What I've been doing to deal with this...Part 1
I've shared lots of experiences and advice on this website, so I thought that I should chronicle it all in together so that others can view it whenever they want or need to.
Do be advised that these are things I found to help me, and since we're all different, some of these things may not work for you. Please check with your doctor first before adding supplements and before adding or removing foods from your diet.
A little quick history and background: I'm a stay-at-home mom who put aside my career when I married and had a child, who is now 15. I have epilepsy which is only partially controlled, so I don't drive.
At 43, I started noticing my nails were splitting, my periods were becoming irregular, and I had mood swings that were more noticeable and intense than any before. A year later, my husband and I had a little fight -nothing big; just the usual husband-and-wife stuff- but I fell into a she announced that I was in perimenopause. 8 years later, I had my last period, a year after that, I began post-menopause, which I have been in for just over a year. I tried some HRT, which only temporarily eased the symptoms, but they returned with a vengeance when I tried to wean myself off the hormones. I decided not to take them again since I've got cancer on both sides of my family. I also did not want to take anti-depressants, which can increase one's chance of a stroke by 42%.
If you read my past journal entries, you will see what I've experienced during this time of change. I've had 35 of the 37 symptoms; the only two symptoms I did not have are hair loss and weight gain (I didn't gain weight because I had such severe gastro-intestinal distress that I stopped eating, and became underweight).
The two menopause books I started reading, and recommend, are "the Wisdom of Menopause" by Christiane Northrup and "Menopause Without Medicine" by Linda Ojeda. Christiane Northrup's book gave me a lot of information about WHAT was happening to me not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I know that since I was so inundated with intense symptoms of all kinds that every little thing became yet another possibility of something ELSE being wrong- cancer, heart disease, etc.- which increased my already extremely high stress level, which made every day, from the time that I woke to the time that I could (finally) fall asleep, absolutely hellish.
I also got some dietary tips from "Recipes for Change" by Lissa DeAngelis and Molly Siple.
Having few friends who seem to have gone through The Change as badly as I have, I am forever grateful for this website and all the strong women who have shared their experiences with me. I have gotten such strength, hope, kindness, kindredship, and love from the ladies here, and without them, I doubt I would have made it.
DIETARY CHANGES: Decrease caffeine intake to 1-2 six-oz cups a day, tops, also decrease both sucrose and gluten intake. (I can't cut them out completely; the decrease is helpful enough). Severely decrease deep-fried and/or empty-calorie foods, but a small treat like ice cream is ok now and then.
Increase fish, nuts, fruits, veggies, and soy. I drink 1 glass of soy milk in the morning and the evening. Also drink lots of water throughout the day.
SUPPLEMENTS: One day I take: Fish oil 2x1200mg and one multi-vitamin for women 50+, the next day, I take Vit C 1000mg, Vit D 1000 iu, Calcium 1200mg, and SuperB Complex. EVERY DAY I take Magnesium 250mg, and Vit E 1000mg.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES: I've found that this time in my life has made me do many changes in my life; some are major, some are minor, and some are dietary, some are about how I live my life; how I view myself, how I view myself relative to those around me, and how I fit into this world. One of the best pieces of advice I got on this website was to ACCEPT what is happening; to not FIGHT the change going on in me, just like I had to accept that I have epilepsy and can't ever drive again. Sure, it's a pain, but I learned how to sit on the bus stop and not dwell on having to take the bus.
So I've slowly learned how, when I'd wake up and know that the day was going to be Bad, to just say "OK. Let's clear the schedule, warn the family, and I can then spend the day crying, sleeping, screaming, and doing whatever it takes to help me get through the day feeling loved and unstressed". It's not easy, but now that my daughter is a teenager and can make her own meals and can help with the housework, it's been easier. And when I'm feeling better, I will make up for the time I lost with her when she was younger.
I keep reminding myself that I'm not being lazy, that I should not feel guilty..because I'm going through a Difficult time and I need to give myself some slack. If the roles were reversed and it was my husband going through something like this, I would give him all the love and support and whatever else he needed to help him.
I will continue in Part 2.
Hugs, kisses, and don't forget to be NICE TO YOURSELF!
Do be advised that these are things I found to help me, and since we're all different, some of these things may not work for you. Please check with your doctor first before adding supplements and before adding or removing foods from your diet.
A little quick history and background: I'm a stay-at-home mom who put aside my career when I married and had a child, who is now 15. I have epilepsy which is only partially controlled, so I don't drive.
At 43, I started noticing my nails were splitting, my periods were becoming irregular, and I had mood swings that were more noticeable and intense than any before. A year later, my husband and I had a little fight -nothing big; just the usual husband-and-wife stuff- but I fell into a she announced that I was in perimenopause. 8 years later, I had my last period, a year after that, I began post-menopause, which I have been in for just over a year. I tried some HRT, which only temporarily eased the symptoms, but they returned with a vengeance when I tried to wean myself off the hormones. I decided not to take them again since I've got cancer on both sides of my family. I also did not want to take anti-depressants, which can increase one's chance of a stroke by 42%.
If you read my past journal entries, you will see what I've experienced during this time of change. I've had 35 of the 37 symptoms; the only two symptoms I did not have are hair loss and weight gain (I didn't gain weight because I had such severe gastro-intestinal distress that I stopped eating, and became underweight).
The two menopause books I started reading, and recommend, are "the Wisdom of Menopause" by Christiane Northrup and "Menopause Without Medicine" by Linda Ojeda. Christiane Northrup's book gave me a lot of information about WHAT was happening to me not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. I know that since I was so inundated with intense symptoms of all kinds that every little thing became yet another possibility of something ELSE being wrong- cancer, heart disease, etc.- which increased my already extremely high stress level, which made every day, from the time that I woke to the time that I could (finally) fall asleep, absolutely hellish.
I also got some dietary tips from "Recipes for Change" by Lissa DeAngelis and Molly Siple.
Having few friends who seem to have gone through The Change as badly as I have, I am forever grateful for this website and all the strong women who have shared their experiences with me. I have gotten such strength, hope, kindness, kindredship, and love from the ladies here, and without them, I doubt I would have made it.
DIETARY CHANGES: Decrease caffeine intake to 1-2 six-oz cups a day, tops, also decrease both sucrose and gluten intake. (I can't cut them out completely; the decrease is helpful enough). Severely decrease deep-fried and/or empty-calorie foods, but a small treat like ice cream is ok now and then.
Increase fish, nuts, fruits, veggies, and soy. I drink 1 glass of soy milk in the morning and the evening. Also drink lots of water throughout the day.
SUPPLEMENTS: One day I take: Fish oil 2x1200mg and one multi-vitamin for women 50+, the next day, I take Vit C 1000mg, Vit D 1000 iu, Calcium 1200mg, and SuperB Complex. EVERY DAY I take Magnesium 250mg, and Vit E 1000mg.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES: I've found that this time in my life has made me do many changes in my life; some are major, some are minor, and some are dietary, some are about how I live my life; how I view myself, how I view myself relative to those around me, and how I fit into this world. One of the best pieces of advice I got on this website was to ACCEPT what is happening; to not FIGHT the change going on in me, just like I had to accept that I have epilepsy and can't ever drive again. Sure, it's a pain, but I learned how to sit on the bus stop and not dwell on having to take the bus.
So I've slowly learned how, when I'd wake up and know that the day was going to be Bad, to just say "OK. Let's clear the schedule, warn the family, and I can then spend the day crying, sleeping, screaming, and doing whatever it takes to help me get through the day feeling loved and unstressed". It's not easy, but now that my daughter is a teenager and can make her own meals and can help with the housework, it's been easier. And when I'm feeling better, I will make up for the time I lost with her when she was younger.
I keep reminding myself that I'm not being lazy, that I should not feel guilty..because I'm going through a Difficult time and I need to give myself some slack. If the roles were reversed and it was my husband going through something like this, I would give him all the love and support and whatever else he needed to help him.
I will continue in Part 2.
Hugs, kisses, and don't forget to be NICE TO YOURSELF!
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