Perimenopause & Menopause- Living With It, Symptoms, & Resources

 

Hey Everyone! So today's post isn't about books (well I will refer one book). This is going to be a long post but I want to make sure I share everything. This about a subject that thankfully more people are talking about but, I thought I would share my experience and also give you all some resources and products that have really helped me along the journey. I am not a medical professional so please make sure to discuss your options with your doctors like I have but if I can help you in any way with my story and what I've learned I felt that I should share!

So let me start with my age, I am 48 and was given the menopause diagnosis in October of 2024 after 1 year of no periods. I am on the younger side for menopause but it can happen to anyone at any age. 

I was 38 when my first symptoms started and I had no clue what was happening. My first symptom was a hot flash and it happened at the worst time. I was on a plane getting ready to take off from Sacramento to LA for the LA Times Festival of Books and all of a sudden I got really overheated and flushed and the overhead air vents weren't on since we hadn't taken off yet. This flash in turn gave me a massive anxiety attack, my mom was on the plane with me and she thought I was going crazy. See the thing is, my mom didn't really experience menopause or peri since she had a full hysterectomy so she had no clue what I was going through and didn't know how to help. I suffered through the flight but was fine by the time we landed. I had a blast at the festival and felt great! Then came the flight home, hot flash again but this time maybe I was expecting it? So my anxiety while it was there it wasn't as bad. Needless to say I haven't been on a plane since.

The first couple years after the hot flash I didn't really experience many more so I thought it was a one off of maybe the plane. But when I turned 40 the symptoms came back and hit me like a Mack truck. Hot flashes, anxiety, trouble sleeping, increased sex drive, acne... so I started to do research and decided to try to treat it naturally since 8 years ago the idea of Hormone Replacement Therapy scared the hell out of me because of all of the misinformation and bad research that had been going around. I will share below what natural supplements that I took  that helped me for years. 

At 45 more symptoms appeared, massive dizziness, weight gain, joint pain, hair loss, dry skin, mouth, & eyes, changes in my eyesight, brain fog, sweating, body odor changes... and the natural supplement I was taking stopped working completely. I finally went to my doctor to discuss my issues and he completely wrote me off and so did my OB/Gyn, they tried to prescribe allergy meds for the dizziness, anti depressants and anxiety meds which I refused so, I fired them both and found new doctors. My new doctors are amazing and we discussed HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and I got on the patches right away, the first set helped a bit but after a few months symptoms came back so we tried another patch with a higher dosage and it worked wonders! Hot flashes are rare, my dizziness is gone, anxiety is in check! For some symptoms and I've been using supplements for the others but I am now almost back to my old self!

If you can't find a doctor that will prescribe you HRT check out Dr Mary Claire's recommended physicians list to see if there's any in your area https://thepauselife.com/pages/recommended-physicians or Midi Health- they work with most insurance https://www.joinmidi.com/

What are some perimenopause and menopause symptoms? Lets take a look at this image from Mindset Health this isn't a complete list as they're finding more symptoms as more research happens.

Not everyone is going to experience these symptoms or may only have a few but not me. Going through that list I have had hot flashes, night sweats, bloating, headaches, moos swings, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, joint pain, itchiness, digestion changes, muscle aches, disrupted sleep, thinning hair, weight gain, concentration lapses, brittle nails, dizziness, and body odor changes. I know right? That's A LOT of symptoms!

As I said above in the first paragraph I am not a medical professional so please talk to your doctors and if they dismiss you find ones who will listen. But if your symptoms are bad or you even want to get ahead of it think of asking about HRT the benefits outweigh the risks especially if you don't have a history of breast cancer in your family you can read more here on Dr Mary Claire's website https://thepauselife.com/blogs/the-pause-blog/new-hope-for-menopause-experts-say-hormone-therapy-is-safe-and-effective#:~:text=New%20Hope%20For%20Menopause%3A%20Experts,Mary%20Claire%20Haver

Now here's what you all want. My resources and products I use. I will share links (the amazon ones are my affiliate link. The rest aren't). Also do your research and ask your doctors if you have any medical conditions to see if you can safely take the supplements I will suggest.

First my resource list:

This book and woman are my go to's for all things menopause! She is a board certified OB/Gyn who specializes in menopause care. She is simply amazing!

You can follow her Facebook page here- https://www.facebook.com/drmaryclaire

There's also a Facebook group that has great resources that was inspired by Dr Mary Claire's book- https://www.facebook.com/groups/457872753503759

You can buy the book here- https://amzn.to/43DnaDU

She was also on Oprah's special about menopause on March 31st! You can stream it on Hulu- https://www.hulu.com/series/an-oprah-winfrey-special-the-menopause-revolution-ef8fc4a4-97b5-43dd-9a85-6f12cc0bceab?entity_id=f1e3305c-c2b8-460b-91ff-ac31a5e15e8f

Products: (I tried to find products that were affordable for me since these supplement companies charge crazy amounts for their "special menopause supplements")

Supplements: Ask your doctor if you can take all of these and also check for any drug interactions there may be with any other meds you are taking.

For hot flashes and other symptoms before HRT I used Estroven. I used the mood and memory one, they've rebranded it to just mood but it really did work for me for years. They have a bunch of different ones so you can try them and see what works for you! And they cost less than ones you'll find online https://amzn.to/44jklYT

For stress, anxiety, and sleep issues I take these every night before bed. Qunol Ulltra Magnesium Glycinate Complex -https://amzn.to/4i2UrvF and Nutricost KSM-66 Ashwagandha Root Extract 600mg- https://amzn.to/420E2Dk

For hair, skin, and nails. Sone people prefer the powdered collagen but most of them are pretty pricey so I have been using this. Amazon Basics Type 2 Collagen (also helps for joint pain)- https://amzn.to/4i7O0HR & Amazon Basics Biotin- https://amzn.to/3XO8Nc6 jusy a note none of these really help for my hair loss so I will post what has below. 

Now for the hair loss, really all I've found that works is Minoxidil. I use the Her's brand which you can find on Amazon. I find it easier than the Her's website since they make you take a quiz and stuff- https://amzn.to/3XNKdbn

Another thing I take for gut health and flora (helps with odor) is a daily probiotic. https://amzn.to/42e39CV

For Dry Eyes Systane Ultra Lubricant Eye Drops-https://amzn.to/42iI60C and OCuSOFT Lid Scrub PLUS - Pre-Moistened Leave-On Eyelid Wipes- https://amzn.to/4ckZg2a these were both suggested by my eye doctor. I love the wipes for when my eyes are itchy or get the little crusties from sleep too.

Deodorants & body washes. I find Lume does the job for most things. I prefer the creams to the stick deodorants and I love the acidified body washes and bar soaps! They've also added a sweat control line now that I love! You can order some things on Amazon- https://amzn.to/3Ek1fXW but if you want to see it all check out the website-https://lumedeodorant.com/ also make sure to use lotions that don't have alcohol in them as those are drying.

If Lume doesn't work. Go with this heavy hitter! My pits sweat with Lume so I go with Carpe, it definitely works! They also have a great face primer if you worry about a shiny face! You can get Carpe at Amazon- https://amzn.to/4lrPxvo or their website- https://mycarpe.com/

For Acne. I love Burt's Bees it's the only thing that seems to help (btw all of my acne is usually on my chest and neck) you can get that on Amazon- https://amzn.to/3XRwgcp, the Burt's Bees website https://www.burtsbees.com/skin/by-concern/acne/ or stores like CVS, Target, Rite Aid, Walmart, etc.

Extras:

If you need a little extra help for anxiety I love these! I'll slap one one if I know I will be in a situation that might cause anxiety like crowded places or a dentist appt. https://viciwellness.com/collections/vici-wellness-topical-patches/products/nervous-wreck?variant=42038762995942

For when you're running hot. I love this little neck fan-https://amzn.to/42mZXU6 and also this one you can plug into your phone to charge it-https://amzn.to/4lldDHV!

Ok last subject and I hope you all have stuck with me. Sexual health, which I know some people can lose their libido well Dr Mary Claire suggests testosterone or vaginal estrogen which you can talk to your doctor about. Lubricants help and toys can help as well. This is a favorite of mine- https://amzn.to/4cxBYGv

I hope that you made it through the whole post and that some of the things that I have talked about can help you! I'd love to hear from you if you try any of them so shoot me a message on social media or leave a comment!