You’re NOT Going Crazy!
During this season of hormonal changes and physical
symptoms, I’ve been able to commiserate with a couple of unlikely young women
experiencing adjustments of their own.
My daughter is almost three months pregnant and my daughter-in-law is
four and half months along. It’s interesting to me that we share many
similar symptoms: indigestion, fatigue,
nausea, foggy brain, memory lapses, moodiness, and the ever expanding
waistline. The one glaring difference of
course, is that my personal journey will not result in a new baby! (And yes – I’m
sure. A negative pregnancy test taken one
week ago proves it!) Part of the
personal perks of this season of life includes the blessing of grandchildren;
part of the challenge is learning to adjust to the hormonal storms that come
and go without warning.
Those of us who have been pregnant and experienced labor and
delivery know that every woman’s experience is incredibly different. I have a friend whose first labor was 36
hours. Mine was 45 minutes. (Totally not fair, I know.) Because every
woman is different, their experience of perimenopause and menopause will also
be different. Some women begin to
experience perimenopausal symptoms in their 30s, some sail right on through the
hormonal adjustments of menopause without even breaking a sweat. (I’m not jealous – Ok, maybe a little bit.) As soon as I think I’ve experienced every
possible symptom known to woman-kind, a new one shows up on the horizon and I’m
forced to find new grace to adapt. I think the hardest part of this whole season
is the unpredictability – I don’t like surprises. Like most women, I prefer a little more
control over life. Some menopausal women
report feeling like they’re going crazy and although some of that sense may be
directly attributed to the very real hormonal changes occurring internally, I
also believe it may be related, quite simply, to that feeling of the loss of
control. Let me assure you: You’re NOT going crazy. Similar to labor and delivery, we’re just
going through a natural process of change that is not the end, but actually the
threshold of a new life adventure. Just breathe.
Someone came up with a list of 35 perimenopausal
symptoms. I find it incredibly
comforting to know that some new, weird symptom I’m having might be something
other sisters have experienced before me, thus making me “normal…ish”. Knowing that my sore tongue, for instance,
might NOT be some exotic incurable disease, but actually be indicative of this lovely
change of life helps me breathe a little easier and find some peace to go with
the flow.
About a month ago, my ears suddenly started ringing. It was loud, obnoxious, unrelenting and rather
disconcerting and what’s more – it’s still going on. I went to the chiropractor to have my neck adjusted,
hoping for some relief, but alas, that didn’t do the trick. And then I checked
the 35-symptom list. Guess what is the
35th symptom? Yep – that’s
right: ear ringing. Can you believe it? I have no idea what is the physiologic reason
behind the ear ringing but as with many other things happening in life right
now, I just chock it up to the same overarching troublemaker: hormones. (By the way, I experienced ear ringing during
the birth of my first child as well.
Hmmm…Interesting.)
So, here’s
the list. Personally, I have experienced
as many as 26 of those listed below. How
about you?
1.
Hot
flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes,
clammy feeling
2.
Irregular
heart beat
3.
Irritability
4.
Mood
swings, sudden tears
5.
Trouble
sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
6.
Irregular
periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods,
shorter cycles, longer cycles
7.
Loss
of libido
8.
Dry
vagina
9.
Crashing
fatigue
10.
Anxiety,
feeling ill at ease
11.
Feelings
of dread, apprehension, doom
12.
Difficulty
concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
13.
Disturbing
memory lapses
14.
Incontinence,
especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
15.
Itchy,
crawly skin
16.
Aching,
sore joints, muscles and tendons
17.
Increased
tension in muscles
18.
Breast
tenderness
19.
Headache
change: increase or decrease
20.
Gastrointestinal
distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
21.
Sudden
bouts of bloat
22.
Depression
23.
Exacerbation
of existing conditions
24.
Increase
in allergies
25.
Weight
gain
26.
Hair
loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
27.
Dizziness,
light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
28.
Changes
in body odor
29.
Electric
shock sensation under the skin and in the head
30.
Tingling
in the extremities
31.
Gum
problems, increased bleeding
32.
Burning
tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
33.
Osteoporosis (after
several years)
34.
Changes
in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
35.
Tinnitus:
ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing,' buzzing etc.
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