Symptom of the Week: Dizziness and Lightheadedness

Over at iVillage I found this:

This [dizziness] is a big one, says Dr. Carlson -- the culprit in about half the cases of dizziness among her premenopausal patients. When you're under the gun, she explains, you tend to hyperventilate -- drawing shallow breaths that prompt your arteries to contract. Less blood reaches the brain and extremities, so you may be hit with dizziness and numbness in the fingers and toes. After ruling out physical problems, your doctor may suggest slow, deep breathing from the abdomen to help abort attacks.

I have to say, dizziness is a big pain in my ass. It comes and it goes -- often when I'm fighting off a cold or I'm a little under the weather. I didn't used to get dizzy like I have been, the past couple of years, but ever since my other perimenopausal symptoms have been flaring up, dizziness has made its presence felt.

I'm not saying it's definitely because of perimenopause, just that it coincides with it, and I'm not about to run to the doctor every time another anomaly with my body shows up.

I know, I know, that subverts the dominant paradigm of never doing anything related to your body that hasn't been cleared by a trained physician, but who the hell came up with that idea? Some man, probably. Not that I'm bitter... I'm just doing my own thing, and I'm not going to be held hostage by the AMA.

Still, it is a little daunting, to have this dizziness set in ... thoughts of brain tumors and strokes and such -- been watching too much friggin' t.v. and paying too much friggin' attention to the mass media, when it comes to my physical health. I know, some will say, I'm just asking for trouble, but when I do "consult with my physician", all I get are either blank looks or some shrugging of the shoulders, coupled with a carefully couched, highly technical phrase that means, "I really don't know what's going on with you".

So, anyway, back to lightheadness and dizziness. It seems to coincide with fighting off a cold or a sinus infection. But like I said, it's become much more pronounced, since this whole perimenopause thing started, so I'm going with my gut instinct on this one.