|  | Family Health | Womens Health

Dizziness During Menopause

Menopausal women frequently report having hot flashes and night sweats; however, dizziness is also a common symptom among perimenopausal and menopausal women. If you are having this problem, you and your physician need to determine what is at the root of it. It may be the result of erratic hormones or it may be an indication of an underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

  1. Definition

    • Medically speaking, dizziness means disequilibrium or the sense of feeling off-balance and unstable. If you are experiencing dizziness with vertigo, this means that you feel as if you or whirling or spinning or the room around you is spinning. If you feel faint, this is called presyncope and is often related to cardiovascular issues.

    Considerations

    • It may be that extreme hormonal fluctuations are not allowing the brain to process information from the eyes, sensory nerves and ear, which determine a person's equilibrium and sense of balance, and this is causing your dizziness. The eyes, ears and sensory nerves are the balance centers for the body. According to the 34 Menopause Symptoms website, if one or more of these centers is malfunctioning, dizziness will occur. If your estrogen levels get too high or too low, this can impact the blood vessels and nervous system, which causes dizziness. When hormone levels fluctuate dramatically, this can prompt a panic attack, which can manifest in dizziness, among many other symptoms.

    Other Possibilities

    • It could also be that you have low blood pressure, which can result in dizziness. This is something your doctor needs to determine. Ear problems, migraine headaches and hot flashes can also result in bouts of dizziness. Certain medications can cause dizziness, as can low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), arthritis of the cervical spine, a cold or the flu, heart problems, a stroke, a viral infection and dehydration. An ear disorder called Meniere's disease can also result in dizziness.

    When Blood Flow is Restricted

    • One of the dangers of menopause is that your risk of developing osteoporosis (a bone disease) increases significantly. When osteoporosis occurs, this can lead to osteoarthritis, according to Menopauseatoz.com. If the arteries that are in the back of the neck become compressed due to arthritis, this can result in dizziness, because the blood flow to the brain that controls hormones is reduced.

    Coping

    • Make sure that you have enough fluids in your body to keep you hydrated. Exercising can help reduce the incidence of dizziness and eating right will also be beneficial to you. If you find that you are getting dizzy when you stand up too quickly, don't make abrupt postural moves.

Womens Health - Related Articles