I knew that when I had my hysterectomy and had everything removed, except for my cervix, that I would immediately go into menopause, I was already on my way there with my periods being quite far apart, but my symptoms were not horrible. They weren’t even horrible for the first few months after my surgery. Heck, taking that uterus, cysts, and endometriosis out, I even lost 5lbs cause that’s how much I think it all weighed, lol! However, one of the reasons I was so scared of surgery was because I felt like the procedure and the menopause journey would age me and age me quickly, and boy has it ever! However, more than that, I feel like it has robbed and taken so many things from me as a woman! And I will NOT sugar coat it or hold back! You need the truth!
Who is this person who is inhabiting my body, my vagina, my mind? I don’t know her, and I don’t really like her! LOL
This is a list of the thing’s menopause has taken from me.
~my hair…it’s now brittle and coarse, more so than just hair color damage
~my skin…dry and dull and I never had problems with that before.
~my mood…irritable as hell yes not h.e.double.hockey sticks but HELL and I’m not normally an irritable person
~my personality…yeah that’s a lil drastic and goes along with mood but I’m not as happy go lucky and I find myself not caring about shizzzz!
~my sleep…this was bad peri menopause but hello 2am-5am, I see you!
~my boobs, OK this isn’t really menopause related but age related, but my small size B perky boobs are now often found under my under arms, lol
~my VAGINA..no joke folks, I don’t know her! Dry, different and get this, I think the outer lips to my vagina have gone from firm to saggy too. WTH?
~my libido…this went downhill about 6 months post op! Now the cream I’ll mention later does help and it’s all ok in that department…k…S.E.X BUT it’s still not the libido I used to know.
~my brain…menopause fog is real
~my energy…she who was the energizer bunny is now the traumatized turtle!
AND to top it all off, I’m growing a beard and by that, I mean 2 dark course chin hairs it took giant tweezers to remove, lol.
Yeah, they should call it "Man"opause because sometimes I have to put my man on pause if you know what I mean!
I asked the doctor, without hormone replacement, how do I get through this, and he said you just do. Which is true and which is what my mom and other women have said, but I don’t want to feel like complete crap the whole time while I’m getting through it. The length of time a woman is in menopause varies greatly; it could even be for years.
Here’s what I’m doing to help. At times I don’t feel like any of it is working, but I can only imagine where I would be without doing these things primarily which are beneficial to my health anyway.
~Using topical estrogen and testosterone creams prescribed by my GYN
~Exercising daily
~Eating whole foods, cutting back on all the whites like flour, sugar and dairy and eliminating a lot of gluten
~In addition to my vitamins, I take an all-natural supplement called Vitex Chaste Tree (get it HERE) which I feel helps with symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS!
I’m definitely not here for a pity party. What I am here for is to tell you you’re not alone and get all this off my mind to help in this journey. Whether you are going through menopause, getting close, have been through it, or will one day I think the majority of us can relate how much it changes us.
How we had no idea what we were in for.
This is a safe space. Menopause is NOT Taboo, it needs to be talked about! What is your experience with menopause, years leading up to it or post menopause? Has anything helped you?
Stay COOL, lol.
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