That Time of Life

It has many different names doesn’t it, the change, the menopause.

I started feeling… Not myself about four years ago. I get I’m hyperaware of my body, and not everyone is, so maybe I detected changes earlier than others will. It began with tiredness. For no reason at all, I was tired. All the damn time. I’d walk down the corridor at work, spy a spot next to the fire extinguisher and think, ‘I could just lie down there and have a little sleep’.

Then came the brain fog. Remembering stuff was harder. I’ve always had one of those annoying brains that sucks up information like a sponge, but I’d be talking, trying to find a word, or a name for someone, and draw a complete blank. I was demotivated at work. Uninterested. It’s like that cotton-wool feeling you get with a cold. The difference is, it’s all the time.

The first option was a trip was to the doctors. He’s a good chap and sent me for blood tests. They checked everything from vitamin D to hormones. All well within limits (as they were the next three times).

You see, what people don’t really tell you is that the pre-menopause stage (perimenopause, which is the state before you’ve not had a period for an entire year, after that it’s the menopause) can last years. So far I’m still there.

The symptoms are similar to the menopause itself, but vary from person to person.

For me it was tiredness, brain fog, occasional night sweats (glamorous) and so far only a few personal summers (hot flushes). But you can also get mood swings and irritability. Periods can go haywire timing wise (like our bodies need an excuse to mess that around). Your boobs might hurt, your sex drive might plummet, you might need more lubricant during sex. Sleep might be limited, or escape you completely. It’s a veritable shitstorm.

Over the last 12 months or so, the brain fog got so bad, I needed to do something about it. I researched, I hit the forums. The options are limited, because the research is limited. The majority either involve HRT, if your hormone levels are low enough so far mine aren’t. And mid pandemic I’m not faffing around with more blood tests.

Or there’s the herbal option.

If you start researching herbal supplements, there are a ton of options. Ginseng. Black cohosh. Soy. Wild yam. Red clover. Most of them are either to relieve symptoms (and can be good for PMT too). Others, like the red clover, and soy contain phytoestrogens – plant based xenoestrogen. They bump up your production of oestrogen – the hormone we’re losing as we go through the per/menopause.

It can be a bit of a minefield – or at least feel like one. What should I take? How many? Should I take ginseng and red clover? Or just increase the soy in my diet? Truth is, everyone’s experience is different, and everyone’s body reacts differently. It’s trial and error.

I was impatient. I felt like crap and it needed to stop. So I bit the bullet and invested in Menopace. It’s a bit of an all in one, with vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements combined. They have a couple of versions. The original, then the one where you get a botanical supplement too. There are also a number of extras – red clover alone, a night time version (if sleep is elusive), and one with calcium. Now, this isn’t an advert. I’ve bought it all myself. I’ve been using it for months – I have a regular subscription now, that’s how long I’ve been using them.

For me, I only need the original. Once a day, and the brain fog eases, no night sweats, no hot flushes. I’m not 100% where I was, but I’m good. I function. I can work. I don’t burst out crying at a card advert daily. That’ll do. When I get worse or have a bad day, I lean on the Menopace Plus. That one is two tablets, with some extra supplements to boost things.

I’m writing about them because I had chat with the nurses I met on my vaccine trial (I mean I was there for four hours), and they were having similar issues, so I suggested they give them a try. And if you’re in the same boat as me, I’d suggest giving them a go to you… So here I am.

It can also feel a bit lonely. I’m relatively young for the perimenopause. I only have friends out the other side, or those nowhere near. Nobody to commiserate with, or talk about it to. There are online communities, sure, but I don’t really feel like I fit – I don’t feel like I’m in need of adverts for Vagisan or need advice on how to avoid buying a knock-off handbag, or how to avoid mental health stress in seniors. Maybe I am, and should be reading these things, but that’s not the point. I don’t feel like I fit in to that community. I’m not ready for any of that yet. So, whilst there’s a gap in the blog for content, I figured I’d talk about it. So it doesn’t feel quite so lonely, and so if there’s someone like me out there, searching for what might work, they have an answer. It might not suit everyone, but it’s saved me a bit.