Peri / off balance feeling..

[Cbpoppy]

Hi Guys
I've started lots of threads as been a roller coaster of problems that I'm still not sure if Peri as having no joy with hrt..
So last year I started getting this awful off balance type feeling that was diagnosed as MDDS like PPPD..
The thing is these can be linked in more ladies at peri age..
After an anti antidepressant / anxiety med amitriptyline I got to an OK place, although still live with this odd feeling of being spaced out & kinda off balance that just won't go away..
I've recently had 2 panic attacks which I've never experienced in my life & thought I was dying, also adrenaline surges which I've had posted about also.
The thing is I'm left in this odd headspace still of just being off & bouncy..
Sometimes its like I'm moving when I'm not..
I've tried hrt patch & estrogel but it makes me feel worse..
Any ladies out there have or been dealing with this?
Any suggestions? Medication?
It makes me feel quite housebound & anxious to add to my anxiety
I've even wandered about progesterone only
I have propranolol to try, my doctor also is saying about trying an ssri but I dont know?

I had this, my understanding for me was low or fluctuations in oestrogen affect the inner ear. I also had dry eyes as well which caused blurry vision which added to an off kilter feeling. Caused me panic attacks too. In the end I had to try and ignore it and it sort of evened itself out but I am on estrogen patch now (about to start progesterone too). I’ve felt it again a little starting the estrogen and then it has calmed down again. Horrible feeling, you have my sympathy.

Yes having same issues and not understanding what causes it is driving me nuts and causing anxiety. I can't work out if it's an issue with blood pressure, blood sugar or iron defiency or a combination of all three, possibly intensified by hormonal shifts.

Also intense fatigue and waking up with my jaws clenched - apparently this can also cause the woozies...

I've felt like this for years. I have a diagnosis of vestibular migraine and peripheral vestibular dysfunction, but I also have persistent low ferritin, which I think is a big part of it - I've just started taking a new iron supplement every night so I'm hoping that will help. I have a mouthguard to wear at night because I clench my jaw horrifically in my sleep - I think it helps but I still feel weird all the time and I'm in a vicious circle with anxiety causing migraines causing weird head causing anxiety 😕

Hey girls, you all sound in the place as me. Drives me potty & fuels anxiety.
I got diagnosed with mdds last may when it all started but now its like I just never feel really myself & its just there!!
Do you girls find it worse sitting still rather than being on the move?
Ive tried so many vertigo type meds, travel meds etc..
Mine gets worse after travel too, you?
I'm thinking of an ssri next for anxiety etc..
The estrogen makes it worse for me, but not tried progesterone as never get that far in my hrt for the sequential part..
Definitely must be ears but again ENT said nothing wrong :(
@OyWithThePoodlesAlready84 @spiderlight @WhenDiedreMetKen

@spiderlight I have no low signs of vits or ferritin but interesting you say about the migrane thing as I'm sure it hits us migrane people.
I had amitriptyline and worked quite well for a bit but now my anxiety is high its not enough

@OyWithThePoodlesAlready84 my blood pressure etc is fine usually 110/70 so all good there & no iron deficiency.
Ive had all the bloods done by private phlebotomist and had 2 brain mri and nothing. Also ENT but saw nothing

@WhenDiedreMetKen the hormone thing is such a nightmare isn't it!
Ive tried estrogen gel & patch but makes me feel awful & kinda worse..
I'm 44.
Some ladies told me the progesterone only helped? I just dont know anymore.
It definitely inheightens when I get stressed!!

Could it be a vertigo type issue? Jeremy Vine’s GP spot yesterday (Monday 27/10) was all about this. Maybe listen on BBC sounds catch up. There was some interesting information and experience on there.

I think my woozies increase with head movements and jaw movements so I think they are most likely stress (tmd) related. Also still fairly certain there is a hormonal component to the issue as mine started around turning 40 and heavy periods. Have tried mini pill for those but no luck; have been bleeding on them for 3 months straight. Had hemoglobin and ferritin tested 6 weeks ago and they are fine, had also been supplementing 2-3 months prior.
Will try my anxiety meds today to see if it eases..

The jaw clenching! Mine esp worse with nightmares which I have a lot lately (stressful life at the mo worried about elderly and v dependent parent), alongside the daily grind with young DCS.

Re the ferritin; i found my levels and energy really improved with iron bisglycinate (25mg) every other day. They shouldnt be too hard on the digestive system but they bothered me somewhat (already have a sensitive gut and lactose intolerance). But they raised my ferritin from 11 to 25 in about 3 months of usage every other day, despite very heavy periods.
Good luck!

@OyWithThePoodlesAlready84
What anxiety meds have you got?

A benzodiazepine, oxazepam. Only use them every so often for max 3 consecutive days as highly addictive) i take 5mg or 10mg depending on severity. It Works really well for me to break the cycle of anxiety and bad sleep causing more anxiety. Prescribed by psychiatrist (have a diagnosis of anxiety disorder plus ASD but most likely I have some sort of neurological damages caused by being born as a micropreemie ) but yeah that is not a DSM diagnosis, so.. 😉

@OyWithThePoodlesAlready84 - I'm taking iron bisglycinate as well, so hopefully it will help. I struggle to find iron supplements that I can tolerate and actually absorb, as I have ulcerative colitis, but the one I've got now (Incite) seems to be OK. I'm also on nortriptyline, pregabalin and a monthly erenumab injection for migraine, but I'm not convinced that they're helping much.

I remember a few years back, before I got my mouthguard, I had the bright idea of trying to fall asleep with my finger in my mouth to stop myself clenching. It did not work - my jaw clenched so dramatically as soon as I dropped off that I drew blood, and it felt as if I'd slammed my finger in a drawer! I had to try a few mouthguards before I found one I could sleep comfortably with, though.

I'm on the sister drug amitriptyline
How much nortriptyline do tou take?
I.was on 30mg and really helpful but then I got full on panic attacks and anxiety so.starting weaning myself of it as not doing the job

I'm on 50mg nortriptyline and 150mg pregabalin.

Oh how interesting, but I’m sorry you’re going through it. I’m 44 and went for bloods as always tired and Gp said I’m perimenopausal which was a bit of a surprise. Anyway recently I had a funny turn where I got dizzy and then when I lay down in bed, the room was spinning, as if I was drunk. Feeling went away after sleeping but it was strange aand one off, unexplained.

I feel a lot less off kilter since I got a mouthguard. It was my dentist that noticed I was grinding my teeth. Maybe it was putting pressure on nerves on my face/head or something, I don't know but it's definitely improved, and I especially noticed it because I wasn't expecting it to have that effect - I only started using it to protect my teeth.

The ENT consultant has just prescribed me meds for similar to what you have described. He says this is a common symptom for peri women and to ask my GP for a higher dose of HRT alongside the meds.

I haven’t started them yet as I keep forgetting to drop the letter in to the GP but I will try and let you know what they are and how I get on.

im sick of having episodes where the room is in motion or I'm suddenly bouncing off the hallway wall as ive gone off balance. I often get hideous room spinning attacks first thing in the morning before I get up as well as the sea motion nonsense going on.

ENT dr is fairly sure this isn’t an ear crystals type issue but something else (can’t remember what he said tbh!) and usually triggered by peri! Anyway he said these meds will help.

I also get attacks of blurred/double vision like a previous poster. It’s utterly random and I never know when it’s going to happen.

I’m sorry you’re having a bad time too OP. Its very disconcerting and makes you feel sort of not quite right in yourself constantly

i ve been trawling the channel, looking for a thread that fits. I m so tired of this shit, feeling "what now" at every shitty symptoms that adds itself to the long list of shitty symptoms.

i feel like this, have the off balance feeling, double vision when on screen and immobile (basically ... my job) and only get better when outside walking in fresh air. This started a few years ago, and i attributed it to a bad covid episode... i m on zero drug but HRT and occasional ibuprofen

I’d put money on you having vestibular migraine, also called migraine associated vertigo. It can be treated with migraine preventatives, which is probably why amitriptyline, often used for migraine, worked for a bit.