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Saturday, March 19, 2011

I'm 28 and it's my 3rd time through Menopause

My Saturdays!

I realize that title is a little wonky (my made-up word, don't steal it) but I can assure you, it's true.

A couple years ago I went through the uncomfortable procedure to determine if I had endometriosis. I do and I also have fibroids. None of which is life-threatening but can and does cause me great pain.

So!

They decided that the best course of treatment is Lupron Depot. Now for the comfort of my reader's, mainly the men, I'm going to explain this like my "system" is a computer. The Lupron depot is like a soft shutdown and reboot, but let's say we're talking about a Dell, so the shutdown is easy and fast but the reboot takes FOREVER! :)

For most women, Lupron depot has a tendency to make them gain a lot of weight! Like with most instances (having to do with my health) I'm the opposite. I lost a whole bunch of weight fast, unsafely, and unhealthily. It's just one of those medicines where the side effects are worse than the illness. A month or so into not eating and barely keeping hydrated, I lose all of my energy, I start having hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, etc. It's a lot of fun! Not! I still find a lot of humor in all of it. Like getting a hot flash and running outside (where it's below freezing) to cool off, or being very cold and wishing for a hot flash to come.

Since, I've had 3 short experiences with chemically-induced menopause, I've also been able to come up with some tips and tricks to help those either on this medicine or naturally going through the cycle. Aww Life!

Meat tends to trigger more hot flashes, especially red meat (which I love!). Soy products help. Everyday I have a glass of light chocolate soy milk, and especially when I'm in the beginning phase and barely eating anything, everything I ate was either soy or veggies. Finding soy products you like isn't hard, you just have to be willing to try them. It'll make a difference, I promise! My last tip is to sleep with the window open. Only when the temps reached way below zero did I close my window. When you're going through night sweats, you'll find that you won't mind being cold as long as it keeps the night sweats to a minimum.

I know I didn't mention hormone pills. Most women are able to take hormone pills to counteract some of the side effects of menopause and this medication. Since I had pulmonary embolisms in 2005, I am unable to take anything hormone related. It would be like medicinal suicide. We don't want that! No No No!

But! My computer is still shutdown and it won't be for another couple of months till it reboots! So glad my system is a Dell and not a Mac! Ciao!

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