This post is part of Living La Vida Bella, a space for women navigating midlife with beauty, wellness, and a whole lot of grace. Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and love.
The first time it happened, I tried to explain it away.
I’ll never forget an unusual experience while prepping for my niece’s birthday party one afternoon back in January 2023. We had music playing. Balloons everywhere. Metallic streamers waiting to be taped. A to do list running in my head to ensure we maximized our time.
I reached up to tape a cluster of balloons and felt myself struggle for balance. A wave of dizziness moved through me. “That’s weird” I thought to myself. My equilibrium shifted for a few seconds. I grabbed the step ladder and mentioned to my sister that something felt off.
I was dealing with a severe sinus infection at the time, so I quickly dismissed it. The next morning, I got out of bed and struggled with my balance walking to the bathroom. A wave of sudden dizziness and experience that never happened to me before.
I was 44 years old. And suddenly my body started speaking a language I didn’t fully grasp. No one told me this symptom I was experiencing was hormonal.
When the Symptom Kept Happening
A mix of dizziness and lightheadedness began to disrup my life to the point I could no longer ignore it. I would be seated at my desk working from home and feel a sudden drop of energy followed by extreme lightheadedness. Once it hit, I would lose focus completely and need to lie down.
A few days later, I attended a networking event. While walking toward the venue, I lost my balance on level ground and nearly fell. Luckily no one witnessed this embarrassing moment. I made sure to drink water and eat something, thinking that would help.
Then it happened at a photo shoot at work. While I assisted with light touchups, walking back and forth between the set and our hair and makeup station throughout the day, the lightheadedness, then dizziness hit again. I had to sit down to steady myself. My boss noticed something was off and compassionately expressed concern.
I hated how the symptoms showed up when least expected. It alarmed me because I never knew when it would happen. Honestly, I simply did not feel like myself.
Symptom Received Diagnosis
After experiencing the longest episode yet the following morning, I had enough. Desperate for answers, I ended up at Urgent Care since I couldn’t get in to see my primary doctor.
The doctors ran various tests including a glucose test which came out normal. Then the doctor asked me to follow her finger as she moved it from side to side while keeping my head still. I immediately felt dizzy. She diagnosed me with vertigo and referred me back to my primary doctor. The only person in my family who had ever dealt with vertigo was my grandmother. I was shocked.
After months of follow up appointments with my primary doctor, ENT and neurologist, I received the official diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, also known as BPPV. It is the most common inner ear cause of vertigo and happens with certain head movements, like rolling over in bed. I had episodes between tests and the final diagnosis where I felt dizzy just lying down. Everything tracked.
I had a diagnosis. I, however, did not have the full story. More symptoms followed.
Perimenopause & Vertigo Connection
In the meantime, other things were shifting. I experienced more consistent fatigue. My period started to change. Some months it wouldn’t come at all. When it did, it was very light and short. I also gained ten pounds within nine months without changing anything about my routine. I was still exercising. Still meal prepping. Still doing everything I had always done.
I blamed the weight gain on my vertigo medication. Or maybe it was another complication of PCOS. I felt like a mixed bag of ailments. And they all seemed to happen suddenly.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2024 that my endocrinologist requested bloodwork to check my hormonal levels since I began experiencing night sweats. My results came back with extremely low estrogen. Fortunately, she was certified to treat menopause and perimenopausal patients. She immediately put me on an estrogen patch and told me I was most likely in perimenopause.
Once I accepted this new reality, I went into research mode because I wanted to understand perimenopause better and not embrace it like it’s trend or catch phrase. More and more women and doctors were talking about it on social media. I found information I had never been given by my own healthcare providers.
And then I read The New Menopause by Dr. Mary Claire Haver. What a game changer!
In that book, I found confirmation of something that had confused me for over a year. One of the perimenopause symptoms no one told me about is vertigo, caused by low estrogen. By that point, my vertigo had become very intermittent, happening only once or twice in 2024. But reading that brought me a clarity I cannot describe. The National Library of Medicine provided helpful articles for me to understand this further. I highly recommend reading Balancing the Transition: Unraveling the Link Between Menopause and Vertigo.
Addressing Perimenopause Symptoms
My primary doctor is a wonderful physician. He empathized with me because he had experienced vertigo himself. But he never once brought up my hormones. My OBGYN never raised the possibility of perimenopause. It wasn’t until I found the right specialist that someone finally looked at the full picture.
And that is why I’m sharing this. Maybe you are reading this and something in your body feels off. Perhaps you are experiencing symptoms that are disrupting suddenly your daily life. Most likely you have been dismissed or told it’s just stress, just aging, just something you need to push through. Sis, I want you to hear this clearly:
Advocate for yourself. Educate yourself. Get your hormones checked.
Here is the reality women in mid life must face. Perimenopause symptoms can start as early as your mid to late 30s and into your early to mid 40s. Your body is changing, and it deserves care that listens especially when you are experiencing symptoms you are unfamilar with.
Finding the right doctor changed the course of my health. It can change yours too.
I am so grateful we are living in a time where more information is being shared and more women are speaking up. Clarity and knowledge allow you to extend grace toward yourself. And that grace is something every woman in this season deserves.
Vertigo was just the beginning. The next sign showed up in a way I never expected. You can read about it in Perimenopause Diaries #2: When the Weight Stopped Responding
This is the first entry in my Perimenopause Diaries series, where I share my personal journey through this season of life. I am not a medical professional. Everything I share is based on my own experience and research. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any health related decisions.
If you are in the Central Florida area and looking for a perimenopause/menopause specialist, I highly recommend my endocrinologist, Dr Penelope Pauley and her excellent team at The Endocrine Co.
If this story felt familiar, I would love to hear from you. What was your first “something is different” moment? You can leave a comment below or reach out through my Contact page. You are not alone in this.
