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[Rosy98]

Hi Everyone,

I am 49 and I work as a theatre nurse, I was recently diagnosed with microvascular angina and high blood pressure (190/120) so I have started on medication for this, and the blood pressure is coming down slowly. I had been having hot flushes for about 2 years but I coped with these OK.

I have a Mirena coil and this was changed in March this year as I have always had really bad dysmenorrhea and flooding. I have been bleeding since the coil was changed, about 4 months now and I started going very dizzy about 4 weeks ago, I was found to have low Iron when I had blood tests before starting on the blood pressure medication, something I have never had before so I have been taking iron tablets as well for 2 weeks.

My main problem is dizziness and it has meant I have not been able to work for 4 weeks. I feel under great pressure to go back but I don't feel safe to drive or to look after patients. I have only had telephone consultations with my GP because of lockdown and these are quite brief. I think the dizziness is menopause-related.

Although I am a nurse I have worked in theatres for a long time and the menopause is not something I know a lot about. The dizziness is really horrible and I feel like I am falling backwards then I feel hot and cold like Im on fire then ice water has been thrown at me. Is this normal? I feel like I'm going crazy. I also have fairly bad asthma and that has not helped.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? I don't know what to do with myself 

[CLKD]

Hi!  Firstly, stop worrying about going to work.  Your time will come once C-19 is more under control.  To care for others, 1 has to be healthy oneself 

I had wicked period pains, flooding for years: 10 days bleed, 10 days off ......... the contraceptive Pill helped.  I was sterilised when I was 23 and in my early 30s had dreadful premenstrual syndrome.

Did you bleed previously following Mirena insert, did your GP advise medication to stop the bleeding?  Has you had a scan of your womb in recent years to measure the thickness of the lining?  Maybe put 'Mirina coil' into the search box on here to see what pops up?  Make notes 

GPs are using lock down to not see patients  but with your symptoms and being 'one of them', I would have thought that you would have been given a priority slot! 

Dizziness can pre-empt flushes.  It can be caused to a trapped nerve or degenerative changes in the cervical spine.  Or due to anaemia. 

When did you last have a full blood count, ESR etc., along with a thyroid function test?  Have a chat with your Practice Nurse to get this done.  Thyroid function instability can cause some hot/cold feelings.

 

[Rosy98]

Hi, thanks for the reply, my bloods were all normal apart from the low Iron. I had the Mirena under a GA as I can't tolerate it with just local anaesthetic and I fainted last time they did it like that. I had a USS of uterine lining and it was thin, I also have some fibroids that were noticed when I was pregnant with my son 14 years ago. I was hoping to go to the menopause clinic but a lot of services are not running as normal right now.

[CLKD]

Have you spoken to the menopause clinic?  Those that aren't dealing with C-19 should be up and running - after all, the NHS is supposedly open for business   

How have you been today?  The heat affects me dreadfully 

[Rosy98]

I rang the gp for a sick note and a review and as I have had some slight chest pain I just spent the whole day in A and E. I am still dizzy. They gave me some more blood pressure tablets ramipril this time. I said is it low oestrogen due to menopause? but this was dismissed, I even had a full ENT vertigo assessment.

[CLKD]

Anxiety can cause chest aches - where was the pain?  Also indigestion/silent reflux.

A whole day?  Did you get fed and watered at all?

[Rosy98]

I started going dizzy before I started the BP meds. I feel like I am falling backwards, it's not like rotational vertigo. I have flushes but they are not like this. They have referred me back to cardiology but their clinics have long waits due to Covid. The chest pain is left sided and tends to occur when I'm stressed it takes ages to go off and is not relieved by rest, I think this is consistent with micro vascular angina which they said I have. I had a heart scan with the radioisotopes last year. I have to ring my GP tomorrow and I have to get repeat bloods in a week. I get reflux if I have bread so I avoid it. They did not feed me, I helped myself to water.

[CLKD]

That's a strange feeling ....... as an aside, I have had to stop going to the theatre due to the feeling of falling forwards as the house lights dim  .   This began over 30 years ago and put me off even thinking of booking tickets. ...........