Ladies, it’s time to get educated about perimenopause. Enough already. You’re not alone.
Perimenopause seems to be synonymous with childbirth.
We have some switch in our brain that says it really didn’t hurt that much, until we go through it again and we’re like – WHAT was I thinking. Perimenopause or rather the age that it dawns seems to be associated with the same switch. I can’t possibly be in perimenopause, can I? Said NUMEROUS 40 something friends to me in that last month.
I’d had two girlfriends this week, one early forties and one late forties tell me about text book symptoms of perimenopause and wonder what it was. I had another super intelligent colleague who had just turned 40 tell me her symptoms couldn’t be perimenopause, could they? I’m too young.
Ladies, it can start from mid-30’s or even earlier. Get the message out there. Stop beating yourselves up and get bloody educated. Then start doing something about your symptoms. Help is out there. We just need to get past ourselves, and we need to talk about it.
If you feel like you have a concrete block on your shoulders, your mood is low, you’re overwhelmed with the business of life, lacking energy and motivation, slowly putting on weight especially around the waistline, emotionally overreacting and perhaps drinking a little more to numb the pain – that sounds like perimenopause to me (and that is certainly consistent with my symptoms at the onset of perimenopause). Of course, I’m not a doctor and it could be other things, but how about you investigate it.
So much can help! Slight changes to your diet, using food as medicine. For example, Brazil nuts lift your mood, I have four each day, broccoli, kale, cabbage are superfoods for perimenopause, they contain indole-3-carbinol which helps metabolise oestrogen in the gut and liver. Cutting down or cutting out alcohol can be a game changer. Getting a sleep routine installed and working is like a magic pill. Improving your diet, drinking less and sleeping means you suddenly have a little more energy for exercise and self-care.
I hear you – I might have the energy but with busy lives I don’t have the time. Sorry, but make the time. Daughter’s netball training? Brisk walk or jog around the courts – take another Mum and chat about perimenopause! Yoga/Pilates – free on-line classes – just google. You can do it and you can find the time and you can find the motivation.
There’s no doubt about it – this transition is often not pleasant (yes that might be the understatement of the century) but it is a rite of passage, and it is part of our journey. We can seek help for the symptoms and one of the best things we can do is talk to each other. The connection with our fellow women is our super power. I know I had an offhand conversation with another netball Mum who told me she hasn’t slept well in years due to perimenopause symptoms and how much she was struggling with her fitness declining. We shared tips and strategies, and I recommended some herbal tablets I’d been using, and she shared some meditation tricks. We can help each other. This does not need to be a solo journey.
One thing I always do is share my HRT journey (so many women are scared of HRT, and I explain my experience) not to recommend it but to show it is an option. I also shared podcasts and books I found helpful, and I always recommend my amazing GP who specialises in perimenopause and is a superstar. A doctor who gets it is gold. No two ways about it. We need to seek out those old school doctors who perpetuate the “just put up with it, it’s natural” crap. The medical profession apparently studies peri and menopause for about 12 hours in their whole general degree. Yet it affects half the population for an average period of five to six years. So many women are trapsing to numerous specialists when the truth lies in their hormonal journey. A good GP is absolutely essential. Even more essential is our connection with our girlfriends and getting educated. One of my favourites is Dr Mary Claire Haver – a Canadian MD who wrote The New Menopause and is very active on social media. She absolutely gets it and is a fountain of knowledge.
Don’t forget also, it’s a moving feast. I got comfortable with my HRT and was going swimmingly (shining – pardon the pun) and then boom – the transition started. I’m in that period where the period has stopped but it isn’t yet twelve months so I’m not in menopause and my God the symptoms have manifested tenfold. I’ve woken up each night this week covered in sweat and freezing at 1/2am only to have to change my pjs and have the same thing happen at 5am. So, I got some more Remifemin (a natural supplement) and took two just before bed last night. Went to bed really early, dark room, bath, read, sleep meditation and herbal sleep tea and tablet. Boom. Seven hours sleep (granted I’m up at 3.45am) but I’m clear headed and ready to greet the day.
My point is – so much can help but we have to acknowledge what’s going on first. Not beat ourselves up and tell ourselves we’re getting lazy, or old, or we don’t have it anymore. This stage IS natural, but we can treat it and make the path easier to follow.
Connect! Talk to your girlfriends and get educated. Then see a good doctor who understands this transition. That is a huge start! You will feel the concrete block slowly lift off your shoulders as you take your power back. Truly!
