Post Menopause Celebration

I'm celebrating my 1 year anniversary of being period free!

It's official, I'm post-menopausal :) It has been a journey!

Why am I sharing this? There is so much information about Menopause and things to do to support women during this phase of life however, when I started going through this at age 45 (ELEVEN years ago), I didn't have any information.

And my doctor's didn't have any information.

When I brought up that I can't lose weight even though I was running and exercising, the doctor's response "oh you're probably in peri-menopause".

When I brought up that I have ringing in my ears, the doctor's response "oh you can develop that during peri-menopause".

No one had any information on how to guide me through this process, not my PC or GYN.

Throughout the past eleven years, I've read and listened to a lot of health and wellness professionals including my Functional doctor.

What I've found is that you have to find what works for you.

For me, my symptoms were:

• bloating

• not losing weight

• increased cholesterol

• forgetfulness

• moody

• hot flashes

• night sweats

What I discovered for myself when I turned 50 was that I needed to find out how to manage this change on my own.

I changed my exercise routine to less cardio, more weight training.

I practiced intermittent fasting.

I increased my protein, by A LOT.

I found the better and best options of foods I was eating.

I limited snacks.

Increased fiber.

Added supplements to include digestive enzymes (greens), collagen and creatine.

Once my period stopped in 2024, the night sweats and hot flashes were more frequent and I hate being hot. I'd rather be cold so sweating to the point of soaking my t-shirt at night was not beneficial for my good sleeping habits. After a little bit of research on my own, I tried Black Cohash.

Black Cohash is a plant that has been shown to have a positive impact on hot flashes and night sweats. I tried it and within 3 months my hot flashes and night sweats were gone! It was a miracle. My sleep improved and so did my energy level during the day.

For the rest of the year I rarely had a hot flash or night sweat unless I had red wine (very sad development).

I now feel like I've coasted through the last six months of menopause. I eat well, weight train 3-5 times a week, walk daily, sleep well and have good energy through the day.

I hope this helps my daughter when she navigates this chapter and I hope she knows she can advocate for herself.