What to do About Dizziness During Menopause
Simple steps to relieve dizziness and vertigo
Have you found yourself feeling lightheaded, off-kilter, unbalanced, disorientated, weak, woozy, or dizzy? Does it seem like the world is spinning or whirling around you? Though these sensations may last just a few seconds at a time, episodes of dizziness and/or vertigo can be very upsetting and disruptive to your daily routine. And if they happen to strike at just the wrong time, they could even be dangerous, increasing your risk of a fall or accident.
What Causes Dizziness?
There are three main balance control systems in the body:
- Eyes: Visual input is essential for informing the brain of the body’s position in space.
- Inner Ears: The labyrinth inside the inner ear is made up of loop-shaped canals containing fluid and sensory hair cells. By monitoring the movement of the fluid, the sensory cells help to determine how the body needs to move to stay balanced.
- Sensory Nerves: Skin, muscles, and joints all contain nerves that communicate information about the body’s location and movement to the brain.
When any one of these balance control systems is not working optimally, there is a potential for dizziness or vertigo. If two or more systems are not working or if the brain cannot process their signals properly, symptoms are virtually guaranteed.
Hormonal changes can affect the body’s balance control systems, as well as cause or contribute to other symptoms that can cause sensations of vertigo or dizziness. Such symptoms include:
- Hot flashes
- Migraines
- Anxiety
- Low blood pressure
- Low blood sugar
- Heart problems
Managing Dizziness During Menopause
The good news is, dizziness during menopause can be controlled with a few simple steps such as:
Lifestyle Changes: Poor nutrition, dehydration, and inactivity can make menopausal dizziness worse. For many women, correcting these issues with lifestyle changes can greatly reduce dizziness. Start by adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. In addition to being rich in nutrients, fruits and veggies contain plenty of water to help you stay hydrated. Exercises targeting the upper body and head, as well as eye exercises to help improve vision, will also be very helpful in improving balance and reducing dizziness.
Trigger Avoidance: Episodes of dizziness can be triggered by things like standing up too fast, eating too much salt, smoking, and not getting enough sleep. By avoiding these kinds of triggers, dizziness and vertigo can be reduced.
Hormone Therapy: Declining estrogen during menopause can cause dizziness by affecting the blood vessels and nervous system, as well as by causing symptoms like hot flashes, anxiety, and insomnia. Hormone replacement therapy can safely restore optimal levels of estrogen and other hormones to the body, which will help improve all these symptoms.
When to See a Doctor
For most women, a visit to the doctor is not necessary to treat dizziness at menopause. However, if you are having other symptoms such as fainting, chest pain, trouble breathing, changes in speech or vision, or hearing loss, you should see a doctor as your dizziness may stem from a problem other than hormone decline.
To learn more about treating dizziness and other menopause symptoms with hormone therapy, contact Renew Youth today.
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