As we grow old, the beauty steals inward.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I did mention that I was forty something, right?
I was one of the 'fortunate' women that experienced menopause at forty. I didn't have surgery. Just as was the case with my mother and sister, my body simply stopped producing the fountain of youth known as reproductive hormones. I found myself in uncharted waters, hoping that I didn't drown in this terrifying abyss. I am now 47 (okay, just turned 48), and am learning and experiencing so many wonderful things about this time in my life that I thought I should share the wealth and the health that I am finding on this quest.
First a little background:
When I went to my OB/Gyn at forty and shared my fear that I might be in the beginning stages of menopause, she didn't believe me. It took three visits and a lot of begging before she would order the blood test that would prove that I wasn't losing my mind completely. The phone call was quite dramatic, she said, "well Julie, I am baffled, but you aren't peri-menopausal, you are actually post-menopausal and your hormone levels are basically non-existent." I know it may sound strange, but instead of being shocked and dismayed, I actually thought "what a relief, I'm not going crazy!"
The chain of events that this set in motion is the impetus for this blog. The goal of my sharing my story is to help other women as they navigate through these murky waters because in my experience, the traditional medical community doesn't get it - and it is up to the individual to educate youself and listen to you intuition. Especially when attempting to engage the medical community in your quest for your own personal formula for success and health.
The first embarkation along my journey was for the Dr. to prescribe birth control pills to help me with the symptoms I was experiencing. Through this experience I kept thinking, "really, so I am post-menopausal and thus, unable to have more children, and don't even have a period anymore, and the solution is to take birth control pills! This has to be the brilliant brainchild of a man, and one with a sick sense of humour at that!"
Again, when I mentioned on a follow up visit that 21 days of the month I did find some relief, but the other 7 were brutal, it was met with caution and resistance. It took numerous office visits and sheer determination on my part to finally convince my Dr. that I needed real hormone replacement every day, of every month. What followed was several years of tweaking the delicate balance between synthetic estrogen and progesterone to find a combination that would work for me.
Now, at this point I will say that the synthetic version did help me a great deal. Before HRT (hormone replacement therapy) I had a laundry list of unpleasant symptoms:
The first sign was that I had raging hot flashes that would occur at the most inopportune times; like at a sporting event of one of my children, - oh and did I mention that I was the coach? This episode went something like, "great girls put on the music for the half-time cheer/dance, Ms. Julie will be in the restroom taking a cold shower in the sink!"
Then the second phase of 'Menopause Wonderland'. I would either be unable to sleep because of a racing mind that I could not shutdown, or suddenly awaken in the night to drenched sheets and bed clothes due to night sweats. "Yeah honey, I'm fine. I'll just be in the shower for a few minutes" - at three in the morning.
It is probably hard to believe this one, but I was actually very difficult to live with during this time. I could go from sailing along on calm serene seas to fighting a raging gale before you could say 'mentally unstable'. I also had this sinking feeling all the time that I can only describe as constantly being on edge. I also had a very hard time concentrating and remembering things. I think though, of all my ailments, the worst were the debilitating headaches that I was plagued with. The headaches would come on with no warning and no medication, or cocktail of medications would make them go away. They tried to diagnose me at one point with migraines and put me on some sort of heavy narcotic, now that just seemed nuts to me - I started to see how women ended up addicted to pain killers and numerous prescription drugs. Every bend in the journey was met with some sort of prescription for a drug. Never once did someone within the traditional medical community offer a book to read or a health regiment to consider. I had to seek natural alternatives on my own.
My life after HRT did get better, but the operative word is better. Not great, not "wow, I feel like myself again" just better. I think we all tend to think that as we age, we have to accept that our quality of life will continue to decline. That the 'new normal' is not so great, but inevitable. Well, I say why should we have to accept that? Now, I'm not saying that we should look like we're 25 for the rest of our lives, but why shouldn't we expect to feel great and look healthy and fit at any age?
So this is the stop along the journey that I now find myself reaching. This is the time to surround myself with the knowledge and professional engagement to help me live the best life possible. I have chosen to arm myself with an arsenal of health and fitness tools that will make me feel and look my best.
So at the end of December, I sat down with with a health practitioner that listened to me. She actually listened and didn't correct me when I told her that I felt that traditional medicine seems to be heavily influenced by pharmaceutical representation. She really heard me say that I wanted to find more natural solutions as I age. I had lab work done and put together a plan of action. The first order of business was to start taking Nutra Metrix isotonic capable vitamins (in powder form that you mix with a few ounces of water). I have always struggled with taking vitamins because of their size. These are in powder form and taste fine. It is also a great way to get B-complex because the stomach does not have to digest it, this allows it to pass directly into the small intestine and be rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. The second change was two nights ago, I started to transition from orally ingested, synthetic HRT to bio identical hormone therapy. The first step is to wear a patch for three weeks, then start using a bio identical cream consisting of estrogen, testosterone and progesterone, as well as armour thyroid (also a natural therapy). So far I have slept incredibly well for two nights, have meditated each morning, and am getting ready for the second 7 mile power walk in as many days. So far so good! I'll keep you posted as I experience these changes one moment at a time:)
Often our joy is the source of a smile, but often we also need to have a smile be the source of our joy,
Julie
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