Menopause is the end of a woman’s fertile childbearing years.  Dr. Christian Northrup believes a woman is entering her age of wisdom.  Many believe with this comes freedom from periods, worrying about getting pregnant etc…   I believe there would be more feelings of freedom if the symptoms of menopause  weren’t so awful sometimes.  Menopause doesn’t just happen one day.  There is about a 10 year transition period from normal menstrual periods to no periods at all for one year.  This is when many women complain of menopausal symptoms.    During this period called perimenopause some women have pre  menopause symptoms and some don’t.  The latter ones are the lucky ones.  Every woman is different.

Often, how well a woman took care of her body and emotions during her life determines how smoothly she will sail through menopause. Many times nutrient deficiencies and stress are to blame.  Women who had PMS will typically have a worse go of it.  The physical and emotional perimenopause symptoms may leave you irritable, sleepless, moody, over weight with hot flashes and memory loss!  The average age a woman enters menopause is 51, but she can start much sooner that that.  Many women will enter perimenopause in their late 30’s to early 40’s.  I did.  Smokers may enter it 1-2 years earlier than they would have if they didn’t smoke.  Another good reason to quit.

Perimenopause is difficult because the symptoms can mimic other diseases.  Issues with the thyroid are very common in perimenopause,and if you are gaining weight, depressed and irritable, you should have your thyroid and thyroid antibodies checked.

Following the birth of my son at 40, I started getting very irritable, gained 15 pounds, and was very depressed.  I went misdiagnosed for 4 years until a compounding pharmacist, of all people, read my blood test and told me it looked like I had a thyroid problem.  I had been to 3 doctors and not one of them was able to help me.  It turned out the pharmacist was right.   I had Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease where your body thinks your thyroid is a foreign invader and starts attacking it.  My doctors dismissed me and my symptoms as perimenopause, offered  me an antidepressant and told me to go home. Well, by the time I finally got my thyroid correctly diagnosed, I was entering into perimenopause as well.  I got a double whammy! This has started me on a journey of discovery.  A path that has opened my eyes to the world of alternative medicine and the importance of vitamins and minerals.    I believe doctors have their place, but I sure wish they had the desire to dig deeper and discover why something is happening and actually fix it.  Many symptoms of PMS and fibroids can be helped by simple nutrition.  I think it’s important women talk about menopause and help each other.  We can learn from each other’s experiences and not waste valuable time.  Many of us need to take our health care into our our own hands.  I spent so much time and money getting nowhere with  the medical community.   Time in my life I felt miserable that I can’t get back.  This blog is written to share what worked  for me.  It way not help anyone else, but then again, maybe it will.  I hope so.