Mid-Life Transitions

During the quarantine period a group of my girlfriends and I would wake up to walk every morning. It was an opportunity to see each other since we were outdoors and socially distanced. We would walk 3-4 miles every morning. I often walked again with my love or with another friend who missed the morning. Many days I was walking 7 or 8 miles. Yet I was gaining weight at an alarming rate. I found this very frustrating because I wasn’t eating more, and I was way more active than I had ever been, yet I could go to bed one weight and wake up 3 pounds heavier the next day.

One day in early 2021 my love kissed me on the cheek and I broke out in hives. Imagine having to tell someone that your relationship ended because you were allergic to them. The doc ran a billion tests and I wasn’t allergic to anything, yet I kept having hives. I was then diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease. I was initially relieved because finally maybe this would explain some things.

The treatment for the Hashimoto’s involved thyroid meds which kept spiking my blood pressure. I was having incredible anxiety, heart palpitations, insomnia, night sweats and fatigue. In short, I was feeling horrible. Hashimoto’s was my second auto-immune diagnosis, so I just figured this was my cross to bear in life.

Then one day a few months ago I stumbled on an article about perimenopause and it discussed all the things I had been feeling and dealing with. Sadly, the ways to manage it aren’t great but at least I felt like maybe I wasn’t crazy. After going to doctor after doctor who had dismissed the vague ways my body was misbehaving, I finally had a doctor recently label it. Amazing how just knowing what was going on helped. Even with zero treatment I felt better.

I’ve since joined a group on Facebook and learned more about the different hormones and how they work together. I have been offered varying forms of hormone replacement therapies and even an anti-depressant. So far, I haven’t chosen to take anything, but I no longer feel as overwhelmed because things are now available to me, and people finally believe me when I describe how I am feeling.

Ladies this is a long message to basically say let’s normalize talking about this. Let’s stop hiding in shame as though getting older is something we aren’t grateful for. If we begin to share our experiences, then maybe we can begin to get help or support sooner. And don’t be afraid to push back on doctors. You know your body best!