Peri-Menopause It’s a Scam
Oh the period in time when a woman begins to have fluctuations in her hormones, and estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone begin their slow roll down hill, picking up speed as time goes by, is very real. Peri-menopause is the period in time when estrogen starts to wain until it is a full year with no period. That magic day is called menopause and then a woman is in the “after glow” phase. Life goes on, she didn’t kill anyone and things have settled down to the new norm.
The propaganda surrounding this natural process is a bit much. It is our fault though (Gen X I’m looking at us). We are a group of women who raised ourselves, who want answers. We will go find them and we will make change according to what we find.
What we have found is that women’s health, in general, has not been studied or taught. Most medical research has been done on men. Little hard to do that for peri-menopause/menopause, so it just didn’t happen. Well, now that the Gen Xer’s are in need of some medical attention, the research and information overload is happening.
For a million years women have been going through the “change.” The symptoms haven’t changed. Estrogen has always been in charge of absolutely everything and when that bitch up and leaves women realize that their eyelids are sagging, their upper lip has disappeared, their hips widen, their belly protrudes, breasts sage, memory goes by-bye, everything aches, moods are all over the place, and why is the thermostat broken? Sleep? What sleep? Sweating in places you weren’t even aware you had is your new adventure. Getting lost driving home, forgetting why you walked into a room, not nearly as flexible as you once were. Balance issues pop up. Hearing is affected and vertigo becomes a reality for some. Oh the joy. But seriously, it is a joy. It is a privilege to age; one some people don’t get. It is a privilege to be a woman.
After all, all of those hormones and cycles made us the sex that can grow a living being in our uterus. They make us tender and compassionate. They make us care. They make us curvy and lovely.
It is great to have the research being done. It is great to have options for treating some symptoms; however, as with anything that can be commercialized, there is a negative side to this coin.
Women do not have to treat every symptom of a natural process within their body. If you can treat your vertigo with some nervous system resets, yoga, and Vagus Nerve stimulating activities, do that. If you can interrupt your hot flashes and night sweats with taking clothes off, using a fan, ice, or going outside for a minute, maybe do those instead of Gabapentin. If you can go for a walk to improve your mood, get some pep in your step, do that maybe instead of medication. You get my point. I do believe very strongly in having options though. If you want to do meds., do meds. If you want to go all natural, do it. If you want to mix it up, do that.
There is so much information at the fingertip now, about any topic. Peri-menopause is no different. AND if there is money to be made, money will be made. Marketers are very good at making you feel like you will have instant improvement if you only do what they tell you, and vice versa.
There is information about meds. to wade through and also information about supplements and exercise. Honestly, it is overwhelming the amount of information out there if you start to look or do your own research. Suddenly your cortisol level is raging and it is the main culprit for the belly fat, then there is the “don’t do cardio” camp, and the lift-heavy camp. There is the eat your body weight in protein every day and track your macros to within an inch of your life. Then there is the eat three meals a day, no wait you should be fasting- KNOW YOUR EATING WINDOW. There are so many ideas.
What if we stepped back a minute; turned off the podcast, turned down the female Gen X gynecologist pointing at us on the internet, put the article down and took a breath. Yes peri-menopause can start in your late thirties, early forties, or later. Yes, you are allowed to treat the symptoms. But, hear me out, what if you didn’t? What if you stopped with the artificial, the symptom masking, the meds to cover the side effects of the other meds, and supplements?
What if we looked at going through this phase as we should look at all healthcare? What if our approach were “What does my body need, and how can I get it?” Your body needs nutrition, hydration, sunlight, connection, movement and shelter.
What if we ate REAL food? Not processed, not antibiotic filled, but whole, know where it came from, food. Real protein, instead of powder. What if we moved our bodies every single day? What if we spent time outside every single day? What if we connected with people in person, not just on the internet? What if we drank plain old water, enough of it, every day? What if we were grateful for things, found joy in the simple? And don’t forget that laughter is the best medicine.
In my PollyAnna world where I wear rose-colored glasses, everything can be fixed or made better by taking a walk. These are just my opinions. Take them with a grain of salt (no really, salt isn’t the enemy). See your doctor or naturopath as needed. Explore the options, and the great outdoors.
I am no where near as skinny as I was 10 years ago, but I am more comfortable in my wrinkled dry saggy skin than I was when I didn’t know how to speak my mind.
Gen X for the win.
