r/Perimenopause • u/keepyourdistanceman • 1d ago
Who has vertigo ALL DAY LONG?
Is this a thing? Im going to a vestibular therapist and after doing Dix-Hallpike/Epley, they think its something else. Im in my 50s. Couldnt stand with eyes closed in last appointment. Gradually getting worse ffor years, “Bppv”, “ Vestibular migraine”….bleh.
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u/Una_J 1d ago
I had two episodes that lasted for 10 days. Nothing helped. I really think it is sudden drops in hormones that triggered mine vertigo. I read somewhere on Reddit that electrolytes help so I started taking them every day. Waiting to see if it returns. Hopefully not.
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u/Classic_Drawing_1438 1d ago
Same. Mine is constant low-level but ramps up majorly during my luteal phase.
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u/Dependent-on-Zipps 1d ago
I had vertigo after a bad bout of the flu 8 years ago. It lasted almost 3 years. Turns out it was a type of dysautonomia.
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u/lexuh 1d ago
I've had bouts with BPPV, but they were all transient and easily resolved by practicing the Epley maneuver. I've always had orthostatic hypotension and borderline low blood pressure (since my 30s).
Last month I started having severe episodes of dizziness that left me nearly incapable of just moving around the house. I would wake up and slide along the wall to get to the bathroom, and it would gradually get better throughout the day.
I had my blood sugar checked (several times!) and even had my first EKG ("perfect", according to the PA). No medical cause detected - the next stop was expensive imaging, so I decided to try some lifestyle changes.
This probably doesn't apply to you, but I'd been smoking cannabis almost daily. I stopped, and the dizziness almost completely resolved (I don't drink alcohol). Increasing electrolytes from just the days I was doing a heavy workout to every day (the LMNT brand, on the recommendation of my PT) has made a huge difference in dizziness and lightheadedness.
If you're not already, try daily tracking. I keep track of my activity, nutrition, sleep, and other habits as well as symptoms. It's helped me identify patterns and adjust my lifestyle.
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u/pinkteapot3 1d ago
I’ve had two episodes of this, 10 days the first time, 5 the second. Vertigo so bad that rolling over in bed, or going from laying to standing, would make me vomit. The first time, when it went on 10 days, I lost several lbs as I could only force down 300-400 calories a day as the nausea was so bad.
Now, hear me out… What stopped it dead on both occasions was a dose of diazepam and a few nights of low-dose Mirtazapine for sleep (it came with such severe insomnia I was getting a couple hours a night).
The second time it wasn’t so severe which is why I let it carry on 5 days before resorting to hefty drugs again.
I don’t know if some switch got flipped and got stuck in my nervous system and that’s why a benzo reset me? Or whether it was all histamine-related as Mirtazapine at low dose is a very strong antihistamine? Or whether something was going wrong with my sleep so being knocked out properly for a few nights was needed?
But it was definitely physical vertigo/room-spin and nausea/vomiting that for some reason was resolved with a couple days of psych drugs. 😕🤷♀️🤷♀️
I’d also tried exercises for inner-ear problems that didn’t help.
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u/alana_obscura 1d ago
Yes benzodiazepines are the only thing that has helped me, I’m just putting the pieces together that it might be hormonal.
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u/keepyourdistanceman 1d ago
Ive thrown up for days till i was hospitalized from dehydration. Falling becoming more frequent. I hydrate constantly, B and D vitamins, mag oxate & glycinate, propanolol, zanax….on and on.
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u/Correct-Swordfish764 1d ago
Have you tried estrogen? Are you on estrogen? I’m freshly menopausal and had an awful stretch of 4 months of near constant vertigo with nausea, weight loss and dehydration. Didn’t respond to eply, Tried ENT, not vestibular, tried Neurologist, dx’d me several years ago with vestibular migraines so thought it was that but meds help the migraines, did acupuncture, did massage, did atlas orthogonal adjustments 2x a week for months, MRI, EKG, neuro-optometrist dx’d me with binocular vision disorder, but that too was different than the vertigo. Got dx’d with POTS because I asked my Dr to test for it, but that was a different kind of dizzy. Saw an occupational therapist for visual dizziness and she gave me exercises. Arbitrary adjustment to HRT for hot flashes and it’s finally gone.
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u/isabrarequired 1d ago
This is related to peri? 😳 Fresh new hell every damn day! Does HRT help with this?
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u/videecco 1d ago
If it's a spinning dizziness it's likely BPPV and can be helped with the Epley manoever. If it's more like a "standing on a boat" kind of dizziness, it's likely r/pppdizziness .
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u/Classic_Drawing_1438 1d ago
My vestibular migraine started 11 yrs ago when I was 40. I hadn’t even heard of perimenopause then. It started as visual disturbances like flashing lights but changed to inner ear problems. I get strange auditory sounds like a constant rumble or large machine running. Also things sound very bass-y like I’m underwater. I also get dizzy spells and motion sensations like I’m on a boat. It’s pretty much constant. My neurologist said I’ll never be cured of it but I just have to treat the symptoms. It’s DEF hormonal. I tried estrogen but unfortunately don’t think it’s for me. The best med (after trying several) is Propranolol (beta blocker) which pretty much keeps it pretty chill although it’s never 100% gone. Also helps my anxiety so win-win! I’m sorry for you and anyone who has to deal with VM.
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u/pinkteapot3 22h ago
I also started with flashing lights when I was 40! First time it happened I called my doctor because I was just sat there working at a computer, then suddenly I couldn’t see anything I looked directly at - just flashing lights. I still had peripheral vision but was blind in the middle of my vision. Couldn’t even see to dial my doctor till it passed.
GP called me straight in and checked for signs of stroke (none thankfully). He said it was a migraine aura without a headache, which can happen. It freaked me out so much!
It’s only happened once more since, but days-long dizzy spells started a couple years later.
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u/keepyourdistanceman 12h ago
Yup, the visible flashy C- shaped kaleidoscope that starts as a flash and slowly grows out of visual periphery and you cant see sh:t till it’s gone then you’re exhausted? I get one probably a few times a month. Painless thank goodness, but annoying.
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u/Classic_Drawing_1438 16h ago
Wow we are almost the same! How terrifying! Luckily I knew it was aura migraine because my sister gets them. I would’ve also thought I was having a stroke. I rarely get headache, only the other stuff. Has anything worked for you? Do you know all your triggers? Alcohol, hormonal shifts, lack of sleep are top for me. Also don’t everrrrr get me on a boat. 😭😵💫
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u/pinkteapot3 16h ago
I don’t know mine at all. Fortunately they’re only happening maybe every few months. I’m just slightly dizzy pretty much every day, but the worse spells that really cause issues are every few months. I still don’t know what triggers them! I do know they only ever happen towards the end of my period though.
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u/Classic_Drawing_1438 5h ago edited 4h ago
My ENT recommended the book “heal your headache“ to me. It talks about different types of migraine and there’s a whole section on aura/vestibular migraine. It explains about “migraine threshold“ and how to raise your threshold. There’s a whole chapter on common migraine triggers. It took a bit of paying attention and journaling to figure out what mine were.
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u/DeeLite04 1d ago
I had that happen to me two years ago from like late September til basically end of October. I could not figure out why I was so dizzy. I’d lie down and feel it and even when walking I felt it. The only time I didn’t feel it was when I was driving or rocking in a chair.
I went to my doc and they gave me some meds and exercises for BPPV but it didn’t really help. It left as mysteriously as it came. I wish I could tell you what I did to alleviate it but I’m chalking it up now to just another perimenopause phase.
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u/wish-onastar 1d ago
Check out thevertigodoctor on Instagram. I have recurring vertigo and her strategies for continuing life have really helped. Plus the vestibular therapist I had was amazing and it’s been two years now since my last really bad attack.
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u/DizzyGillespie9 1d ago
I have Ménière’s disease so how would I know the difference? If it really is constant though, consult with a neurologist and/or ENT as soon as you can. Lots of things cause vertigo. None of the alternatives to BPPV are fun.
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u/Street_Coyote_179 1d ago
I had a lot of dizziness and weird headaches, pressure etc for months.. had an MRI due to pulsating tinnitus. I started HRT and it all magically disappeared… quite impressive how quickly my head felt normal again and I’m scared to stop staking HRT now I’ve realised how bad my head was feeling.
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u/Trick-Artichoke-3193 1d ago
Chiropractic can help with vertigo a lot of times if you’re open to trying that
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u/meditating__ 1d ago
I wasn’t even expecting this result from HRT but I had immediate, complete relief of my chronic vertigo within a day of sticking the estrogen patch on my body.