Perimenopause and hypothyroidism...... are you shitting me with this???

Oh joy.  The questions and confusions of being a woman in her early 40's.  Some days I wish I was a dude; they seem to have it pretty easy in the hormone department, lol.

I recently had issues with headaches, bad insomnia, and forgetfulness that I felt bordered on Alzheimer's, and decided it had interrupted my life enough that it was time to visit my doctor.  Dr. Kasia is cool.  She's pretty earthy-crunchy and will quickly prescribe a massage or exercise over medicine.  I love her :)  She's also heavy into understanding and "knowing" your hormones, and believes that a huge factor in most of a 40-something woman's health issues are that her hormones are 'off' and unaddressed during Perimenopause.

I'm sorry... Peri-what???  That's right ladies.  It seems the lucky owners of vaginas don't just get the fun of hitting menopause, but we also get the grey, and just as annoying, time frame of PERImenopause.  This is the 5 - 10 years BEFORE menopause when our hormones actually begin their imbalance issues, and start either plummeting or sky rocketing, causing us to act like crazy-ass bitches.  It's fun & exciting with symptoms like (are you sitting down?)... mood changes, anxiety attacks, forgetfulness, irritability, sugar cravings, allergy symptoms, depression, brain fog, menstrual problems, anemia, hot flashes, night sweats, headaches and migraines, weight gain, belly fat, insomnia, fatigue, low energy, dry skin, arthritis, cold hands & feet, brittle nails, cracked heels, acne, slow metabolism... and that's just a few.  And a few have been kicking my arse!

Now wait, I've already been suffering from a bunch of these issues... how's that possible?  (are you ready for this???)   It seems the symptoms of Peribitemyass are (almost) all the same symptoms of hypothyroidism; that nasty little condition I've been struggling with since 2004.  Well smack my ass and call me pissed off.  That doesn't seem fair!!  How the hell am I supposed to figure out what symptom is being caused by which condition... and how do I feel better?  This can't be normal.

 

Oh, but it is: http://www.theperimenopauseblog.com/35-symptoms-of-perimenopause-hypothyroidism/

As my doc explained this infuriating information to me, I was less than thrilled and all of the stereotypical age old thoughts that every chick ends up chanting in her head started swirling around in mine... hormones suck, vaginas suck, ovaries suck, aging bodies suck, blah blah suck, lol. 

She sent me for blood tests to check my estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels (yes, chicks have & make testosterone, so don't let any doctor tell you it's okay for yours to be at zero!), and it seems that my estrogen is "through the roof" (how lovely), my progesterone was rock bottom low (UG), and my testosterone could use a boost.  Her research and studies show that ALL women going through Perimenopause should consider low-dose hormone supplement(s) to ease into The Change (seriously, who started calling it this?), and suggested I try it out.

Now if you know me at all, you know I don't agree with prescription meds unless they are absolutely necessary.  I don't even like popping Advil.  It makes me sad and fearful that so many physicians are walking script pads, wearing a white coat and getting a fat check from the pharmaceutical companies.  Ten years ago if my doctor said "Here, take this", I would have, no questions asked... but now I know better... and I have a new doctor.  Sorry, soapbox!  Anyway,  after lots of online research and knowing that my Doc is not a fan of handing out pills, I agreed to give hormone replacement a try, in the hopes of not feeling constantly exhausted and like I'm losing my mind, and also knowing that I wouldn't have to take them forever.

I'm currently taking micronized progesterone and using a testosterone cream in the evenings.  Coupled with my morning thyroid medicine I have to admit that I feel soooo much better.  It's not perfect... I still feel tired when I know I got a good night's sleep, crave sugar like it's oxygen, and sometimes can't find my sunglasses ANYWHERE when they're actually sitting on top of my head... but I'm noticeably better over all.   And I have the power of being in the know.  I had never heard of PERImenopause before Dr. Kasia made me aware.  I still think it sucks and is bullshit, BUT it's not and it's real... and most of us chicks are going to go through it.  Dammit.  So, time to pull up the big girl panties and deal with it!

Your takeaway?  If you feel like crap and/or have any of the symptoms above, or that you read in the link I offered (which I know you're going to read, right? :) ), be sure to see your Primary Care Doc or an Endocrinologist.  Ask her to run some blood work to check your hormones and your thyroid levels, never just assume.  They are very similar and they are very frustrating... and if it's your thyroid, it's urgent that you get it under control.

So DO IT!  Get the blood work!!  It's important to know and it's important to feel good in life.   :)

Peas out,
MaryAnn ~