Skip to main content

Starting Over

 Ok, starting over might be a little dramatic. I’m not starting over in the sense “something went wrong and I need a fresh start”. There hasn’t been a major life event warranting a fresh start (still happily married). But, starting over feels appropriate at the moment. For several reasons.

First, I’m in a ridiculous place in my life, menopause! I say ridiculous because it IS ridiculous. Not one aspect of this feels normal, or balanced, or remotely appealing. The emotions alone are so absurd that my “joke” is I cry over lettuce (sad but it happened. Will get to that later.).

Second, yet again I find myself starting over with trying to live a healthy lifestyle. This is a true lifelong yo yo for me. It’s tiring! And maddening! I was at my goal weight last year. I was doing great! Then, some holidays, a couple of vacations, and lots of unhealthy habits landed me a 30 pound weight gain. THEN, the icing on the cake (probably literally because I ate it) is menopause making it even harder to maintain (worse lose) weight.

And third, I’m trying to find balance with work, family, exercise and ME TIME. If I don’t get adequate me time I’m not a good person to be around. Especially during menopause! You’d think at 53 I’d have this balance figured out. Nope. Still learning.

So, I feel like I’m learning a new me, a new way of life. I think, how do I help myself through this? How do I navigate menopause and all the “things” that come with it? I’ll write another post on what led me to start a blog. For now I’ll say “I’m here to blog my menopause marathon for my own benefit, and hopefully to help my menopausal sisters along the way”.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Part three. I saw my doctor a few weeks ago. Like usual, I cried through most of the appointment. She could clearly see the emotional state I’ve been in, and suggested I try low dose hormone replacement therapy. I had heard from a few friends it really helped them. And though I read some downfalls to HRT, there are also some compelling and appealing positives that are greater than the negatives. So I decided to try HRT. Fast forward to today… I’ve been taking low dose Estradiol and Progesterone for a few weeks. I’m noticing some improvement with hot flashes and night sweats. I’m feeling a tiny bit more energy some days. My mood swings are a little less frequent. And I’m crying a lot less (yay)! So I’m thinking the HRT is working. The downside to this is I’ve started bleeding, like a period. Really wasn’t expecting to buy ANYMORE tampons in my life! But there I was, in the store feminine hygiene aisle, scooping up a box of tampons for myself thinking “Oy vey”. But, I’m sticking with it ...

Hormonal Hell (Part Two)

While I happily haven’t had a period in almost eight months, I’m questioning my younger self for wanting to trade periods in for menopause. I honestly don’t know that the alternative to periods is any better! The past two months my menopause symptoms have become much worse. Some days I liken menopause to climbing Mount Everest. Like I’m fighting to reach the peak with legs that feel weighted down. Quite literally steps are like trudging through knee high mud. I’m so tired. As a result my energy is low. It takes all I have (and some that I don’t) to be remotely active after work. Going for an easy walk is a big feat. It saddens me greatly to see how much I’ve changed this year. Mentally and physically. I’ve gained a whopping 30 pounds from this day last year. That’s friggin’ unacceptable! I’m gobsmacked I allowed this to happen. To say this plays a role in my mental state of despair and sadness is an understatement. This is a viscous cycle. My body hurts and I’m exhausted, so I don’t ex...