My Menopause Journey (so far)

My Menopause journey, so far.

In this post, I share my thoughts about preparing the body for menopause. 

My experiences as a nutrition therapist, going from pre-menopause to the present, 48 years old and in the middle of my hormone transition.  

What I have learned about the stages of menopause, hormone balance and what I would do differently, hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Where are you in your menopause journey?

There are 4 stages of menopause.

• Pre-menopause; you are having regular cycles and not experiencing any hormone changes associated with menopause, this is the BEST time to start preparing your body, understanding your cycles and ditching restrictive diets, it’s time to start NOURISHING your body!
• Peri-menopause; you are over 45 (you can be under but this is the ‘official’ age) and starting to or are in the throws of massive hormones changes, experiencing symptoms from depression or anxiety to rage and/or hot flushes, night sweats, acid reflux, aches and pains, sleep issues, belly fat and brain fog – these are just some of the MANY symptoms.
• Menopause; 12 months since your last period, effectively you are in this stage for 24 hours
• Post-menopause; you have now had 12 months or over without a period.  You are still experiencing hormone imbalance but perhaps not so dramatic.  NOW IS YOUR TIME! Preserve your heart and brain health and find your purpose!

Learning to tune into the messages your body is sending is essential when it comes to understanding and controlling symptoms related to hormone imbalance.

Are you taking contraceptives?

If you are, you will have to listen harder to hear what your body is telling you. 

If you are over 45, chances are the process has already started.

Why do you need to be able to hear your body?

I had an IUD (Merina coil) fitted after the birth of my last child.  I absolutely loved it.

It was so convenient not to have a monthly period and I had no issues with it at all.

My nurse even said this will see you through menopause.  

I knew nothing about menopause!

I would rave about my IUD to my friends and say it was the best contraceptive I had ever used, totally encouraging them to try it.

Would I go back and change it?

Part of me says no, because of how easy my life was without a monthly cycle but hindsight is a wonderful thing.  

As I didn’t have to think or worry about that part of my body I didn’t give any thought to what usually happens, which hormones are released and when.

I didn’t think about the effects these hormones would have on my well-being or how the body even makes these hormones.

It certainly wasn’t anything I was ever taught, being a ’70s child my monthly cycle wasn’t something that was spoken about openly, it was private and a little embarrassing.  

When I think back, even the language around the female monthly cycle was derogatory.

Fast forward to 2019 I completed my training to become a nutrition therapist. 

I spent the next 2 years helping women with their health and well-being along with waking up to the fact I was well into my menopause journey.

From here my own journey of discovery and understanding began.

What was going on with my body?

I had my IUD removed 18 months ago (April 2021) as I seemed to be experiencing monthly ‘period pains’ and different niggling symptoms such as weight gain, acid reflux, waking in the night and not being able to get back to sleep along with aching joints, especially my feet, I would walk like an old lady to the bathroom in the morning.

Reconnecting with my body over these past 18 months has been enlightening.

I do have a little regret, thinking so little of my monthly cycle and what it could teach me about my body and the connection it could provide to the world around me.

It is so great that more women are now speaking openly about menopause but there is so much we still don’t know and understand about our own bodies and this makes me want to share what I have learned so I can help other women realise what a natural process they are going through and relieve any anxiety or fear.

Some women experience horrendous symptoms, really debilitating.  

As a society, we want a quick fix when we aren’t feeling great.

It can be tempting.

Especially when you hear stories of women who feel reborn after taking HRT, to visit the GP and demand some hormone medication.

The trouble is if you and the GP don’t understand more about your lifestyle, for instance, if your body is well nourished or how you deal with stress, this could make things worse.

Many women talk about taking contraception along with HRT in the form of additional estrogen and progesterone, and while I support a woman’s right to choose, surely this can add to the confusion inside our body and makes our body not know if it’s coming or going.

We need to educate ourselves about what is going on in our bodies so we are armed with the right information to make an informed choice.  

A choice that will support our optimal health and well-being.

Every ‘body’ is different, and every experience of menopause is unique.

Have we lost our connection to the natural cycles of life? 

If so, when did this happen?  

I have been reading a book called WITCH by Lisa Lister. 

It is so interesting how she relates our disconnection right back to the Witch trials where hundreds of thousands of women (and so-called unsuitable men, gays, vagrants, Jews, foreigners, and strangers) were killed for being suspected of witchcraft.

Women were branded as Witches due to their knowledge about life cycles, they were often midwives, healers and herbalists.

Lisa writes “Before Christianity pushed the worship of the Great Mumma (earth) underground, our unique relationship to the process of reproduction – our menstrual blood and cyclic nature – was revered.  Giving birth was seen as participating in a magical miracle.

That meant women were credited with a special understanding of the secrets of nature – secrets that enabled them to influence life and death, understand sexuality and discover the hidden properties of things.

In order to create optimal health, I believe we need to take back this power by changing our mindset toward our bodies. 

To start no longer seeing our body as just something that needs to be a certain shape and size to fit the current popular criteria.

I want us to fall in love with our body for everything it does for us and those we love.  Then I want us to treat our body like it deserves to be treated, nourished not punished.

The cycle of menopause

Menopause can take 7-10 years, some research says 14 years.

It is important to note that this is a natural process just like puberty.  Our body is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

With knowledge and understanding, we can support our body through our lifestyle choices during this time of transition, including HRT if it is needed.

Menopause is not something to be feared.

It is not time to shrivel up and decide to have nothing else to contribute to the world.

This could be a time of rebirth, a chance to find out who you are and what you want to do with the rest of your life.

Food for thought:

The average age of menopause is 51.  

100 years ago the average lifespan for a woman was 59.  

This left just 8 years post-menopause. You can see why the mindset behind menopause being the end of life was more acceptable back then.

These days the average lifespan is 81.

Therefore we could experience a good 30 years now post-menopause.

We must start embracing the transition through menopause as a gateway to another lifetime and make this as happy, healthy, and purposeful as possible.

We won’t be able to embrace this unless we understand what is going on inside our body and how to best support it.

All women will go through menopause, there is no stopping this process, just like puberty, BUT if we were more prepared then we could certainly experience a smoother transition.

If not a smoother transition then surely a better understanding would remove the fear and anxiety women feel.  

It would remove the complete disconnect from our body and our loved ones who are watching the suffering and not knowing what to do to help or worse feeling like it is their fault and relationships come to an end.

Designing your Menopause Journey

So far I count myself as one of the lucky ones.

I experience hot flushes (lovingly referred to as thermal moments), and I have experienced short cycles and cycles of 180 days. 

I lose words and have to play Give us a Clue! (surely if you are going through menopause you remember this show haha!)

With time and patience, I am learning to recognise the signals my body sends and to understand which hormones are in play so that I can tweak my lifestyle to reduce any discomfort.

I have spent the past 2 years researching and training to understand how balanced nutrition, and designing a healthy lifestyle to suit my needs for rest and stress reduction can support the balance of hormones and optimal metabolism (fat burning!).  

I am not saying I am perfect and have got it all figured out.  When I am feeling crap I do reach for comfort food and I do enjoy a glass of wine or 3.

However, I know what I want my menopause experience to look like, I am learning to listen closely to what is going on and adjust my lifestyle habits to ease the symptoms I am experiencing and this is what I want to share with other women who want to live a happy, healthy and long life.

What can you do right now?

Are you on my email list?

This is where I communicate most directly, social media can be so fickle! Saying that I have loads of educational videos on Tiktok which you can watch HERE.

I have tons of free downloadable resources which will get you on my list, you can access these HERE.

I also have a private Facebook group if that is more your thing, you can join HERE.

If you would like to find out more about my online hybrid Empowered Menopause Journey Programs or Monthly Membership, follow THIS LINK.

Book a complimentary 30-minute menopause assessment with me and we can chat about your individual symptoms and requirements.