When Sarah Fuhrmann got so dizzy she couldn’t stand up, she feared the worst. But, it turns out, it was an unusual menopausal symptom.
Words: Sarah Fuhrmann. Image: Erin Billman of 47 North Photography
The hotel room started spinning the moment I stood up that morning in 2017. Not the gentle wobble you get from getting up too quickly – this was a violent, nauseating whirl that nearly brought me to my knees. As I steadied myself on the mattress, one terrifying thought crashed through my mind: my mother died of a brain tumor; was this how it started for her?
I had traveled to Minnesota with friends for a charity walk. Instead of getting excited about that event, I found myself facing one of the lesser-known, and more frightening, symptoms of menopause: vertigo.
Of course, I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time. Neither did my doctor. When I saw my physician after returning home, her first instinct mirrored my fears of something life-threatening. It was comforting to have her rule out anything that grave, but she wasn’t able to offer much of an explanation, and even fewer solutions.
What I didn’t know then, but later research has revealed, is that 20-30 per cent of menopausal women experience some form of vertigo. I wish I’d known that sooner, as it would have saved me months of worry.
Vertigo was just one stop on my menopausal journey. While most people know about hot flushes, brain fog, and weight gain, nobody prepared me for the fun house of odd menopausal symptoms: itchy ears, tinnitus, anxiety attacks and joint pain, to name a few.
Menopause, as I’ve learned, is the gift that keeps on giving! Just ask me about the times I’ve had to hang my head out the kitchen door in the dead of winter after eating too many Christmas cookies – apparently, sugar-induced hot flushes are a thing!
When the vertigo kept returning, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. I dove into research, discovering there are more than 40 possible menopause symptoms – far more than the handful with which I was familiar.
Through countless hours of reading and some determined trial and error, I finally found a specific vertigo manoeuvre that worked for me. Like so much else on my menopause journey, I had to figure out the solution to my vertigo on my own.
My doctor mentioned one possible solution, the Foster manoeuvre, sort of like a half somersault. But it didn’t help at all and even made me feel dizzier and more helpless. After that, she was out of ideas. I kept thinking it was yet another menopausal symptom I was just going to have to put up with.
One day, I was so miserable – and sick of not having good solutions – that I dove into the internet and happened on the Epley manoeuvre. I tried it out of desperation.
That day my vertigo was so bad I couldn’t even lie down on the ground to do stretches or look up at the ceiling without setting the room spinning. The Epley manoeuvre (you can find videos of it on YouTube) didn’t work completely the first time I tried it, but it helped enough that I tried it again. This time it was like a miracle cure.
The relief when it finally clicked was overwhelming – like finding the key to a door you’d been pushing against for months. I finally felt normal for the first time in weeks. What a difference! If only I had known about it sooner. And no crazy somersaults required!
A menopause mystery
What I’ve learned over these past 10 years is that managing menopause is less like following a recipe and more like solving a mystery where the clues keep changing and the mystery is unique to you. But here’s the good news: while the symptoms might not disappear entirely, they do get better with time. More importantly, you get better at handling them.
While I finally solved my vertigo by doing my own research, it would have been a whole lot easier and faster if someone had been able to point me in the right direction from the get-go. That’s simply not always possible with menopause. Each woman is just that unique, and the research is only now starting to catch up with the need.
Your unique journey
I wish someone had told me, back in 2017 in that spinning hotel room, that menopause isn’t just about hot flushes and mood swings: it’s a full-body experience that can show up in surprisingly creative ways. But you’re not going crazy, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to simply accept whatever’s happening to you.
Sometimes the answer isn’t in your doctor’s office: it’s in your own research, in conversations with other women, or in that solution you discover after trying 10 other things that didn’t work. The medical world is slowly catching up with what women have known for years: that menopause is complex, personal, and deserves more attention than a checklist of common symptoms.
Until then, we need to be our own advocates. Keep asking questions. Keep searching for answers. Keep sharing your experiences with others. And while it might feel all-consuming at first, you will find your way through. That spinning hotel room moment is now just another story in my menopause journey that I share to help other women recognise their own experiences and feel less alone.
Because sometimes, what feels like your worst fear might just be another visit to the menopause Fun House. Unsettling sometimes? Yes. But manageable? Absolutely.
Sarah Fuhrmann is a certified menopause coach, supporting women through their menopause experiences. Connect with her at instagram.com/sfuhrmann906 or visit sgfcoaching.com.
