Dizziness and menopause
Many menopausal women experience symptoms such as dizziness or lightheadedness, sometimes referred to as vertigo. It’s a common and normal complaint. Vertigo feels like you or everything around you is spinning. Can hormone changes during menopause be to blame for dizziness and vertigo? The answer is yes, absolutely. So what can you do about it?
“It’s like you are on a merry-go-round and can't get off. Some days I feel so lightheaded and dizzy that I can’t focus and do my work. The only thing that helps is to take a walk.” - Monika (age 51)
The symptoms vary from one person to the next. Some women may feel like they are on a merry-go-round. Others report having wobbly legs, nausea or brain fog. And some even experience temporary vision problems.
During perimenopause, the symptoms are often most severe, because this is when your hormone levels fluctuate more erratically. The good news is that once balance is gradually restored after your last period, symptoms such as dizziness, brain fog and nausea will disappear altogether, or at least diminish.
What is happening in your body?
Although dizziness, or vertigo, is a common symptom of menopause, the underlying mechanism is not precisely known. Fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone levels are believed to cause dizziness and accompanying nausea.
The hormones oestrogen and progesterone play a role in many important bodily functions, including the cardiovascular system. Hormonal changes can lead to fluctuations in blood pressure, which can make you feel dizzy and lightheaded. Shifting oestrogen and progesterone levels also affect blood circulation in the inner ear. This, too, can cause dizziness.
Other causes
There are also other factors to consider, such as other symptoms of menopause. For example, hot flashes can cause dizziness, because you lose electrolytes when you sweat, causing an electrolyte imbalance. This imbalance can affect blood pressure and trigger dizziness or make it worse.
Shifting hormones around menopause can also affect blood sugar levels and make it more difficult to keep them stable. Fluctuations in blood sugar can cause dizziness and lightheadedness.
During perimenopause, periods can become heavy, closer together or last longer – all of which can make you feel dizzy. In addition, women go through many changes during this stage of life, triggering feelings of insecurity, stress or and sleep problems. This, too, can lead to tension, anxiety, breathing problems and dizziness.
What can you do?
There are things you can do to manage lightheadedness and dizziness, such as watching your iron levels and resting more often. Here are some more tips:
- Keep a dizziness diary. Write down when and under what circumstances you feel dizzy. This helps to identify the cause of your dizzy spells and decide on a strategy to deal with them.
- Reduce stress. Stress may intensify dizziness. Try to do relaxation exercises every day and make sure you get enough quality sleep.
- Stabilise your blood sugar. Eat a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables (fibre!) and make sure your meals contain enough protein, healthy fats and slow-acting carbohydrates. Avoid processed foods, alcohol, smoking and too much caffeine.
- Drink plenty of water to prevent electrolyte imbalance. This is especially important if you suffer from hot flashes or night sweats.
- Make sure you get enough iron. Heavy blood loss month after month can lead to iron deficiency (low iron levels) and nausea.
- Exercise on a regular basis. Regular exercise and strength training helps strengthen muscles and improve balance. Exercise also helps to sleep more soundly and reduce hot flashes and stress.
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What treatments can help?
Are you also experiencing other symptoms besides dizziness? Then hormone therapy might be an option for you.
Can hormone therapy help?
Do you suffer from dizziness as well as other menopausal symptoms? If so, you could consider hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT works by replacing the hormones that fall during menopause, which helps reduce severe symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep problems and mood swings.
Sources
- Popkirov, S., Staab, J. P., & Stone, J. (2017). Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD): a common, characteristic and treatable cause of chronic dizziness. https://pn.bmj.com/content/practneurol/18/1/5.full.pdf
- Popkirov, S., Staab, J. P., & Stone, J. (2020). Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD): A common, characteristic and treatable cause of chronic dizziness. . https://pn.bmj.com/content/18/1/5
- Singer, D., Camargo, C. A., Birkhahn, R., Pallin, D. J., & Sullivan, A. F. (2019). Multicenter RCT of flare-ups in asthma using albuterol vs. triple therapy. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6291970/
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FAQ
What should I do when I have a dizzy spell?
If you feel dizzy it helps to focus on a fixed point. Sit or lie down, if possible. If, besides feeling dizzy, you also feel faint, have severe headache, difficulty hearing and/or speaking, double vision or nausea, then contact your doctor.
