Symptoms I Didn’t Know About
Transitioning to menopause is the introduction we get to a lasting loop of unwell that somehow keeps adding to the exhaustion of being off all the time. Nothing about it comes easy and nothing about it is welcomed.
As displeasing as it is, menopause is an inevitable part of aging and for most of us, aging itself is not the issue as it is not facing new life challenges. But falling into cycles of feeling sick is a totally different dimension we encounter without being prepared for it.
It is like having an unspecified appointment with a dreaded future version of what will dominate our lives for many years to come. And only when we come to experience it, is that we discover the misfortune of reaching that moment with no perspective or a story to relate to because no one has ever walked us through this life-altering event before it happens.
Below, are some symptoms that can shed some light on what makes perimenopause & menopause a source of exhausting lividity just to highlight what our lives become.
Here a Bracket of Over 20 Symptoms that May Be Experienced in P&M & How It May Feel Like.
Women in perimenopause & menopause (P&M) endure a long list of symptoms that take over as our ovaries (reproductive glands) produce less estrogen and a drastic hormonal imbalance is triggered throughout our body.
Hormones are remarkable chemicals. They keep our internal organs in balance: our gut and immune system ideally operational, our brains sharp, our sexual functions in line, our bones healthy. So, because hormones impact every aspect of our health (mental & physical) once they are out of sync, all our body functions become less optimal. The event becomes a chain reaction that is out of our control.
Here’s a bracket of over 20 symptoms that may emerge during and after the transition to menopause. Everything about these symptoms is awful. So to the world out there that is not aware or opts to minimize the affliction we are going through, imagine over a decade of THIS being your “normal”. Maybe next time you will think twice before demanding a middle-aged woman to calm down the “PMSing”. At the end of the day we don’t have to downgrade our struggle so that everyone else around us feels less uncomfortable.
So let’s give ourselves permission to discontent, affliction, and lividity. It is totally acceptable!
Please note: These symptoms are NOT experienced by everyone, do NOT appear at the same time, and can go beyond this list.
When connecting the symptoms I didn’t know about led to understanding the potential reasons for the always-present apprehension in P&M:
Erratic periods: get ready to store extra pads…e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e & wherever they fit!
Vaginal dryness: we are talking ‘desert-like’ conditions down there, lubrication M.I.A & friction becoming a fire hazard.
Bloating (my personal fav*): like an unexpected & never-ending expanding soufflé in the mid-section.
Hot flashes & night sweats: the internal burning of the guts & soul.
Low or inexistent libido: it goes into hibernation without a heads-up. Not cool!
Intense angst: makes you open a window and literally gasp for air.
Migraines: sudden, real & for the 100th time…not an excuse to avoid sex!
Fatigue: it could result from sleep being interrupted by the not-sexy type of wetness.
Skin dryness: welcome to itchiness wherever there’s skin.
Sudden weight gain: it will go all martial arts submission hold on you before going away.
Inability to lose weight: fat tissue moves in to stay and muscle mass falls into a coma.
Overpowering sadness: no need for a reason, you just want to cry any day, anywhere.
Trouble concentrating: like getting a rubbery brain where things bounce & can’t stick.
Need for pee: pee, pee, and re-pee-at.
Irritability: how not to be crabby when you feel so bad?
Sleep interruptions: a human torch in bed will rarely fall asleep.
Body aches: hormonal imbalances are not known for their anti-inflammatory qualities.
Dizziness: could signal the loss of blood sugar stability as if we needed additional instabilities.
Food cravings: really hard to choose between salty or sugary foods, so the need to do both will rule!
Brain fog: easily losing the train of thought becomes our new superpower.
Adult acne: oil production in overload proudly brought to us by…estrogen decline!
Hair thinning: love it when hair follicles shrink & hairbrushes look like Angora rabbits spread all over the bathroom counter.
Food sensitivities: all of a sudden before leaving for a restaurant, an epinephrine needle goes in your handbag before a lipstick.
Heavy bleeding: so fun when our vaginas become acting altitude valves that allow non-stop gushing flows of blood down the stream for weeks.
Changes in mood: of course…drastic hormonal imbalances, drastically change how we feel.
So please, join me in taking a moment to recognize the troubles our bodies are going through and explore how to make menopause a less upsetting event.