Day 11: Three things that three doctors couldn’t explain turned out to be symptoms of perimenopause

GPs don’t know much about perimenopause, it seems.

All three seem to be related to the vascular symptoms of perimenopause that happen due to “reduced blood flow due to arterial spasm”, according to my gynaecologist.

Labyrinthitis 😵‍💫

The difference between vertigo and a fun fair ride is that you are not strapped in!

Thankfully, in my case, it didn’t happen often, and the world was only spinning for up to three days each time.

Migraines 🤢

I have suffered migraines in all their glory approximately every two weeks for the last ten years, with light sensitivity, auras, and nausea.

Typical triggers for migraines tend to be food or drink. But it turns out that one cause of migraines can be hormonal.

Tinnitus 🔔

People tend to suffer from high-pitched ringing or fuzzy white noise.

I started hearing a third type: the droning hum of a distant plane.

But no one else could hear it. Then I thought it was some electrical hum in the house and started unplugging everything I could!

It came and went in waves, so I can only assume it was the sound of blood flowing through my arteries.

Educate the doctors! 📖

If you are a woman in your 30s to 50s suffering strange, unexplainable symptoms, raise the possibility of perimenopause with your doctor. Start the conversation and get them thinking about expanding their knowledge on the topic (or at least refer you to a gynaecologist!).