I’ve been feeling like shit lately and almost feeling depressed – but yet not really, it’s a weird feeling. I thought I was feeling bad because of empty nest and all of the stuff that I’ve been through in the past several years (mom died, lost job, divorce, empty nest, not knowing what’s next in life for me, entering perimenopause…) so I made an appointment to go to a counselor, I go this evening after work.
Well, I decided to look up the perimenopause symptoms because I’m noticing more and more things. There was a list of 34 symptoms and here are the ones that I have: irregular periods, fatigue, sudden tears/depression, increase in facial hair, joint pain, itchy skin, restless sleep, memory lapses.
Almost all of the symptoms that I was blaming on me being depressed about empty nest syndrome are from me entering perimenopause! I thought the sleep, fatigue, sudden tears/depression was from the empty nest combined with all of the other things that I’ve been through – but now that I look at those things combined with the other symptoms I think it is being caused by the perimenopause. Here, I’m going to talk to a therapist about it and I probably should be going to the gyno!
Did any of you have all of this stuff happen to you??
I actually feel a little better already having discovered this information. I’m still going to the appointment tonight, I’ll let you know how it goes...
I suppose the perimenopause symptoms could be intensifying the feelings that you're already having. Sorry, I'm not there yet so I can't share experiences. I hope the appointment is helpful.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've been reading mega volumes on this topic of late, as you know. My research led me to discover how deeply everything in our lives is regulated by our hormones, and not just estrogen and progesterone. I realized that what was really affecting me was that all the 'midlife' stress was creating huge dumps of cortisol in my system. Cortisol is what gives us belly fat and makes losing weigh so difficult. Also, our adrenal glands regulate our hormones and those glands can just become fatigued, especially if you eat lots of sugar or caffeine, which we usually do when we're stressed. Finally, all of those things create this perfect storm that causes us to feel those periomenopause/menopause symptoms even more.
ReplyDeleteMy cycle got a bit weird over the last two years, but nothing erratic. I had breast tenderness and difficulty losing weight and a few hot flashes, but nothing that seemed crazy. But now, well, I haven't had a period since July and right before that, maybe March through May, my waist just ballooned. I never made the connection until recently, though.
Anyhow, read Suzanne Sommers and head out to the health store to talk to someone in the supplement department and get back to walking. You do need to see the gyno for a check up and talk, but personally, after all the reading I did, I decided not to opt for the hormone replacement patches because the estrogen was just going to make my weight issue worse and that there wasn't a whole lot of harm in trying the supplements first.
Enough of my rambling. Have a great session tonight with your therapist; I know you are going to feel so much better just talking things out. Hang in there; it's like we're teenagers again, but with thick waists and grey hair.
Hank - Gurl, I can't thank you enough for all of your support and advice! ::hugs::
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