Well, 7.3 years in Post Menopause really. 8 years since the cancer Dx.
I’ve re-wrote multiple times what to say, what to consider, how to come across. So many things to consider.
1st of all, not everyone experiences this the same. I have friends that are 60 y/o and run and hike with what appears to me to be ease and here I am at 45 struggling. I’m sure being tossed from absolutely at the height of my athletic years as a runner into this didn’t help. I thought it would improve, but it waxed and waned and now its on a straight downslope it feels. I’m waiting for the hill to go back up.
I usually love downslopes. Running down feels like gravity is pulling you down. The downslope of a roller coaster is scary and liberating. Looking down a mountain’s downslope can definitely seem scary though from the top. Hiking downhill on a rocky trail must be done with care.
After ready the Stacey Simms books, listening to her YouTube videos, listening to a PT who did a menopause class, listening to Hit Play Not Pause… its obvious that the experts in menopause are those of us in it and experiencing it. We are the ones who need to teach and educate. The physicians are not getting much training in it because there’s not much research out there. Women were put on the back burner for so many years and told to just suck it up and deal with it… even our mothers don’t discuss it.
We’re living in a world right now where women are afraid to discuss their symptoms because they are being ignored so they deal in silence and don’t understand why they are experiencing them.
Talk ladies talk. Educate the younger. Those young ladies knew they would have a period and get pregnant… the girls and boys were taught about this- but nobody prepared us for what all estrogen controls. As you are getting older your estrogen drops either naturally or in shock format like mine did, and this will happen years before men feel the affects of being older… recognize. If your doctor doesn’t educate you or just says ‘deal with it’… that’s not an answer. We all need to recognize why we are going through this and that it IS natural and you can talk about it.
Estrogen, or lack of estrogen, affects your mood, your mind, how your body distributes and holds weight, joint pain, hot flashes, bloating, recovery, energy levels, how dry your skin is… so many things that you never imagined. Once it stops excreting from the ovaries, the last little bit of estrogen starts pulling from the fat cells and adipose tissue, especially the visceral fat.
I definitely don’t feel I’m impressing anyone.
I now am taking Wellbutrin because my brain finally started going downhill with ADHD and the ease of getting overwhelmed. Or could that be because I was face down in a pie of my children’s business and getting one ready for college. Also that work was an absolute disaster for my brain with inconsistency and drama. This year is looking up so far… we’ll see if the change makes things better.
I also know I’m a moodier person than I’ve ever been.
Activity wise I’ve been very low energy. Running isn’t as easy as it even was a year ago. Everything I read about post menopause states that I should be lifting more and doing cardio less. That’s hard for me. But perhaps I’m just gonna say no to those long cardio activities for a while and see how my body responds. The hardest part about this is that crucial relationship building time I had is zilch because I can’t keep up, I can’t make the timeframe of when runs are happening, or I just can’t run as far anymore.
I am literally trying something new every 2-3 months to see if I can find the key.
The money it costs to get someone who might be able to help is ridiculous. If I can’t have a guarantee, then I’m gonna just test it out on my own.
Its pre-season football and I literally skip a meal a day (or eat veggies only or a protein bar alone) almost because I don’t have time… and I still don’t drop weight. 20lbs extra is hard to fight through when my entire life said calorie deficit would work, and it did, but it no longer does.
Hot flashes still come and go. Seems this summer I’ve found myself multiple times with a face dripping with sweat in a random place. I’m not very heat tolerant. Paroxetine helps.
Really lucky that Turmeric Curcumin has helped keep any joint pain away. Although now my shoulder hurts- maybe I still have joint pain…
I focus on sleeping at least 8 hours a night. Last night I did get more like 10, which was wonderful. And needed.
In January at my next appointment my oncologist will be discussing me going off of Anastrozole at the 8 year mark that April. The benefits of avoiding a repeat of cancer are as high, if not higher, at that point as they will be at the 10 year mark.
It will also be me losing my protective bubble…
runwithboys 