The M Word We Dont Talk About!

Okay, all my Male readers, I love that you read my blogs, but this is one you may want to skip!
Unless of course, you’re feeling brave, then feel free to keep reading…..

Ladies, let’s get real and raw here for a minute. I want to talk about that dreaded word that isn’t talked about very often. The thing we think if we ignore it, it won’t happen to us. The thing we actually don’t know much about till it hits us smack in the face, and we have no choice but to face it head-on…..

Menopause

Now, I know some of you may have stopped reading when that word hit your eyeballs, but for those brave enough to face it, let’s chat!

Why do we not talk about it?
It is looked on with dread so it just doesn’t get mentioned, and when it does, it’s with embarrassment and shame.
It’s a natural part of life, right? So shouldn’t we be normalizing it?

To tell you the truth, I knew nothing about it until a couple of years ago when I started getting symptoms.
I thought your period stopped and you got a couple of hot flushes, isn’t that the extent of it? And wouldn’t no more periods be a good thing? Ahh, the freedom that would come with that!
And what’s the fuss about a hot flush in the middle of winter, surely that would just keep you warm right? Apparently not!

Now for a full disclaimer, I have not hit menopause yet! I am in the pre-phase called perimenopause, and that in itself is all kinds of fun and games!
I went for a check-up, got blood tests done, and was told it was imminent…..yay, I thought to myself! Soon I’ll have no more periods. It’s not that bad but I was totally unprepared for the side effects that have started already.

I won’t go into great detail here, some things are just a little too raw to share on the world wide web, but I’ll be as open and honest as I can! I’m sharing in the hope that we can be more open about these things, and so we can normalize talking about things like this. We are not in this alone, so why should we act like we are?
I know quite a few of my readers are not at that stage of life yet, and some have even passed it, but I hope all of us can talk freely and realize that it’s all “normal”.

Here are some of the side effects I have experienced so far:

Irregular periods.
I went for 4 months without getting one, and then BAM!! One every two weeks for the next couple of months. Then nothing. Then fortnightly, then nothing! I’ve always been regular my whole life so this has really messed with me, thinking I was done, and then heavier than a heavy thing. The most gutting thing is, every time I get one, I am back to square one with my countdown to menopause! (Menopause officially starts when you haven’t had a period for a year)

Loss of Taste.
This one has been horrible! Things that normally bring me so much comfort, just taste weird! Bread, cheese, tea,  HAMBURGERS! All taste different than they use to. Now, scientifically, it all makes sense when it’s explained, but I can tell you it sucks, and I had no clue this could be one of the side effects!

Depression.
Thankfully for me, this one is not too serious, but some days I feel so flat. Like not just flat, but depressed flat. There is no rhyme or reason but it can knock me for a six, and I have to remind myself it won’t last forever!

Weight Gain.
This one isn’t fun! I have always tried to keep my weight at a steady number. Every now and then I would overindulge, but I could skip a meal and get myself back on track……not these days!
The numbers on the scale continue to slowly but steadily climb, and this def doesn’t help with the depression. The worst thing is, I’m not even indulging, I could blame myself if I was, but I haven’t changed a thing, and yet it climbs! And trying to get it off, well that’s a whole other blog in itself, needless to say, it is currently not coming off!

Bloating.
I guess this goes hand in hand with the weight gain, but again it’s not fun! I feel like I’m 4 months pregnant and my stomach is so puffy and flabby! I currently can’t fit my favorite jeans, so all of that adds to the fun of it!

Brain Fog/Fatigue
This one is hard to pinpoint as I had incredibly bad brain fog and fatigue with my burnout, but this is to a whole other level with no reason as to why. Some days I have it, and some days I don’t. The inconsistency also doesn’t help!

Insomnia.
This was becoming quite a problem and so I went to the Dr and got some help with that. Yay!

To be honest, I could keep going, but this is not meant to be a depressing post! I am hoping that by sharing my story (so far) we can make talking about it normal. But I can also tell you, it’s not a walk in the park either!

Girlfriends, we need each other as we navigate this new path. There are plenty of symptoms I don’t have (yet!) like hot flushes and night sweats. Maybe they will come, maybe they won’t. Either way, I think I have enough to deal with at the moment! 

So let’s encourage each other, let’s sympathize when it’s needed, and let’s champion each other along!