Balancing Hormones Matters!

Although it's late May, the temperature is still well below normal for this time of year.  In spite of that, I'm happy to report that I have been finding time in the early evening to walk the boardwalk around the harbor in front of our home.  All together, it's about 2.5 - 3 miles since I do the loop twice and I'm already feeling better.  Want to get that in at least 4 times a week, more if I can. So nice to get in some alone time, strap on the old IPod and blast some tunes from my 20's (doesn't hurt to dream about those times does it Lol)!  Fresh air doesn't hurt either!  Also getting out daily with my 3-year old for some yard games during the day.

Still having hot flashes? Oh yeah, big time but mostly at night.  I don't know if that is just because we are more settled at night and I don't notice it as much during the day or what. Either way, when the hot August weather finally hits I know I am going to mind those sudden fevers when I'm trying to sleep.  

So last time I wrote, I mentioned that I was on chapter 1 of Robin's book "What's Age Got To Do With It?".  Finally finished it, quick and easy read. Overall, it's a journal of her trying to figure out what make-up looked best, what clothes, hair you name it, something we can all relate to and topics that very few 50 somethings haven't already figured out.  I mean face it, if you were going to wear make up, you would have figured that out in your teens, most of us don't wait until we are 50 to start thinking about how we look.  On the other hand, I did like her advice on thinking outside the box of old wives tales about where your hemline should be, how short you hair should be etc. at a certain age.  Also great advice from experts for looking your best at any age.  Nutrition chapter was interesting too, diet, exercise, she covers it all. Overall, it's a great book to get the reader to re-program their thinking of how their midlife and beyond years should look and more importantly, feel.

The chapter on menopause though had some great information.  This is something we don't give much thought to until we hit it. Reading about her path of finding what worked for her is valuable information although very few of us happen to live within an easy drive to the Hall Wellness Center or can afford the $850 appointment fee.  For anyone curious, they have a website www.thehallcenter.com 

So I've been researching hormones and what impact they can have on us as they change before, during and after menopause.  Here's a quick recap of what I've learned so far.

Estrogen - if you're DEFICIENT in this hormone, you could have Hot Flashes, Insomnia, Body Aches, Lower Sex Drive and Vaginal Dryness (sounds like this isn't a hormone we want to be low on).

On the other hand, too much estrogen could cause Weight Gain, Abnormal Periods, Depression and Tender Breasts.

Progesterone - if you're DEFICIENT in this hormone, you could have Irregular Periods, Mood Swings and Increased PMS

Too much Progesterone and you could be Sleepy & Dizzy, Depressed, have an Increased Appetite and Gain Weight

Testosterone - If you're DEFICIENT in this one, you could suffer from Muscle Loss, Increased Body Fat, Depression and Lower Sex Drive

If you're Testosterone Dominant - You could have Acne, Unwanted Hair Growth and Increased Sex Drive.

If this information isn't enough to make you want to balance your hormones, I don't know what it will take.  And this is probably just the tip of the iceberg of what's going on.  I know that I have also read that it is important to have your thyroid checked during menopause.

I plan to visit with my own physician this Summer and have my hormone levels tested again and have my thyroid checked. Can't balance what you don't know although the list of symptoms makes it easy to guess where the problems may be. Whether I can access Bio-Identical hormones locally is still a mystery but I'm going to continue asking and researching.  I'll keep you posted!!!

Think I've Got a Plan!

So I received Robin's book last week, "What's Age Got to Do With It" and although I'm still on the first chapter, it's a really good read.  Very well written and in a format that allows the reader to identify with the topics being discussed.  So far, I haven't hit the menopause section but I'm getting there.  In the meantime, I sent an email to texascure.com asking for more information and they were very quick with a response.  Anyone looking for information on bioidentical hormones should check out their website. I noticed that they ship all over the world so it's nice to find a company in the USA that ships internationally. They recommended a few products for my symptoms but until I have more information, I'm not ordering anything. 

Weather is warming up here and we spent last weekend cleaning the cottage for the upcoming Summer season. By the time we arrived home on Monday night, I needed a vacation Lol!  Now that the cleaning is done though, we can enjoy the cottage and invite friends and family all Summer long. We have friends from New Zealand who will be staying with us for a week in June and I know driving to the cottage for a couple of days will be on the agenda.  Now I have to get the house in order for their arrival Lol!

On the "Get Out & Get Moving Front", I've been getting out with my daughter on a regular basis, doing some yard work and walking around the neighborhood while she rides her tricycle.  This week I'm hoping to add a daily walk on our boardwalk around the harbor in an attempt to get some much needed exercise. Wouldn't hurt to have that 45 minutes to myself to clear my head too, I know all you other moms out there can identify with craving some much needed solitude!

On the "Weight Front", I've been watching my diet although with hubby continually bringing cookies and frosted pound cake into the house, I'm not having a whole lot of luck. Going to try to get motivated for the next few weeks because I know when our company arrives, it will be much more difficult to keep on track. I'm having a hard enough time when it's just us! Anyone with any tips or advice, bring it on!!

On the "Menopause Front", still having hot flashes, mostly at night which is not so bad in the Winter while we are freezing up here but during the hot months, I'm going to mind them a lot more. Funny thing, I was talking to a friend from high school the other day who I haven't spoken to in more than 25 years and she tells me that she and her friends are trying to get off synthetic hormones and find a way to acquire bioidential ones. What is it about menopause that during a one-hour conversation with someone you haven't seen in 25 years, it comes up and not just in passing? We must have talked about menopause for half an hour! 

So that's where things are right now. Doesn't sound like I'm making much progress but I think I have a plan in my head, now if I could just implement it!!

Why Hadn't I heard of Bio-Identical Hormones??!!

So I saw the Dr. Phil show the other day on menopause and what an eye opener!  Here I had been blaming all these symptoms on trying to raise a baby in my forties when there it was in big print on the screen behind him. Everything that I have been living with for the past three years.

Thank you Robin for doing the research on hormone replacement and being an example to prove that we don't have to accept these symptoms as just another stage in life.  I will be doing as much research on bioidentical hormones as I can so I can make an informed decision on what is the best treatment to regain the energy I will need to raise my daughter.  I know that because I live in a small town,  resources will be limited but I have to start somewhere.  First step will be to schedule an appointment with my physician and get the results of my hormone levels so I know what I am working with. Being told that they are at the level of a post-menopausal woman won't cut it this time.  I want numbers!

So I've ordered Robin's book and will give you an opinion on what I think of it.  I hope it will give me some guidance on where to start and go about trying to figure this out.  I will keep you up to date on my progress as I expect this will be a long journey. I've also found the website www.TrueTexasCure.com quite interesting.

So turning the attention to my daughter, I'm happy to report that we have been spending time outside together on warm days, raking leaves and also me walking along beside her while she pedals her tricycle around our block over and over.  The fresh air is helping and I'm hoping that with the coming Spring weather, I will feel more like myself again.  I've even started taking a multi-vitamin (for seniors of course LOl) and eating much healthier food.  I don't weigh myself but feel that lately, my clothes have some room in them that wasn't there before.  It's a start so fingers crossed things will get even better!  I'd love to lose about 20lbs!

We have company coming from overseas in a few weeks so I know I will be spending time getting the house ready for them.  They are staying for a full week so I know things will be hectic and it will be more challenging to stick to my goals. Only a week though and with time moving as quickly as it does, I know the time will fly by and we will be seeing them off in no time. Then back to getting things in order with me!  Here's hoping there's a light at the end of this long tunnel!

Just Turned Three & Now Me!

So my little one celebrated her third birthday this month.  Where had three years gone??  She is changing so much every day, speech is coming along nicely, toilet training on the other hand is becoming quite a challenge. It doesn't help that we are just coming out of a long, cold winter and I imagine feeling the cold toilet seat on her backside isn't helping LOL! Hopefully with the warmer weather on the way, she will take more interest in getting out of diapers. I know I'm getting anxious to get her out of them!

So now that she's three, I'm finally feeling like I can catch my breath and take stock of what I'd like to do for myself. One thing is to drop the baby weight.  Nothing like a pregnancy to put on the unwanted pounds and now with menopause on top of that, oh boy!  I expect this one is going to be a challenge!  I've struggled to keep my weight within a normal range my entire adult life and with everything going on in the last three years, I've been losing the battle. Seems like every time you turn on the TV lately, there is Valerie Bertinelli and Marie Osmond showing us moms who are pushing 50 how great you can look if you sign up for their diet plans. My congratulations to them both, they are proving to the rest of us that it's possible! Hope I can get motivated!

So I was watching Oprah the other day and saw the show she did on Exceptional Dads. Talk about an eye opener! I've never felt so lazy and inadequate in my life as I did watching the tape of the dad who is raising 9 children by himself while working full time! His youngest is three, only a few months older than my own and he is doing a fantastic job with all 9 of them. Somehow I have to walk away from that show with the determination to do a better job for my own daughter. With the warmer weather coming, there are no more excuses not to get out and do more. It's so tempting to just hibernate here all winter huddled around the wood stove.  We have had snow up to our necks for the last 6 months but somehow we still managed to go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride with her, do some sliding down hills and I even pulled her around the neighborhood on her sled a few times when it wasn't 20 below zero!  

Sometime next month, the swings will go back up in the parks and we will be able to play out in the yard. She may even pitch in and help with some of the yard work. I found a cute rake for her so she can play while I try to get the lawn and garden in shape for Spring and Summer.

So on that note, I've just pledged in this journal to get out with my daughter more and take on losing the baby/menopause weight. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted!

Coming Into Focus!

Recapping the second year.

So that first year breezed by so quickly in spite of being up nearly around the clock. Lots of feedings, diapers and spit up!  You know, I hardly felt a twinge of nausea during my pregnancy but boy did she make up for it once she arrived!  I am still wiping dried puddles of spit up off floors, walls, furniture, you name it. So much during the first year that I gave up and wore sleepers on her full time. Dress her in a nice outfit?? Why bother - it was ruined within five minutes of putting it on her. I remember going to get photos done and admiring the sweet little frilly dresses the other newborns were wearing, so clean and sweet smelling. Not mine! Spit up everywhere and sour LoL! She was a year old before I could get a professional photo done of her in anything but a sleeper!

The other major challenge I faced for those first two years was taking her anywhere. So many times I would dress her, somehow find the energy to get dressed myself and try to go out. But once she was strapped into the car seat, the screaming and hysteria would begin. So much that I would go over and over the straps, were they too tight, were they digging into her back, her front, her shoulders, her neck, anywhere??? Could she possibly be uncomfortable in a chair that looked so plush and luxurious it would put a Lazy-boy recliner to shame??  It didn't matter what I did, she would get so hysterical before I even backed out of the driveway, you would think she was sitting on a bed of nails! We couldn't take her anywhere more than a few miles from home and even then, it was exhausting to listen to her scream nonstop. How can such a tiny being make so much noise for such a long period of time??  I was afraid the cops would pull me over to see what I was doing to her! I had never heard of this. Everyone I spoke to had used their car seat to put their little ones to sleep. Mine sleep in the car?.. NO CHANCE!!! 

So on top of all the challenges of spending twenty four hours every day looking after our baby, my husband changed jobs and we moved. As if moving alone wasn't enough, we ended up renting a house for 10 months while we completely renovated an old historic home! Talk about have your hands full. We didn't use an architect, we did all the design ourselves with the help of a very good contractor. If you think adjusting to a new baby can test a marriage, try throwing in a home renovation and moving twice within a year on top LOL! Somehow we ended up with a home that we love with our marriage still intact! And yes, the baby is doing fine too!

So again, all through that second year of moving, renovating, hardly sleeping and trying to manage a somewhat normal environment for the baby, I must have been going through menopause! Do you think I noticed anything unusual?? When would that be LOL!!  

The Blur!!

Recapping that first year.

Funny how when you are pregnant, you plan for your new bundle of joy, buying cute little outfits, taking the time to shop whenever you feel like it for stuffed animals, pretty decorative items for the nursery and thinking about the things you will do together. Dreaming about all the fun you will have, how this new baby will respond so lovingly to everything that you are doing for it and with it.  

I had no idea that this little 7lb 6oz person would start exerting her will the minute she got here. I had planned to do a "Baby & Me" Post Natal Yoga Exercise DVD with her. I had already purchased baby lotion so we could bond over loving massages I would give her while we listened to soothing music together. What a wonderful relationship we were going to have. Do I need to tell anyone out there who has kids that the DVD is still in the cellophane wrapper and I recently threw out the UNopened baby massage lotion because it had expired?? Probably not! LOL!!

The reality hit while I was still in the hospital trying to learn how to breast feed. Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why some nurses have to make this so damned complicated! It's no wonder so many moms give up! They had me propped up in the bed while they stacked six big fluffy pillows around my body with exact precision enabling my baby to lay in that perfect position. I would sit there barely breathing for fear one of those pillows would move and the entire mess collapse and go flying off the bed in all directions leaving my baby hanging on to my boob for dear life. Is it any wonder I wanted to run screaming down the hall for formula in a bottle? They wanted me to do this every three hours for the next how many months??!!  I would have been better off grabbing an old pair of pantyhose, stuffing them full of rags, duct taping the waistband shut and tying that around my gut for the baby to lay on. Thank God for those stuffed horseshoe-shaped feeding pillows. Without mine, there is no way I would have been able to feed this baby the way they showed us in the hospital.   

Had I actually been planning to sleep that first year? LOL!  I honestly thought she would need sleep. I expected the nighttime feedings but I didn't expect the sleep deprivation that goes along with having a new baby around. Everyone tells you "Go ahead, sleep when she naps". So simple but realistic, no chance! When would I take a shower, get dressed,  grab something to eat, cook a meal (as if!), wash the clothes I had been wearing for a week straight? Feeding on demand may not sound like such a big deal but I can tell you, everything else either gets put on hold or ignored unless it's on fire! 

Unless you have around the clock help, there is no way you will get ten minutes in a row to yourself. Having a live-in nanny must be the secret to how movie stars can emerge a month after having twins looking well rested and sporting skin-tight clothing to show off their perfectly flat stomachs. Time to workout, prepare a healthy meal, are you kidding?? I needed sleep! Hell, I couldn't even find time to comb my hair. It's no wonder so many new moms cut their hair short. I'm still wearing mine in a ponytail everyday! 

So in all that chaos, I must have been going through menopause.  Is it any wonder I didn't notice?? LOL!!!

44 Years Old And I'm What??!!!!

First a quick recap.

So I went off the pill. Wouldn't you know it, within six weeks of saying "I do", there I was alone in the bathroom pacing as much as you can in a 9' x 4' space quietly waiting for the little window on the test strip to do something. I couldn't believe my eyes when that "plus sign" appeared. "Oh my God!" I thought "What have we done!!"

My first reaction was to panic but it wasn't long before a big smile spread across my face. Could this really be right? I didn't even think it was possible to get pregnant at this age without some sort of fertility treatment or donor eggs. But I had. I was staring at the proof right there on that little wand.

We didn't tell anyone, I was afraid to jinx things but I breezed through that first 8 weeks. No morning sickness, I had started doing prenatal yoga everyday, I was excited and felt great!

But once the medical community caught wind of my condition, the testing and in-depth screening began. Being over the age of 40 made my pregnancy extremely high-risk in their eyes and it didn't matter how terrific I felt or how great my ultrasound results had been. They couldn't wait to run every possible exam and test in the book on me. We had a nuchal exam at about 12 weeks and aced that but then a few weeks later, it was time for the dreaded amnio which I later wished I had refused.

For those of you who believe this test is 100% foolproof, think again. What they neglect to tell you is that this test is only as accurate as the cells that are drawn and how those cells are handled and reproduced once they are extracted. Let's just say for the record that it was a terrible experience that I don't want to go into. Several weeks later when they recommended that they go back in for a test on the cord blood no matter what the risk to the pregnancy, I firmly said "No way!"

Thanks to that amnio test, I ended up in a large hospital 2 1/2 hours away meeting with genetic specialists, getting in-depth ultrasounds and poked with even more needles for additional blood tests and screening. It's nice to know this assistance is available for those who need or want it but thanks to a botched amnio, I was subjected to enough unnecessary stress and anxiety to nearly cause a miscarriage or heart failure!

Bottom line, in spite of the results of that "foolproof" amnio test, I had a beautiful, healthy, 7lb 6oz baby girl at 39 weeks. Great, she even came a week early so I wouldn't be freaked out in week 40 every time she hiccuped!

So during this entire pregnancy, what symptoms of pre-menopause had I missed?? For me to have the hormone levels of a postmenopausal woman just two years later, I must have been in full-blown menopause either during or right after the pregnancy.

Let's see, if you do a search of pre-menopausal symptoms, you will find:

Unexplained weight gain. I wonder how I missed that one LOL, do you think the 35 pounds I gained during the pregnancy might have been a clue?

Mood Swings, well I think that anyone who was pregnant at the age of 44 might be a little touchy, especially being subjected to so many tests so I missed that one.

Irritability, oh I don't know. I was lugging around a gut the size of a barrel LOL! I still remember the day I was coming down the stairs and my husband looked over at me and commented that I had finally reached the stage where one half of my body was now made up entirely of stomach! What a guy!

Fatigue, well carrying around this bundle of joy would have tired out a 20-year old. Of course I was tired, I was 44 years old and pregnant!

Low metabolism, did I mention I gained 35 pounds!!

Water retention, did I mention I was pregnant!

Well the list goes on and on and for anyone who has been pregnant even in their 20's, none of the pre-menopausal symptoms would have stood out as anything unusual except maybe the hot flashes, which I didn't have.

So needless to say, nothing that was going on with my body that could have been that "Hey, I must be pre-menopausal" was going on that couldn't be easily explained by the pregnancy or was I just missing some obvious sign!!??