Advocate for yourself
Remember when you were little and your parents would tell you to speak up for yourself and express your opinion? I never had trouble doing that as a kid, in fact I generally don’t have trouble doing that as an adult either, except in certain situations or with particular people.
These are usually the people I was taught to respect and trust, deferring to their knowledge as being superior to my own. One example is doctors, but I find myself feeling the need to research and advocate for what I believe to be true, even with the medical profession these days. Maybe it’s because we have the internet and information at our fingertips, or maybe it’s because there are so many options between western medicine and alternative therapies.
With my health and general wellbeing over the past few years, I’ve often gone in search of information to learn more about the cause and different treatments available. Perimenopause and menopause is a time when things can feel very different in your body and mind, many of which won’t show up on a blood test. Different GPs have different levels of knowledge and it pays to arm yourself with as much information as you can when seeking help. Given the staggering amount of symptoms associated with peri and menopause, it can also help to diarise your symptoms and when they occur in your cycle (if you have one).
When I started down this journey, I discover that my oestrogen levels were ‘undetectable’ - so pretty much non-existent! This can have some nasty health implications including osteoporosis, so I was advised to go on either HRT or the pill. Thankfully in doing so I managed to rediscover my energy and some major relief.
Now I’m having new symptoms which include sleeplessness and brain-fog. With my oestrogen under control it’s expected that my symptoms would be too, so back down the rabbit hole I went, reading up on the other hormones that impact this stage in life - testosterone and progesterone. Off to the GP I went and onto a new plan to combat my changing needs.
My point is that it pays to educate yourself, take note of how you’re feeling and advocate for yourself and your right to feel better. It’s time to speak up for yourself - no one else can do it for you. You might just find yourself again or at least some relief. Wouldn’t that be nice?
