All the Joys of Perimenopause

*Many of you may think this post is only for women, but think again... if you are a man, you are about to be armed with some serious knowledge, so pay attention!

I have been waiting and waiting for menopause to hit for like 18 years. As soon as I knew I was done having children, I was like... Bring It ON! I want these monthly periods over with. I think periods for every women who has them are a huge pain in the... vagina, the back, the lower stomach and on and on. Granted there are some woman, the lucky ones, who have fairly light menstrual cramps or flow. This woman would not be me, but I am friggin' happy for all those of you who do not have to suffer the gong show of intense symptoms every month. For those women who have endometriosis, I am SO sorry! I can't imagine having to survive through worse than what I have and you are champs for existing!

I found this list from Mount Sinai Hospital:

Stages of Peri-menopause

• Fatigue.

• Weight gain.

• Brain fog.

• Aches & Pains.

• Hot flushes/night sweats.

• Anxiety/insomnia.

• Vaginal dryness.

I said JOY, right? What a list! Men, you want to know why we are tired, clueless, spaced out, over-thinking, not wanting to have sex, did I say tired... well maybe start here. Is your partner between the ages of 40-60 - yeah, pretty broad age range, huh!? Like how is someone supposed to know if they are in perimenopause or not.

Which one of us is in perimenopause? Probably all 3 of us and we likely will be for 10 or more years!

Some people are embarrassed to talk about these topics, but ladies, I encourage you to talk about it. The more I talk about it the more I realize, I am not alone and for some reason that is a relief. I feel normal, even though my body doesn't.

For me I am having minor hot flashes, I am hot, cold, hot, cold, but I am not sweating through my bedsheets like some ladies I know. I do however breakout in sweat every time I do a puzzle of all things? I do have mild mood swings, but I am on anti-depressants for anxiety and that really helps level my mood, so I do not dip near as bad as I used to. My periods have become much heavier in the last couple of years, to the point I had to look into having an IUD to help control them. This ended up not being a great option for me, as I have a heart shaped uterus, so I ended up back on birth control at 45 years old. Every year I go off the pill again to see if I have entered menopause yet.

This last time I was really holding out hope, I hadn't had a period in almost 3 months, but I think it all just stored up for a crazy-ass one this month - wow! I should have bought stock in Advil and Tampax. I will stay off the pill for a few more months to see what happens and then decide if I can manage the heavy periods and wait it out or go back on the pill - sigh!

In the meantime, my biggest issue is my joints. I know my knees and ankles hurt from carrying extra weight, but all of a sudden I have golf elbow simply from lifting weights for 2-4 minutes a day for 3 months. Then I developed, in my other elbow, tennis elbow from building IKEA furniture - seriously? Then I pulled a muscle... washing my hair! I did my physio too hard and then hurt my psoas muscle... This week it was my shoulder! Will it never end? I can honestly say I never knew all this joint pain was a symptom of perimenopause.

Did you know that when your estrogen levels lower that is when you start to lose muscle mass? Did you know loss of muscles impacts joint stability? Did you know lower estrogen levels increase your risk of osteoporosis? And that brittle and weak bones also negatively impact joint pain. So, what can we do about all of this? For me, I am trying to eat healthier, including MORE PROTEIN. Protein is a building block of your muscles and it helps repair cells and recover from injury. Protein helps build muscles, and muscles help burn more calories, which will help you lose weight faster or maintain your weight easier.

I have recipes for protein waffles, pancakes and pudding under the recipe section. As well I have been using Premier Protein for my coffee creamer and taking Collagen for added protein. I would love to say I have been exercising more, but that would just be a lie. I curl once a week. I meet my mom and sister, Leslie, online a couple times a week to "dance it out" for 3 songs and get a cardio burst. I really do need to walk more. I stopped a few years ago when I had really bad plantar fasciitis, and have not got back into the routine. I had also been doing yoga and physio a few times a week, but seem to have fallen out of that routine since Christmas time. I keep setting goals, but have not been successful at meeting them, yet! I am hoping to start going to the gym once a week and meeting a friend there to hold me accountable. Building and maintaining muscle is key at this age, so weight lifting is highly recommended for those of us in this stage. (for 2024, my goal had been to lift weights for 2-4 minutes a day and that is how I ended up with golf elbow, so be careful - go slow or seek out a professional)

I will take time to acknowledge here... to help give myself the benefit of the doubt... I realize that weight gain is one of the symptoms of perimenopause. I also know that taking birth control pills can cause water retention. As a woman who also suffers from PMS, my food cravings can be out of control and my willpower at an all time low for about 3 days every month. Following that for 5 days, I have intense cramps and low energy. Attempting to lose 100 pounds at this point in my life is going to be very challenging and I know it is important to let that soak in. It is hard to not feel like a failure when it doesn't happen, but many factors are at play and I will need to work hard and consistently to see a change.

Readers, you don't have to put your name when you comment on the blog. Just use the star rating, and it will prompt you to leave a comment. Share what you are going through and ask questions, let's see if we can help each other through this very L-O-N-G stage of transition. I will be so happy when it is done... please, tell me it ends!