January 22, 2024 • 34 mins
Talking all about perimenopause today. This has been a huge topic of conversation in my home and with friends as I am fully into my own menopause journey.
I share with you what my experience has been so far as well as sharing symptoms, how it's been for my husband, to what it's been like dealing with doctors trying to find relief. I share my frustrations and more.
It's my hope that this episode helps more women realize they aren't going crazy or dying of some weird disease... that it's most likely PERIMENOPAUSE.
Disclaimer: Just a quick heads up! I'm not a medical doctor, and the stories and information I share in this podcast are for entertainment and informational purposes only. It's crucial to remember that what works for one person might not work for another. So, if you're dealing with health issues or need medical advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional. Your well-being is important, and they're the experts who can provide the right guidance.
Thank you all so much for listening!
It makes me happy to know that my journey and what I'm learning helps you!
Please reach out and share anytime on Insta: @shana.recker
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shana (00:00):
Hey, everyone.
Welcome back to how it's reallygoing machine of record today.
I want to chat about.
Perimenopause menopause.
And this has been a podcast thatI've been wanting to record for
a while.
I have have been talking alittle bit about my own journey
with perimenopause in myInstagram.
And I have been sharing funnymemes about menopause and stuff,
(00:24):
because I am in a space where Iam absolutely going through it.
And I am relating to a lot ofthe menopause content and I have
been following a lot of themenopause content on social
media.
Every single time I sharesomething in my stories about
menopause or perimenopause.
I get.
More reactions and more messagesfrom people than anything else
(00:47):
that I post.
There's a huge portion of thepopulation going through this
right now.
And it's becoming a very.
I would say it's becoming a veryimportant, but also a much
bigger conversation right now,because I think in years past it
hasn't been a conversation atall.
Like I'm talking my mom'sgeneration and generations
(01:09):
previous to that.
I feel like so sad for thosegenerations that didn't have the
same kind of information that wehave today.
To help them deal with what was,what they were going through in
these times.
And so that's why I want to havethis conversation today because
I do feel like we need to behaving more of these
(01:29):
conversations because it issomething that needs to be
discussed because there's not alot of research and development
in the medical field on what ishappening to a woman's body when
they're going through menopause.
I, in my opinion, and I willjust start this whole podcast by
saying I'm not a doctor.
(01:50):
This is not medical advice.
This is my own story about goingthrough this.
Definitely talk to your doctorif you resonate with things that
I'm saying in this podcast.
And if you feel like you mightbe going through this and you're
looking for help and support,absolutely go to your doctor or
find a specialist, if you canand get the support you need.
(02:10):
This is more just to createawareness.
If you are struggling andfeeling certain ways.
Then maybe it's this, and thismight be a starting point for
you.
We need to be having thisconversation.
We need to be talking about thisbecause people are in the dark
women are in the dark andactually, you know what, I am
going to include men alsobecause.
(02:30):
This is also a conversation tobe had with your spouse.
If you're a partner.
He is a man.
And you feel like things justdon't feel right in the
relationship even, and you don'tfeel right.
This is just as much ofsomething that your male partner
will go through as much as you.
(02:51):
And I'm very fortunate that Ihave a spouse who has taken the
time to do his own research andto understand.
And he is very understanding,even though some days he has no
idea what the hell is going onwith me.
But he has taken the time andinvested into this whole process
(03:11):
as well as me.
So this isn't something that isjust for women.
I do believe that this isinformation that men also need
to have access to you.
So absolutely they can listen tothis podcast as well, if they
want to gain some understandingof what it's like to go through
this.
And some of the things that wesuffer with during this time.
So that's why I wanted to recordthis is to create an awareness
(03:34):
and start more conversations.
But again, it's not medicaladvice.
I am not a doctor.
Don't come after me for anythingthat I might say that might not
be right or wrong.
This is just my own thoughts andopinions and the research that
I've done personally that I'mgoing to be sharing in this
podcast.
It means I might not be ahundred percent correct, but I'm
just going to tell you what Iknow.
(03:55):
Okay.
So let's just start with talkingabout what is perimenopause
menopause.
And this is my understanding.
So perimenopause is the stage.
That women go through before,just before their periods are
about to end.
So how I understand it is thatwomen are born with all of the
eggs that they are ever going tohave from the minute that they
(04:16):
are created.
And we don't get more eggs.
We only have what we've beengiven.
And when we get to the end ofour supply of eggs is kind of is
when we will start intoperimenopause somewhere around
that time when things.
The stockpile is depleting.
And our body's about to gothrough some changes.
(04:36):
For me that started around, I'mgoing to say, I think I was
probably around 43, 44.
So once your body is out ofeggs, you stop having cycles.
And menopause is actually justfrom how I understand it.
One day, it's the day.
Where you have missed 12 periodsin a row.
(04:58):
So if you've missed 12 cycles ina row, that one day where you're
like doing the math and you'relike, okay, I've missed 12
periods.
That day is menopause.
And then you becomepost-menopausal.
So that's where your time after,like you're not getting cycles
anymore.
You're now post-menopausal.
So Perry is leading up to it.
(05:19):
And Perry, I think can lastanywhere from I can last for a
couple of years up to 15 years.
So it can happen fairly early inyour life.
And but it also can go veryquickly for some people.
So there's no one size fits allfor this, which is why I believe
it makes it so difficult forhealth professionals to support
women in this because It's notthe same for everybody.
(05:41):
It's the symptoms and everythingcan be different for everyone.
So I do see how it is a movingtarget, and that can be very
difficult for people.
And, and that's why we have tohave more of these conversations
because it isn't just a one sizefits all things.
So what you might be goingthrough, you might feel alone in
that and feel like nobody elseis going through it, but there
is somebody who's probably gotsimilar symptoms as you, right?
(06:04):
Like we're not all the same, butthere is somebody who's dealing
with similar things.
And.
It just helps to, for you toknow that you're not alone.
That's kind of what it is.
If you go online and Google,what is perimenopause?
What is menopause?
What is post-menopause you willget the detailed information
about that, but in general,that's how I understand it.
Now.
(06:25):
How it started for me.
And this is where I'm going toshare a little bit of my story
and some of the symptoms that Ihave experienced.
And if you can find yourself inmy story, then, this is the
starting point probably for youto say, Hey, maybe this is
perimenopause.
And for me, it's funny because Iactually didn't know this was
the start of perimenopause whenI was dealing with this.
First symptom, but looking backnow, I realize it was a symptom.
(06:48):
I just didn't know it at thetime.
Cause my, my youngest child wasprobably about four or five.,
and so I was still am I.
Early forties feeling likethere's no way I'm in menopause.
And was, it didn't even cross mymind, but the first symptom that
I ever had was Thai Anitas.
Which is, it's like a ringing orlike a, it's like a sound in
your ears that you get.
(07:09):
I struggled with that for whatfelt like about a year where I
would., anytime, like when I getinto bed or at night, it would
actually wake me up at nightsometimes also.
Where.
I would have this, like thiswave sound in my ear, this like
rushing sound in my ear and, Icouldn't get rid of it.
I went to the doctor for it.
I was like, I keep getting thisringing in my ear.
(07:30):
I'm like, do I have earinfection?
Do I have brain cancer?
Like what is happening?
And there was nothing.
He was just was like, oh, youknow, it could be tineatis yet,
but I, I'm not sure.
I don't see anything., justkinda monitor it,.
And knowing now the symptoms ofmenopause or perimenopause
tinnitus is absolutely one ofthem.
I realized now looking back.
(07:51):
That's the starting point forme, that was like one of my very
first symptoms.
And so I struggled with that forabout a year, but it was kind of
on and off.
It wasn't like every singlenight, it was just sort of
something that was theresometimes.
And I actually don't have thatat all anymore.
So it did go away for me, whichwas great.
But the next sort of thing thatstarted happening in this would
have been a few years later.
(08:11):
So this would have been probablyaround 46, 47.
I started noticing a drastic.
In increase in anxiety andirritability, like to the point
where everything that was goingon in my house was annoying me.
My husband.
(08:32):
Was the most annoying person outof everyone in my household.
And I feel bad for saying that.
He understands.
If he's listening to this, hegets it.
And I think it's because we'rethere, the people who are
closest to us, someone said thatto me once before, I'm like, why
is it him?
And they're like, well, youspend so much time with them.
They're the person that'sclosest to you.
Of course, they're going to bethe most annoying.
(08:53):
And it's true.
Like Jason, I spent a lot oftime together.
We both work from home.
We do ever art studio, whichsometimes he goes to, which is,,
we have a little bit ofseparation time there, but.
We are together a lot.
So it makes sense that he wasthe most annoying person to me
as I'm going through this.
But it was like, I rememberbeing at the hair salon, getting
my hair done by my friend.
(09:14):
Lisa.
And I remember complaining aboutlike, I'm like, I don't know
why, but the way he sips hiscoffee in the morning, It makes
me so angry.
I'm like just every littlething.
Was just so annoying and it,that was new.
Like it was new and I didn'tunderstand why I felt that way.
(09:35):
I thought are we at that pointin our relationship now where
it's like, we become the oldbickering couple, what is it?
And so I struggled with that fora little while, until it got to
the point where I was feelinglike I was actually full on
depressed.
Like something was really wrongwith me.
I was waking up feeling.
Sad.
I was waking up feeling.
(09:56):
So annoyed in an anxious andangry.
And sad is really how I todescribe it.
And I would come into my officecause I work from home and I
have my home office here.
And I just wanted to close thedoor and if anybody ever came
into my office, It, I almostcould burst into tears because
it was so irritating to me thatI, I didn't want to talk to
(10:17):
anybody, especially Jason.
And it was so irritating to me.
Like he even said, he goes, Icould feel.
The tension and the irritation,like in the energy of the room,
it's so bad.
And I was like, something is notright.
This isn't normal for me to feelthis way as much as I was.
And that's when I made the firstappointment to go see my doctor
(10:41):
about that.
And I will say at the same time,and this is a sidebar.
I was also figuring out that Ihad ADHD.
So the ADHD thing was happeningaround the same time where I
was, you know, my husband wasthe one who was actually
noticing my tendencies andsuggested that potentially I
might have ADHD and to go talkto the doctor about it.
(11:03):
And I, figured.
Yeah.
Maybe I have ADHD.
Like it makes sense.
I've always been somebody who'sa little bit all over the place.
And I am like, when you look atthe symptoms of ADHD, there's a
lot of them that fit the billfor me.
And so I was being diagnosed forADHD.
I did get the diagnosis.
I was testing out medicationsand things at this time.
(11:25):
And here's the thing with ADHDand menopause or perimenopause.
And again, this is my point ofview of what I've learned about
this.
So I'm, there may be someincorrect facts here, but this
is how I understood it is whenyou're going through
perimenopause, your estrogenlevels are dropping.
Like your hormone levels aregoing actually all over the
place.
They're there.
It's not consistent.
(11:45):
Like that's why some days youfeel great.
Some days you don't like you'reall over the place because your
hormone levels are all over theplace.
And what happens with women isthat their estrogen levels.
Are dropping.
And estrogen plays a huge rolein your cognitive function and
the way your brain actuallyfunctions.
And so ADHD is very muchheightened during perimenopause
(12:09):
because astrogen plays a role.
In your executive function.
And so when your estrogen levelsdrop your ADHD symptoms, get
super heightened.
And so I had been masking ADHDmy whole life.
I'd never been diagnosed.
My mom, once I was diagnosed,connected, a lot of dots to back
to my childhood, which made somuch sense.
(12:30):
But back in those days, girlswere not diagnosed with ADHD.
It was a boys thing.
So because my estrogen levelswere dropping and fluctuating,
it was heightening my ADHDsymptoms, We follow Shaylene
Johnson on Instagram and she hasADHD and for a while, there
talked a lot about her ADHDsymptoms and the things that she
does.
And he was noticing a similaritybetween myself and her.
(12:52):
And that's when it was like,maybe you have this.
So, anyways, I just, as a sidenote, I did get diagnosed ADHD
around this time.
I did try medications.
I didn't love them.
I just deal with it.
It's just something I know.
And I create systems and thingsfor it, but I really don't do
anything for it.
But it's what came out.
(13:14):
You know, during this wholegoing through perimenopause.
So.
Just side note for that.
But at the time I was dealingwith this massive anxiety,
depression, feeling sadness.
Very much anger.
And I just was like, so I wentto the doctor for that.
I felt like in one year I was atmy doctor's office.
(13:35):
Every month I feel like he waslike, oh, you again, But, you
know what, here's the thing.
I felt that way.
And I was like, oh God, do Imake an appointment again?
Like I just saw him.
I was just like, now I've gotthis new thing.
Like, he's going to think I'mcrazy.
I'm going to be that crazyperson that's in the doctor's
office all the time.
And I had to actually have likea little sit down with myself
and say, listen, I'm live.
(13:57):
I live in Canada.
We are fortunate to have ourhealthcare covered.
I have that for a reason.
I pay my taxes.
I do my things.
If I need to go and see mydoctor every fucking day of the
week for whatever I'm going andwhether he thinks I'm crazy or
not is beside the point.
And I had to have a little sitdown with myself and tell
myself, stop that.
If you need to go and have aconversation with your doctor,
(14:19):
that's why you have healthcare.
Go to your doctor.
don't not go because you thinkyou're worried about what he's
thinking about you or she'sthinking about you.
And that's what I was doing.
It was stupid.
And.
So I would go and see him againabout something else, and I'm
going to generalize doctorswhich I know is maybe good or
bad.
I don't know.
But.
I feel like they don't have theright education.
(14:40):
Deal with women in menopause.
And I pretty sure that it's aknown fact that it's not
something that is.
A huge portion of med school.
And it really should be,especially because so many women
struggle with this and are notgetting answers and aren't
getting the support that theyneed.
And it's not necessarily mydoctor's fault or your doctor's
(15:01):
fault it's they just don't havethis, the education and the
studies.
And I don't think women havebeen like women in menopause and
perimenopause have been studiedthat much.
I think it's happening more now,but they just didn't, they don't
have the resources or the tools.
And so when I would go and seemy doctor, the first thing he
prescribed to me, whichdefinitely was helpful for me
(15:22):
was the birth control pill.
But again, it has its drawbacks,right?
So he put me on the birthcontrol pill.
It was a low dose pill to helpeven out and bump up my estrogen
levels.
And it definitely worked.
My mood swings definitely, came.
Down like I wasn't as moodswingy.
I wasn't as anxious.
I wasn't as angry.
(15:43):
But it like dampened everything.
So I, wasn't also super joyous.
I wasn't also super likeanything.
I was just kind of.
Ma.
And so it was helpful, but itwas also not helpful.
You know what I mean?
So I stayed on that for about ayear, maybe a little bit longer.
(16:03):
And till I started going, okay,I'm missing out.
Sure.
I'm not so angry anymore, butI'm also missing out on feeling.
Joy and feeling excitement andit also, I'm not going to lie.
It dampens your libido.
And so, there wasn't really anydesire for that to happen in my
life.
And so I was like there's gottabe maybe something else.
(16:24):
Like the sure.
This is working for my moods andmy depression and my my
angriness and my anxiety.
It's helping that for sure.
But it's also taking away a lotof the joys of,, my life.
So that's when I.
Started to go back to the doctoragain to say, Hey, is there
maybe something else we couldtry?
Now, there were also othersymptoms that were cropping up
(16:46):
that I went to him for.
So while I was going to him forthese other things that were
popping up and I'll share whatthose are in a minute.
We were talking about also otheroptions.
And, and to keep in mind, I wasalso following all these doctors
in the states on Instagram andstuff who were talking about
different forms of hormones andhormone replacement therapy.
(17:07):
And I would bring those up withmy doctor, but, Canada's rules
are different than the us rulesthat are different than
Australia's rules that aredifferent than whatever.
So there are things that you canget in the states that you can't
get in Canada.
Even though I'm following thesedoctors and saying, Hey, they're
saying that this is somethingthat I could take.
That'd be really good.
My doctor be like, well, I can'tdo that here in Canada, or
(17:27):
that's not FDA approved.
I'm not willing to prescribethat kind of thing.
So there's all those challengesas well.
So I was starting to noticeother symptoms.
So one of the symptoms that Ialso had was rashes.
I was starting to get rashes allover my body.
I, they started on my neck.
I got them on my wrist.
They were showing up on myfingers.
And they were super itchy and Igot a low dose cortisone cream.
(17:51):
And that was helping to take theitch away.
But the rashes weren't goingaway there would be a new one
cropping up.
So I was going to see him forthat.
Again, didn't know it was aperimenopause symptom.
I just thought, oh, I touchedsomething or I'm sensitive.
Or now all of a sudden I can'twear necklaces and rings because
they don't give me rashes.
Which was new.
So I didn't connect the dots,that being perimenopause.
(18:11):
But now that if you do any kindof research on symptoms, you'll
notice rashes, exzema all thatkind of stuff are symptoms of
menopause.
It's itchy skin in general.
That's something I deal with.
Being annoyed with the way thatthings feel on your skin.
I'm very sensitive to.
Even my hair being on my neck,Stupid crazy symptoms like that,
that you just are like, why.
(18:32):
Like, why does this need to be asymptom sleeping?
I was not sleeping.
Well, I was waking up.
I still wake up every, I feelslike 2, 3, 4 times a night.
Like, I can't even tell you thelast time I slept through the
night.
You taking melatonin doesn'treally help.
Like I've tried these things.
I definitely.
I will say, talk to your doctorand even a natural path.
(18:54):
So I did work with a naturalpath for a bit.
And she was great.
She helped me get on somesupplements to help calm my
mood.
So Al fining was one.
Ashwagandha is another one thatyou can take.
Again, talk to a professional,don't just go run out and take
these things.
But those are things that weredefinitely helpful for me.
I was also taking an omega.
I was taking magnesium.
(19:15):
I try and find a magnesium thathas multiple of the different
kinds of magnesium in it.
So I like a magnesium complexthat is helpful for sleeping.
It also helps calm, moods andstuff.
So I take a magnesium, I take itin the morning and I take it at
night.
I have been taking a B complexas well.
That I do believe thosesupplements have helped me for
(19:37):
sure.
And I'm somebody who hatedtaking pills like vitamins and
stuff.
I would buy them and then Iwould, take them for a week and
then I would never take themagain.
Cause I hated swallowing pills.
Now because I've noticed such adifference in an improvement in
my mood.
I'm like a pro taking them.
I take them every single day.
I rarely miss days.
(19:57):
And I just Chuck them back andI'm a pro at it now because I
don't like the way I feel when Idon't take them.
And so now I make it my job totake my supplements.
I am constantly looking atdifferent things to take, to
help.
With those things.
And sometimes, you have to takethem for a while, like
supplements.
Isn't something you can take aday one, and it's going to,
(20:18):
you're going to notice adifference.
You have to take these thingsfor a few months to start to
really notice a difference.
So those are things that I'vealso taken to help with the
symptoms to help combat thesymptoms that I've had.
So speaking of symptoms, theseare some of the symptoms that
you can have.
Not everybody's going to havethe same symptoms, and there's
so many of them.
(20:38):
So I'm not even going to be ableto touch on all of them in this
podcast.
These are some of the ones thatI've experienced and some of the
ones that.
I know of other people who haveexperienced or I've heard of, so
obviously the first ones youwould probably have already
heard of like hot flashes, thenight sweats, the mood changes.
So for me, I didn't really havetoo many hot flashes.
I had one night sweat.
I remember it very specificallywhere I woke up and I was like
(21:01):
super duper sweaty.
Those are some of the commonones, irritability, mood
changes, like breast sorenessbloating, thinning, hair, itchy,
skin, itchy ear.
That's another one.
A couple of my friends haveitchy inner ears.
You can have rashes, you canhave like, so there's loss of
libido is another one.
There are so many differentsymptoms.
(21:24):
It's hard to say.
Them all in one podcast, butthere are tons of headaches.
That was something else that Ihad was I had massive headaches
all the time.
I even went to the doctor andwas like, I'm getting these
headaches.
Like, am I okay?
I also would have like vertigoor dizzy spells when I was
walking at night.
Some of these things have comeand gone.
Some of them are still here.
(21:45):
Dry mouth is another one.
I like, I have to have dry mouthspray on my nightstand because I
will wake up.
Literally not even being able toswallow my mouth is so dry.
You can have fatigue, acne,digestive symptoms, joint pain.
So this is another thing thatI've noticed is getting up out
of bed or getting up off thecouch.
I'm like, oh, I kind of feellike I'm a hundred years old
(22:09):
right now.
This is weird.
And it's like, I ran a marathonyesterday, but I didn't ran a
marathon., it's like, my bodyfeels tired.
So muscle aches, muscle tension,itchiness sleep disturbances,
difficulty concentrating,brittle nails.
That's another one that I'venoticed my nails.
I cannot get them to get back totheir normal thickness.
(22:29):
I feel like they're breaking allthe time.
Weight gain, which is somethingelse I'm noticing I'm working
out the same that I always doactually have increased my
weight workouts because workingout with weights.
And increasing your muscle massis really good for menopause and
treating perimenopause symptomsis, absolutely been a game
changer for me, but I'm doingall the right things.
(22:51):
I'm not eating any differently.
And I'm noticing that I amputting on weight in areas that
I didn't ever used to strugglewith.
And it's really upsettingbecause you're doing all the
right things.
And you're body composition juststarts to change.
Like I mentioned, the dizzyspells.
Sometimes you get new allergies,sometimes you'll get symptoms of
ADHD.
(23:12):
Irregular heartbeat.
That was also something thatI've struggled with, where I
feel like my heart palpitations.
They're pounding out of my chestand I'm like, what's going on?
And I didn't even do anything.
I would just be sitting thereand it would happen.
The tie tonight is irritability,depression, anxiety.
Panic disorder.
There's also decreased tolerancefor alcohol.
Alcohol just doesn't do the samething for me that it used to.
(23:34):
In fact, it makes me feel reallytired and I want to go to bed
and my hangovers are way worsethan they ever used to be.
And I just, I don't enjoy it asmuch as I used to.
I do still love to have a glassof wine here and there.
But I know that the consequencesof having alcohol are just so
much worse now than they everused to be, that I really have
(23:58):
to weigh out.
Is this, do I really want to dothis?
And so it's a constant battle ofdo I drink or don't I drink.
And then it's also the socialpiece of it.
Like if you don't drink.
Because it makes you feel likeshit, you've got that whole
social side of everybody beinglike, well, why aren't you
having a drink?
There's a lot of like, back andforth in your own head about.
(24:19):
Stuff like that.
It's definitely something that Ihave.
Struggled with in the sense thatI, to have a glass of wine.
But I don't love how it makes mefeel anymore.
And then you struggle with thesocial aspect of that.
I don't know if that makes anysense, but.
It is a hundred percent.
Something that I deal with rightnow.
(24:39):
Like there are so many differentthings that you can experience
in peri-menopause and you startto feel like you are crazy.
Like something is really wrongwith you and it's, I'm not going
to lie.
It's scary.
Like there were times where Ithought.
Do I have brain cancer?
Do I have something going, likewhat is going on?
(25:00):
And that's why you have to havethese conversations with your
spouse.
You have to have theseconversations with your doctor,
with your other girlfriends whoare., at that same stage with
you, because it helps tonormalize some of this stuff and
take out some of the fear.
And that's what I've found.
I'm so grateful for the women inmy life that I can have these
conversations with because youhonestly think that there is
(25:23):
something majorly wrong withjust you.
And that it's just you andnobody else in that.
Like you just start to have thatbit of a panic around what's
wrong with you.
But it's actually not just, you.
And when you normalize it, it'snot to say that that you have to
live with it, but when younormalize it, you realize that
you're not going to die.
That it's just thisperimenopause stuff and that you
(25:46):
need to work with your doctor orhealth professional to help
manage the symptoms.
And you can, there aredefinitely things, like I said,
the birth control pill thatdefinitely helped me at a time
when I needed it.
Did I want to stay on itforever?
No.
Did I want to experiment and tryother things?
Yes.
I am I finding it difficult toexperiment with other things
because the doctors.
That I work with.
(26:07):
Don't want to try differentthings or can't try different
things.
That's happening and it'sfrustrating.
I'm right now.
I would love to get on a lowdose of testosterone.
Well, that doesn't happen inCanada.
There isn't anything that's FDAapproved for women.
And this is a little fact abouttestosterone that I didn't know.
That women actually have moretestosterone in their body than
(26:27):
estrogen.
We just happened to have lessthan men.
So testosterone, isn't somethingthat just men need.
Women need it too.
And for more things than justthings like libido, it's
supposed to be good for bonedensity and muscle mass and all
these things, but we can't getit.
We can't, get it from ourdoctors cause it's not studied
enough.
There's not enough.
You know, information around it.
(26:49):
And so it's, it can be reallyfrustrating to try and find the
solution that's going to workfor you.
I'm still trying to figure itout and I'm still trying to
find.
Health professionals that arewilling to experiment a little
bit with hormones to help mefigure out what's the best
combination for me.
Cause what's going to work forme.
Might not work for you.
(27:10):
And the good news is, is thereare more studies happening.
There are more doctors and morepeople talking about this.
If you look on Instagram andtype in menopause, you will find
tons of menopause specialists,doctors.
Most of them are in the U S butthere are some in Canada as
well, who are starting to do theresearch to have the
conversations, to figure out howwe can be better at supporting
(27:31):
women through this.
And for the men out there.
They also need to do theirresearch.
They also need their own supportgroups.
They don't know what the hell ishappening to their wife or their
spouse.
They don't know how to help themsupport them.
If they say something they'regoing to get their head ripped
off because we are super angry.
I just don't know what to do.
(27:53):
And so for them, they have to dotheir own research.
They have to have their ownconversations and talk about
these things as well, because.
I can see why the divorce ratewould be high for women in their
mid to late forties, becausethey're not having
conversations.
They don't understand what'sgoing on.
And neither does their partner.
(28:13):
And so it just ends up becomingjust an angry mass.
And I feel bad for our parents.
Like my mom who went throughthis, who didn't have social
media, who probably didn't go toher doctor about it, who
probably just suffered throughit.
And it makes so much sense to menow, why there was that sort of
part in our lives where she wasmiserable.
(28:34):
I get it now,, and I didn't getit back then because I had no
idea what was going on.
I didn't know about any of thisstuff.
And so, it's, it is reallyunfortunate that.
There hasn't been more testingand more research and more
understanding around what'shappening to women during this
time.
I also believe during this timeyou find a lot of women who go
(28:54):
through big life changes, theychange careers.
They, they shut everything downand do something completely
different, which is what I didlast year.
And now it makes so much sensethat, there was probably a
hormonal, hormonal connection.
To why I quit my business andstarted changing the way I
wanted to do things in life andhow I felt about things.
(29:15):
They do call menopause forwomen.
Quote, unquote, the change.
Even when you think about yourkids, my kids are 21, 19 and 13.
I don't have little kids whoneed me anymore.
I all of a sudden have time backin my life.
My own time.
I'm not having to take care ofall of these kids anymore.
That is also something that wehave to emotionally deal with.
(29:36):
Like, I don't see my 21 of my 19year old everyday.
Like I used to, I see them maybeonce or twice a week, which is.
From an emotional standpoint isalso something that we have to
go through.
And, it's like a grievingprocess when your kids become
adults and they leave the nest.
And that's also something thatwas happening during this whole
time.
And so.
(29:57):
There's a lot of emotion.
Hormone.
Changes that are happeningduring this time.
And it feels like your worldjust gets turned upside down.
The more we can have theseconversations and talk about
this stuff and understand it andhave more people who are
providing proper information forus.
(30:17):
I feel like the better I'm ableto maneuver through it.
And that's why I wanted torecord this.
And may have been all over theplace, but there's so much to
cover.
There's so many things to talkabout.
I'm probably just scratch thesurface with this particular
podcast.
I'm not going to be an expert onthis.
I'm not somebody who's going tostart talking about this all the
(30:38):
time, but I definitely wanted torecord this episode so that if
you are struggling or you notch,and you're not sure why that
maybe this is your sign that youneed to go and see your doctor
and talk about potential.
Ways to support you during this.
Talk about your hormones.
Talk about supplements, talkabout these things so that you
can.
At least get some relief becausethis isn't something that we
(30:59):
have to just struggle through.
There are options out there forus.
To help alleviate the symptomsand help to maneuver through
this.
So if this podcast helps atleast one person, then it's
worth.
Me rambling through this.
So anyways, I wanted to justleave you with a couple of
people to follow.
If you are somebody who feelslike this might be you.
(31:22):
Dr.
Mary Claire Haber is she'sbecoming very well known in the
menopause industry.
For her research and herinformation on how to maneuver
through this, she is the voice Iwould say, of, the change in the
medical system to help supportwomen through menopause.
So she's somebody who I followon Instagram and love her
(31:43):
content.
I also love Dr.
Kelly Casperson.
I think she's CA KellyCasperson, M D on Instagram.
She also has some really greatinformation.
There's also an Instagramaccount called what the
menopause.
There's a book by Dr.
Jen Gunter, who also has she'sCanadian and she's written a
book on menopause.
(32:04):
That's really good.
There's lots of resources outthere to start this for you.
If this is all new to you.
And we need to be talking aboutthis now, and we need to be
talking about it and educatingour daughters.
My daughter's only 19.
She doesn't need to really knowabout menopause right now, but
there will be a time in thefuture where she will need to
(32:25):
unknown and understand.
And instead of being blindsidedby it, like most of us have
been, I can now educate her andhelp her and have resources and
say, Hey, listen, this is goingto be happening at some point in
your life.
And here's some of.
The things that you can do tohelp mitigate the symptoms just
know that you're not crazy andthat you're not alone and that
(32:46):
you will get to the other side.
And I think that's why thisconversation is so important
because so many generationsbefore us did not have that
information even.
I mean, I'm a gen X.
I felt a little blindsided byit, myself because my mom didn't
talk to me about it.
I didn't know it was a thinguntil it was a thing.
And that's why we need to betterprepare our upcoming generations
(33:08):
for this.
And hopefully by the time thatthey get here, they will have
all the options and FDA approvedoptions and all the things that
they need.
In order to move through thiswithout feeling like they are
crazy That's what we need to dois we need to educate and make
this.
Easier for them is what Ibelieve.
(33:30):
So with that being said, I'mgoing to end it here, but if you
are going through it, you're notalone.
If you need to reach out tosomebody, if you even need Rito,
reach out to me to say, Hey, Iheard your podcast.
It was helpful.
I would love to hear that fromyou.
If you have any questions, I'mnot a professional in this, so
you can definitely ask me, I'llgive you my opinions and
thoughts, but speak to howprofessional and get the help
(33:52):
that you need in order to movethrough this.
Alrighty everyone.
That's it for me?
I'll be back again withsomething else next time.
I'm not sure what it will be,but it'll be something.
And I'm enjoying getting back tothis podcast and I hope you are
too.
All right, everyone.
That's it for me.
Bye.
For now.
Hey, everyone.
Welcome back to how it's reallygoing machine of record today.
I want to chat about.
Perimenopause menopause.
And this has been a podcast thatI've been wanting to record for
a while.
I have have been talking alittle bit about my own journey
with perimenopause in myInstagram.
And I have been sharing funnymemes about menopause and stuff,
(00:24):
because I am in a space where Iam absolutely going through it.
And I am relating to a lot ofthe menopause content and I have
been following a lot of themenopause content on social
media.
Every single time I sharesomething in my stories about
menopause or perimenopause.
I get.
More reactions and more messagesfrom people than anything else
(00:47):
that I post.
There's a huge portion of thepopulation going through this
right now.
And it's becoming a very.
I would say it's becoming a veryimportant, but also a much
bigger conversation right now,because I think in years past it
hasn't been a conversation atall.
Like I'm talking my mom'sgeneration and generations
(01:09):
previous to that.
I feel like so sad for thosegenerations that didn't have the
same kind of information that wehave today.
To help them deal with what was,what they were going through in
these times.
And so that's why I want to havethis conversation today because
I do feel like we need to behaving more of these
(01:29):
conversations because it issomething that needs to be
discussed because there's not alot of research and development
in the medical field on what ishappening to a woman's body when
they're going through menopause.
I, in my opinion, and I willjust start this whole podcast by
saying I'm not a doctor.
(01:50):
This is not medical advice.
This is my own story about goingthrough this.
Definitely talk to your doctorif you resonate with things that
I'm saying in this podcast.
And if you feel like you mightbe going through this and you're
looking for help and support,absolutely go to your doctor or
find a specialist, if you canand get the support you need.
(02:10):
This is more just to createawareness.
If you are struggling andfeeling certain ways.
Then maybe it's this, and thismight be a starting point for
you.
We need to be having thisconversation.
We need to be talking about thisbecause people are in the dark
women are in the dark andactually, you know what, I am
going to include men alsobecause.
(02:30):
This is also a conversation tobe had with your spouse.
If you're a partner.
He is a man.
And you feel like things justdon't feel right in the
relationship even, and you don'tfeel right.
This is just as much ofsomething that your male partner
will go through as much as you.
(02:51):
And I'm very fortunate that Ihave a spouse who has taken the
time to do his own research andto understand.
And he is very understanding,even though some days he has no
idea what the hell is going onwith me.
But he has taken the time andinvested into this whole process
(03:11):
as well as me.
So this isn't something that isjust for women.
I do believe that this isinformation that men also need
to have access to you.
So absolutely they can listen tothis podcast as well, if they
want to gain some understandingof what it's like to go through
this.
And some of the things that wesuffer with during this time.
So that's why I wanted to recordthis is to create an awareness
(03:34):
and start more conversations.
But again, it's not medicaladvice.
I am not a doctor.
Don't come after me for anythingthat I might say that might not
be right or wrong.
This is just my own thoughts andopinions and the research that
I've done personally that I'mgoing to be sharing in this
podcast.
It means I might not be ahundred percent correct, but I'm
just going to tell you what Iknow.
(03:55):
Okay.
So let's just start with talkingabout what is perimenopause
menopause.
And this is my understanding.
So perimenopause is the stage.
That women go through before,just before their periods are
about to end.
So how I understand it is thatwomen are born with all of the
eggs that they are ever going tohave from the minute that they
(04:16):
are created.
And we don't get more eggs.
We only have what we've beengiven.
And when we get to the end ofour supply of eggs is kind of is
when we will start intoperimenopause somewhere around
that time when things.
The stockpile is depleting.
And our body's about to gothrough some changes.
(04:36):
For me that started around, I'mgoing to say, I think I was
probably around 43, 44.
So once your body is out ofeggs, you stop having cycles.
And menopause is actually justfrom how I understand it.
One day, it's the day.
Where you have missed 12 periodsin a row.
(04:58):
So if you've missed 12 cycles ina row, that one day where you're
like doing the math and you'relike, okay, I've missed 12
periods.
That day is menopause.
And then you becomepost-menopausal.
So that's where your time after,like you're not getting cycles
anymore.
You're now post-menopausal.
So Perry is leading up to it.
(05:19):
And Perry, I think can lastanywhere from I can last for a
couple of years up to 15 years.
So it can happen fairly early inyour life.
And but it also can go veryquickly for some people.
So there's no one size fits allfor this, which is why I believe
it makes it so difficult forhealth professionals to support
women in this because It's notthe same for everybody.
(05:41):
It's the symptoms and everythingcan be different for everyone.
So I do see how it is a movingtarget, and that can be very
difficult for people.
And, and that's why we have tohave more of these conversations
because it isn't just a one sizefits all things.
So what you might be goingthrough, you might feel alone in
that and feel like nobody elseis going through it, but there
is somebody who's probably gotsimilar symptoms as you, right?
(06:04):
Like we're not all the same, butthere is somebody who's dealing
with similar things.
And.
It just helps to, for you toknow that you're not alone.
That's kind of what it is.
If you go online and Google,what is perimenopause?
What is menopause?
What is post-menopause you willget the detailed information
about that, but in general,that's how I understand it.
Now.
(06:25):
How it started for me.
And this is where I'm going toshare a little bit of my story
and some of the symptoms that Ihave experienced.
And if you can find yourself inmy story, then, this is the
starting point probably for youto say, Hey, maybe this is
perimenopause.
And for me, it's funny because Iactually didn't know this was
the start of perimenopause whenI was dealing with this.
First symptom, but looking backnow, I realize it was a symptom.
(06:48):
I just didn't know it at thetime.
Cause my, my youngest child wasprobably about four or five.,
and so I was still am I.
Early forties feeling likethere's no way I'm in menopause.
And was, it didn't even cross mymind, but the first symptom that
I ever had was Thai Anitas.
Which is, it's like a ringing orlike a, it's like a sound in
your ears that you get.
(07:09):
I struggled with that for whatfelt like about a year where I
would., anytime, like when I getinto bed or at night, it would
actually wake me up at nightsometimes also.
Where.
I would have this, like thiswave sound in my ear, this like
rushing sound in my ear and, Icouldn't get rid of it.
I went to the doctor for it.
I was like, I keep getting thisringing in my ear.
(07:30):
I'm like, do I have earinfection?
Do I have brain cancer?
Like what is happening?
And there was nothing.
He was just was like, oh, youknow, it could be tineatis yet,
but I, I'm not sure.
I don't see anything., justkinda monitor it,.
And knowing now the symptoms ofmenopause or perimenopause
tinnitus is absolutely one ofthem.
I realized now looking back.
(07:51):
That's the starting point forme, that was like one of my very
first symptoms.
And so I struggled with that forabout a year, but it was kind of
on and off.
It wasn't like every singlenight, it was just sort of
something that was theresometimes.
And I actually don't have thatat all anymore.
So it did go away for me, whichwas great.
But the next sort of thing thatstarted happening in this would
have been a few years later.
(08:11):
So this would have been probablyaround 46, 47.
I started noticing a drastic.
In increase in anxiety andirritability, like to the point
where everything that was goingon in my house was annoying me.
My husband.
(08:32):
Was the most annoying person outof everyone in my household.
And I feel bad for saying that.
He understands.
If he's listening to this, hegets it.
And I think it's because we'rethere, the people who are
closest to us, someone said thatto me once before, I'm like, why
is it him?
And they're like, well, youspend so much time with them.
They're the person that'sclosest to you.
Of course, they're going to bethe most annoying.
(08:53):
And it's true.
Like Jason, I spent a lot oftime together.
We both work from home.
We do ever art studio, whichsometimes he goes to, which is,,
we have a little bit ofseparation time there, but.
We are together a lot.
So it makes sense that he wasthe most annoying person to me
as I'm going through this.
But it was like, I rememberbeing at the hair salon, getting
my hair done by my friend.
(09:14):
Lisa.
And I remember complaining aboutlike, I'm like, I don't know
why, but the way he sips hiscoffee in the morning, It makes
me so angry.
I'm like just every littlething.
Was just so annoying and it,that was new.
Like it was new and I didn'tunderstand why I felt that way.
(09:35):
I thought are we at that pointin our relationship now where
it's like, we become the oldbickering couple, what is it?
And so I struggled with that fora little while, until it got to
the point where I was feelinglike I was actually full on
depressed.
Like something was really wrongwith me.
I was waking up feeling.
Sad.
I was waking up feeling.
(09:56):
So annoyed in an anxious andangry.
And sad is really how I todescribe it.
And I would come into my officecause I work from home and I
have my home office here.
And I just wanted to close thedoor and if anybody ever came
into my office, It, I almostcould burst into tears because
it was so irritating to me thatI, I didn't want to talk to
(10:17):
anybody, especially Jason.
And it was so irritating to me.
Like he even said, he goes, Icould feel.
The tension and the irritation,like in the energy of the room,
it's so bad.
And I was like, something is notright.
This isn't normal for me to feelthis way as much as I was.
And that's when I made the firstappointment to go see my doctor
(10:41):
about that.
And I will say at the same time,and this is a sidebar.
I was also figuring out that Ihad ADHD.
So the ADHD thing was happeningaround the same time where I
was, you know, my husband wasthe one who was actually
noticing my tendencies andsuggested that potentially I
might have ADHD and to go talkto the doctor about it.
(11:03):
And I, figured.
Yeah.
Maybe I have ADHD.
Like it makes sense.
I've always been somebody who'sa little bit all over the place.
And I am like, when you look atthe symptoms of ADHD, there's a
lot of them that fit the billfor me.
And so I was being diagnosed forADHD.
I did get the diagnosis.
I was testing out medicationsand things at this time.
(11:25):
And here's the thing with ADHDand menopause or perimenopause.
And again, this is my point ofview of what I've learned about
this.
So I'm, there may be someincorrect facts here, but this
is how I understood it is whenyou're going through
perimenopause, your estrogenlevels are dropping.
Like your hormone levels aregoing actually all over the
place.
They're there.
It's not consistent.
(11:45):
Like that's why some days youfeel great.
Some days you don't like you'reall over the place because your
hormone levels are all over theplace.
And what happens with women isthat their estrogen levels.
Are dropping.
And estrogen plays a huge rolein your cognitive function and
the way your brain actuallyfunctions.
And so ADHD is very muchheightened during perimenopause
(12:09):
because astrogen plays a role.
In your executive function.
And so when your estrogen levelsdrop your ADHD symptoms, get
super heightened.
And so I had been masking ADHDmy whole life.
I'd never been diagnosed.
My mom, once I was diagnosed,connected, a lot of dots to back
to my childhood, which made somuch sense.
(12:30):
But back in those days, girlswere not diagnosed with ADHD.
It was a boys thing.
So because my estrogen levelswere dropping and fluctuating,
it was heightening my ADHDsymptoms, We follow Shaylene
Johnson on Instagram and she hasADHD and for a while, there
talked a lot about her ADHDsymptoms and the things that she
does.
And he was noticing a similaritybetween myself and her.
(12:52):
And that's when it was like,maybe you have this.
So, anyways, I just, as a sidenote, I did get diagnosed ADHD
around this time.
I did try medications.
I didn't love them.
I just deal with it.
It's just something I know.
And I create systems and thingsfor it, but I really don't do
anything for it.
But it's what came out.
(13:14):
You know, during this wholegoing through perimenopause.
So.
Just side note for that.
But at the time I was dealingwith this massive anxiety,
depression, feeling sadness.
Very much anger.
And I just was like, so I wentto the doctor for that.
I felt like in one year I was atmy doctor's office.
(13:35):
Every month I feel like he waslike, oh, you again, But, you
know what, here's the thing.
I felt that way.
And I was like, oh God, do Imake an appointment again?
Like I just saw him.
I was just like, now I've gotthis new thing.
Like, he's going to think I'mcrazy.
I'm going to be that crazyperson that's in the doctor's
office all the time.
And I had to actually have likea little sit down with myself
and say, listen, I'm live.
(13:57):
I live in Canada.
We are fortunate to have ourhealthcare covered.
I have that for a reason.
I pay my taxes.
I do my things.
If I need to go and see mydoctor every fucking day of the
week for whatever I'm going andwhether he thinks I'm crazy or
not is beside the point.
And I had to have a little sitdown with myself and tell
myself, stop that.
If you need to go and have aconversation with your doctor,
(14:19):
that's why you have healthcare.
Go to your doctor.
don't not go because you thinkyou're worried about what he's
thinking about you or she'sthinking about you.
And that's what I was doing.
It was stupid.
And.
So I would go and see him againabout something else, and I'm
going to generalize doctorswhich I know is maybe good or
bad.
I don't know.
But.
I feel like they don't have theright education.
(14:40):
Deal with women in menopause.
And I pretty sure that it's aknown fact that it's not
something that is.
A huge portion of med school.
And it really should be,especially because so many women
struggle with this and are notgetting answers and aren't
getting the support that theyneed.
And it's not necessarily mydoctor's fault or your doctor's
(15:01):
fault it's they just don't havethis, the education and the
studies.
And I don't think women havebeen like women in menopause and
perimenopause have been studiedthat much.
I think it's happening more now,but they just didn't, they don't
have the resources or the tools.
And so when I would go and seemy doctor, the first thing he
prescribed to me, whichdefinitely was helpful for me
(15:22):
was the birth control pill.
But again, it has its drawbacks,right?
So he put me on the birthcontrol pill.
It was a low dose pill to helpeven out and bump up my estrogen
levels.
And it definitely worked.
My mood swings definitely, came.
Down like I wasn't as moodswingy.
I wasn't as anxious.
I wasn't as angry.
(15:43):
But it like dampened everything.
So I, wasn't also super joyous.
I wasn't also super likeanything.
I was just kind of.
Ma.
And so it was helpful, but itwas also not helpful.
You know what I mean?
So I stayed on that for about ayear, maybe a little bit longer.
(16:03):
And till I started going, okay,I'm missing out.
Sure.
I'm not so angry anymore, butI'm also missing out on feeling.
Joy and feeling excitement andit also, I'm not going to lie.
It dampens your libido.
And so, there wasn't really anydesire for that to happen in my
life.
And so I was like there's gottabe maybe something else.
(16:24):
Like the sure.
This is working for my moods andmy depression and my my
angriness and my anxiety.
It's helping that for sure.
But it's also taking away a lotof the joys of,, my life.
So that's when I.
Started to go back to the doctoragain to say, Hey, is there
maybe something else we couldtry?
Now, there were also othersymptoms that were cropping up
(16:46):
that I went to him for.
So while I was going to him forthese other things that were
popping up and I'll share whatthose are in a minute.
We were talking about also otheroptions.
And, and to keep in mind, I wasalso following all these doctors
in the states on Instagram andstuff who were talking about
different forms of hormones andhormone replacement therapy.
(17:07):
And I would bring those up withmy doctor, but, Canada's rules
are different than the us rulesthat are different than
Australia's rules that aredifferent than whatever.
So there are things that you canget in the states that you can't
get in Canada.
Even though I'm following thesedoctors and saying, Hey, they're
saying that this is somethingthat I could take.
That'd be really good.
My doctor be like, well, I can'tdo that here in Canada, or
(17:27):
that's not FDA approved.
I'm not willing to prescribethat kind of thing.
So there's all those challengesas well.
So I was starting to noticeother symptoms.
So one of the symptoms that Ialso had was rashes.
I was starting to get rashes allover my body.
I, they started on my neck.
I got them on my wrist.
They were showing up on myfingers.
And they were super itchy and Igot a low dose cortisone cream.
(17:51):
And that was helping to take theitch away.
But the rashes weren't goingaway there would be a new one
cropping up.
So I was going to see him forthat.
Again, didn't know it was aperimenopause symptom.
I just thought, oh, I touchedsomething or I'm sensitive.
Or now all of a sudden I can'twear necklaces and rings because
they don't give me rashes.
Which was new.
So I didn't connect the dots,that being perimenopause.
(18:11):
But now that if you do any kindof research on symptoms, you'll
notice rashes, exzema all thatkind of stuff are symptoms of
menopause.
It's itchy skin in general.
That's something I deal with.
Being annoyed with the way thatthings feel on your skin.
I'm very sensitive to.
Even my hair being on my neck,Stupid crazy symptoms like that,
that you just are like, why.
(18:32):
Like, why does this need to be asymptom sleeping?
I was not sleeping.
Well, I was waking up.
I still wake up every, I feelslike 2, 3, 4 times a night.
Like, I can't even tell you thelast time I slept through the
night.
You taking melatonin doesn'treally help.
Like I've tried these things.
I definitely.
I will say, talk to your doctorand even a natural path.
(18:54):
So I did work with a naturalpath for a bit.
And she was great.
She helped me get on somesupplements to help calm my
mood.
So Al fining was one.
Ashwagandha is another one thatyou can take.
Again, talk to a professional,don't just go run out and take
these things.
But those are things that weredefinitely helpful for me.
I was also taking an omega.
I was taking magnesium.
(19:15):
I try and find a magnesium thathas multiple of the different
kinds of magnesium in it.
So I like a magnesium complexthat is helpful for sleeping.
It also helps calm, moods andstuff.
So I take a magnesium, I take itin the morning and I take it at
night.
I have been taking a B complexas well.
That I do believe thosesupplements have helped me for
(19:37):
sure.
And I'm somebody who hatedtaking pills like vitamins and
stuff.
I would buy them and then Iwould, take them for a week and
then I would never take themagain.
Cause I hated swallowing pills.
Now because I've noticed such adifference in an improvement in
my mood.
I'm like a pro taking them.
I take them every single day.
I rarely miss days.
(19:57):
And I just Chuck them back andI'm a pro at it now because I
don't like the way I feel when Idon't take them.
And so now I make it my job totake my supplements.
I am constantly looking atdifferent things to take, to
help.
With those things.
And sometimes, you have to takethem for a while, like
supplements.
Isn't something you can take aday one, and it's going to,
(20:18):
you're going to notice adifference.
You have to take these thingsfor a few months to start to
really notice a difference.
So those are things that I'vealso taken to help with the
symptoms to help combat thesymptoms that I've had.
So speaking of symptoms, theseare some of the symptoms that
you can have.
Not everybody's going to havethe same symptoms, and there's
so many of them.
(20:38):
So I'm not even going to be ableto touch on all of them in this
podcast.
These are some of the ones thatI've experienced and some of the
ones that.
I know of other people who haveexperienced or I've heard of, so
obviously the first ones youwould probably have already
heard of like hot flashes, thenight sweats, the mood changes.
So for me, I didn't really havetoo many hot flashes.
I had one night sweat.
I remember it very specificallywhere I woke up and I was like
(21:01):
super duper sweaty.
Those are some of the commonones, irritability, mood
changes, like breast sorenessbloating, thinning, hair, itchy,
skin, itchy ear.
That's another one.
A couple of my friends haveitchy inner ears.
You can have rashes, you canhave like, so there's loss of
libido is another one.
There are so many differentsymptoms.
(21:24):
It's hard to say.
Them all in one podcast, butthere are tons of headaches.
That was something else that Ihad was I had massive headaches
all the time.
I even went to the doctor andwas like, I'm getting these
headaches.
Like, am I okay?
I also would have like vertigoor dizzy spells when I was
walking at night.
Some of these things have comeand gone.
Some of them are still here.
(21:45):
Dry mouth is another one.
I like, I have to have dry mouthspray on my nightstand because I
will wake up.
Literally not even being able toswallow my mouth is so dry.
You can have fatigue, acne,digestive symptoms, joint pain.
So this is another thing thatI've noticed is getting up out
of bed or getting up off thecouch.
I'm like, oh, I kind of feellike I'm a hundred years old
(22:09):
right now.
This is weird.
And it's like, I ran a marathonyesterday, but I didn't ran a
marathon., it's like, my bodyfeels tired.
So muscle aches, muscle tension,itchiness sleep disturbances,
difficulty concentrating,brittle nails.
That's another one that I'venoticed my nails.
I cannot get them to get back totheir normal thickness.
(22:29):
I feel like they're breaking allthe time.
Weight gain, which is somethingelse I'm noticing I'm working
out the same that I always doactually have increased my
weight workouts because workingout with weights.
And increasing your muscle massis really good for menopause and
treating perimenopause symptomsis, absolutely been a game
changer for me, but I'm doingall the right things.
(22:51):
I'm not eating any differently.
And I'm noticing that I amputting on weight in areas that
I didn't ever used to strugglewith.
And it's really upsettingbecause you're doing all the
right things.
And you're body composition juststarts to change.
Like I mentioned, the dizzyspells.
Sometimes you get new allergies,sometimes you'll get symptoms of
ADHD.
(23:12):
Irregular heartbeat.
That was also something thatI've struggled with, where I
feel like my heart palpitations.
They're pounding out of my chestand I'm like, what's going on?
And I didn't even do anything.
I would just be sitting thereand it would happen.
The tie tonight is irritability,depression, anxiety.
Panic disorder.
There's also decreased tolerancefor alcohol.
Alcohol just doesn't do the samething for me that it used to.
(23:34):
In fact, it makes me feel reallytired and I want to go to bed
and my hangovers are way worsethan they ever used to be.
And I just, I don't enjoy it asmuch as I used to.
I do still love to have a glassof wine here and there.
But I know that the consequencesof having alcohol are just so
much worse now than they everused to be, that I really have
(23:58):
to weigh out.
Is this, do I really want to dothis?
And so it's a constant battle ofdo I drink or don't I drink.
And then it's also the socialpiece of it.
Like if you don't drink.
Because it makes you feel likeshit, you've got that whole
social side of everybody beinglike, well, why aren't you
having a drink?
There's a lot of like, back andforth in your own head about.
(24:19):
Stuff like that.
It's definitely something that Ihave.
Struggled with in the sense thatI, to have a glass of wine.
But I don't love how it makes mefeel anymore.
And then you struggle with thesocial aspect of that.
I don't know if that makes anysense, but.
It is a hundred percent.
Something that I deal with rightnow.
(24:39):
Like there are so many differentthings that you can experience
in peri-menopause and you startto feel like you are crazy.
Like something is really wrongwith you and it's, I'm not going
to lie.
It's scary.
Like there were times where Ithought.
Do I have brain cancer?
Do I have something going, likewhat is going on?
(25:00):
And that's why you have to havethese conversations with your
spouse.
You have to have theseconversations with your doctor,
with your other girlfriends whoare., at that same stage with
you, because it helps tonormalize some of this stuff and
take out some of the fear.
And that's what I've found.
I'm so grateful for the women inmy life that I can have these
conversations with because youhonestly think that there is
(25:23):
something majorly wrong withjust you.
And that it's just you andnobody else in that.
Like you just start to have thatbit of a panic around what's
wrong with you.
But it's actually not just, you.
And when you normalize it, it'snot to say that that you have to
live with it, but when younormalize it, you realize that
you're not going to die.
That it's just thisperimenopause stuff and that you
(25:46):
need to work with your doctor orhealth professional to help
manage the symptoms.
And you can, there aredefinitely things, like I said,
the birth control pill thatdefinitely helped me at a time
when I needed it.
Did I want to stay on itforever?
No.
Did I want to experiment and tryother things?
Yes.
I am I finding it difficult toexperiment with other things
because the doctors.
That I work with.
(26:07):
Don't want to try differentthings or can't try different
things.
That's happening and it'sfrustrating.
I'm right now.
I would love to get on a lowdose of testosterone.
Well, that doesn't happen inCanada.
There isn't anything that's FDAapproved for women.
And this is a little fact abouttestosterone that I didn't know.
That women actually have moretestosterone in their body than
(26:27):
estrogen.
We just happened to have lessthan men.
So testosterone, isn't somethingthat just men need.
Women need it too.
And for more things than justthings like libido, it's
supposed to be good for bonedensity and muscle mass and all
these things, but we can't getit.
We can't, get it from ourdoctors cause it's not studied
enough.
There's not enough.
You know, information around it.
(26:49):
And so it's, it can be reallyfrustrating to try and find the
solution that's going to workfor you.
I'm still trying to figure itout and I'm still trying to
find.
Health professionals that arewilling to experiment a little
bit with hormones to help mefigure out what's the best
combination for me.
Cause what's going to work forme.
Might not work for you.
(27:10):
And the good news is, is thereare more studies happening.
There are more doctors and morepeople talking about this.
If you look on Instagram andtype in menopause, you will find
tons of menopause specialists,doctors.
Most of them are in the U S butthere are some in Canada as
well, who are starting to do theresearch to have the
conversations, to figure out howwe can be better at supporting
(27:31):
women through this.
And for the men out there.
They also need to do theirresearch.
They also need their own supportgroups.
They don't know what the hell ishappening to their wife or their
spouse.
They don't know how to help themsupport them.
If they say something they'regoing to get their head ripped
off because we are super angry.
I just don't know what to do.
(27:53):
And so for them, they have to dotheir own research.
They have to have their ownconversations and talk about
these things as well, because.
I can see why the divorce ratewould be high for women in their
mid to late forties, becausethey're not having
conversations.
They don't understand what'sgoing on.
And neither does their partner.
(28:13):
And so it just ends up becomingjust an angry mass.
And I feel bad for our parents.
Like my mom who went throughthis, who didn't have social
media, who probably didn't go toher doctor about it, who
probably just suffered throughit.
And it makes so much sense to menow, why there was that sort of
part in our lives where she wasmiserable.
(28:34):
I get it now,, and I didn't getit back then because I had no
idea what was going on.
I didn't know about any of thisstuff.
And so, it's, it is reallyunfortunate that.
There hasn't been more testingand more research and more
understanding around what'shappening to women during this
time.
I also believe during this timeyou find a lot of women who go
(28:54):
through big life changes, theychange careers.
They, they shut everything downand do something completely
different, which is what I didlast year.
And now it makes so much sensethat, there was probably a
hormonal, hormonal connection.
To why I quit my business andstarted changing the way I
wanted to do things in life andhow I felt about things.
(29:15):
They do call menopause forwomen.
Quote, unquote, the change.
Even when you think about yourkids, my kids are 21, 19 and 13.
I don't have little kids whoneed me anymore.
I all of a sudden have time backin my life.
My own time.
I'm not having to take care ofall of these kids anymore.
That is also something that wehave to emotionally deal with.
(29:36):
Like, I don't see my 21 of my 19year old everyday.
Like I used to, I see them maybeonce or twice a week, which is.
From an emotional standpoint isalso something that we have to
go through.
And, it's like a grievingprocess when your kids become
adults and they leave the nest.
And that's also something thatwas happening during this whole
time.
And so.
(29:57):
There's a lot of emotion.
Hormone.
Changes that are happeningduring this time.
And it feels like your worldjust gets turned upside down.
The more we can have theseconversations and talk about
this stuff and understand it andhave more people who are
providing proper information forus.
(30:17):
I feel like the better I'm ableto maneuver through it.
And that's why I wanted torecord this.
And may have been all over theplace, but there's so much to
cover.
There's so many things to talkabout.
I'm probably just scratch thesurface with this particular
podcast.
I'm not going to be an expert onthis.
I'm not somebody who's going tostart talking about this all the
(30:38):
time, but I definitely wanted torecord this episode so that if
you are struggling or you notch,and you're not sure why that
maybe this is your sign that youneed to go and see your doctor
and talk about potential.
Ways to support you during this.
Talk about your hormones.
Talk about supplements, talkabout these things so that you
can.
At least get some relief becausethis isn't something that we
(30:59):
have to just struggle through.
There are options out there forus.
To help alleviate the symptomsand help to maneuver through
this.
So if this podcast helps atleast one person, then it's
worth.
Me rambling through this.
So anyways, I wanted to justleave you with a couple of
people to follow.
If you are somebody who feelslike this might be you.
(31:22):
Dr.
Mary Claire Haber is she'sbecoming very well known in the
menopause industry.
For her research and herinformation on how to maneuver
through this, she is the voice Iwould say, of, the change in the
medical system to help supportwomen through menopause.
So she's somebody who I followon Instagram and love her
(31:43):
content.
I also love Dr.
Kelly Casperson.
I think she's CA KellyCasperson, M D on Instagram.
She also has some really greatinformation.
There's also an Instagramaccount called what the
menopause.
There's a book by Dr.
Jen Gunter, who also has she'sCanadian and she's written a
book on menopause.
(32:04):
That's really good.
There's lots of resources outthere to start this for you.
If this is all new to you.
And we need to be talking aboutthis now, and we need to be
talking about it and educatingour daughters.
My daughter's only 19.
She doesn't need to really knowabout menopause right now, but
there will be a time in thefuture where she will need to
(32:25):
unknown and understand.
And instead of being blindsidedby it, like most of us have
been, I can now educate her andhelp her and have resources and
say, Hey, listen, this is goingto be happening at some point in
your life.
And here's some of.
The things that you can do tohelp mitigate the symptoms just
know that you're not crazy andthat you're not alone and that
(32:46):
you will get to the other side.
And I think that's why thisconversation is so important
because so many generationsbefore us did not have that
information even.
I mean, I'm a gen X.
I felt a little blindsided byit, myself because my mom didn't
talk to me about it.
I didn't know it was a thinguntil it was a thing.
And that's why we need to betterprepare our upcoming generations
(33:08):
for this.
And hopefully by the time thatthey get here, they will have
all the options and FDA approvedoptions and all the things that
they need.
In order to move through thiswithout feeling like they are
crazy That's what we need to dois we need to educate and make
this.
Easier for them is what Ibelieve.
(33:30):
So with that being said, I'mgoing to end it here, but if you
are going through it, you're notalone.
If you need to reach out tosomebody, if you even need Rito,
reach out to me to say, Hey, Iheard your podcast.
It was helpful.
I would love to hear that fromyou.
If you have any questions, I'mnot a professional in this, so
you can definitely ask me, I'llgive you my opinions and
thoughts, but speak to howprofessional and get the help
(33:52):
that you need in order to movethrough this.
Alrighty everyone.
That's it for me?
I'll be back again withsomething else next time.
I'm not sure what it will be,but it'll be something.
And I'm enjoying getting back tothis podcast and I hope you are
too.
All right, everyone.
That's it for me.
Bye.
For now.
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