As with the majority of women now, I thought I was well prepared for menopause having heard about its horrors for ages. Since I was able to live through teenage angst into the power of 10, I believed it was a very good sign of what I was going to tackle with”the shift” when it was able to rear its ugly head.
Let’s see…
Many women who have experienced hormonal problems throughout their lives may be assured that their menopause will impact them in due time. However by arming ourselves with advice and great medical care, we could cope with it more efficiently and hopefully without too much change in our life. We’re aware of many common symptoms of menopause including moodiness, lethargy, loss of hair and of course that the crashing loss of sleep, but I was amazed at the symptoms I knew nothing about.
Anxiety
I had no idea that stress played a part in menopause. The nervous energy, the restlessness compounded by the rising dark moods weighted heavily on me. It felt like the sky was going to collapse and I felt unable to concentrate on the positives of life.
Itchy Skin
I thought perhaps I had a rash or developed an allergy. My entire body appeared to be intensely itchy particularly at night. I was convinced I had contracted some type of insect crawling under my skin. My hair itched. The Forgetfulness is well understood when it comes to menopause but I didn’t have any idea in the way that it would apply itself in my own situation.
Memory factor
I wasn’t overly concerned since I forgot matters regularly. But for me, it was a word recovery nightmare. I couldn’t complete a sentence to save my life. I struggled to recall if I had to work that day and couldn’t even remember my own phone number.
Sense of Smell
It had been amplified to such a level I was forever cleaning. I really like bacon but could no long handle it is residual smell. It seemed to last for days no matter how much I cleaned.
Final note
Though there are lots of symptoms which are well understood, it was the unidentified ones that I found frightening. The truth is it was my doctor who diagnosed me menopausal after I had gone to see her thinking I had been gravely ill. I was stunned when she said I was now smack dab to the change, which would be my new normal.
She thought it was funny because we’re both the exact same age and are both suffering each in our own ways. Armed with new information and various choices to make, I scoured the internet and came across some really great websites. Having proper care is paramount in regards to the changes we face in our own lives. With the information available today we can choose how to confront the challenging symptoms of menopause either medically or obviously. We no longer need to suffer in moody silence as we careen down the mountain of hormones.