days. Morning anxiety, tremor, tingling etc. And dizziness was awful- felt like my head was spinning at times. I felt very unstable, like I couldn't trust my body.
I started on HRT tablets and got some relief, they then discontinued the brand 2 years after and I had a rollercoaster trying other preps. Went onto Femoston eventually, which was amazing- changed my life. That was 2 years ago I'm nearly 52 now, but recently it's sort of stopped working (not as bad symptoms as at 46) so I've shifted to gel and Utrogestan after trialling a top up of gel with my tablets under consultant supervision. I think you can get something whereby you can stop absorbing one prep and I have stomach issues so maybe absorption issue?
I'm post meno now- prior to all of this I was on the mini pill and so no periods. When I stopped this at the start of HRT my periods were scant if none existent and I did go a year without a period, but then have had occasional bleeds largely as I was on sequential Femoston so a withdrawal bleed.
I think you are right- peri is more challenging for most as you are in a state of flux- post meno there's largely more stability. But it is individual.
There are many ladies on here (and some of my friends) on HRT in their 60s and I have another who is in her 70s who refuses to come off it. She gets it from her GP in Spain because the English GP won't prescribe.
I don't know what happens when you stop. I've heard you can have a resurgence of symptoms, but I also know a lady- now 80- who had it from 50- 65 stopped it after doing alternate days for a while and was absolutely fine. Trial and error I guess.
Xx

[shoppingqueen]

Just put the word dizziness in the search box and you?ll see for yourself how many of us have issues with this!

Your GP 😡 sorry, but it's not helpful for him/ her to have said that. No wonder you were worried! Good that they pursued and ruled out other potential causes, as mine did, however!

X

[KarineT]

Thanks for your advice.

I know a lady who went 12 months without a period so she's now postmenopausal and she's now fjne.   She didn't go on HRT.  I would be surprised if the symptoms persisted well past postmenopause because at this stage the body should have adjusted to its new level of hormones.  Let's hope all of this is not going to last forever.

[shoppingqueen]

That's great news! And ditto to that 😁x

[Kathleen]

Hello KarineT

Your symptoms certainly sound like the menopause in all their varied glory!

I escaped the dizziness but one friend of mine did experience this frequently.

I admire your optimism about everything being well again when you reach post menopause.  I'm sure many women have an unremarkable journey and are fine in post meno but a swift look on this forum will tell you that is not the case for everyone. Hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones!

There is plenty of advice and comfort here on the forum should you need it in the future.

Wishing you well.

K.

[KarineT]

Dear Kathleen,

Are you still going through it or are you  now postmenopausal?  If the symptoms carry on during postmenopause, does this mean they will last for the rest of your life and make you miserable?  I hope it won't be the case for me.  It's like we, women, are left in limbo not knowing what's in store for us.  It's a bit of a gamble.

Karine