Peri-menopause, Menopause, The Pause, The Big “M” The Change, or as I have lovingly called it on numerous occasions (ok, maybe not lovingly), Menopause Madness, AKA crazy town.

Let's talk ladies.

First let me begin with a disclaimer. I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. My only purpose of writing this is to share what I’ve learned while navigating my own perimenopause and menopause this far.

I hope to be a source of support for many of us in this season of our lives and I want you all to know, you are not alone. You aren't crazy and what you are feeling is completely normal, albeit annoying as hell.

Knowledge is power as they say, and I truly believe the more we openly talk about what we are going through, the better and more accepting we will feel about aging and challenges that may come along with it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are here to be the best versions of ourselves at whatever age/stage we are in. The good news is that one of the things that is most recommended and has been shown to reduce some of the annoying symptoms of menopause is physical activity. Street Parking has given us plenty of bang for our buck in that department. Yay us!

Perimenopause showed up somewhere in my early 40’s. For some women it starts in their mid to late 30’s. It wasn’t too bothersome for me until around age of 46 or 47, which is when night sweats and hot flashes made an appearance (the most common menopausal symptom/complaint by the way). This was the first time I really acknowledged signs my body was starting this transition.. It wasn’t performing physically as well as it once did. I had more joint pain, was dealing with pesky injuries that were taking longer to heal and was taking longer to recover from workouts. The most distressing change for me was putting on weight and seeing fat deposit in places it never had before (whose stomach is this anyway?!). What once worked, no longer did. I was completely frustrated, angry and moody. Moody is an understatement. My poor husband probably felt like he was married to a complete stranger at times. I can’t tell you how many articles with the subject line of “how to survive your wife’s menopause” or “what not to say to your menopausal wife” I’ve sent him over the past few years. Luckily, he was always willing to read them and probably took a few notes; which is why I can happily report that we are still living that blissful married life today...Ha!

There are two symptoms I wanted to discuss specifically as these are the two that took me by complete surprise. Depression and anxiety. Normally, I am a pretty easy going and generally a positive and happy person, however this menopausal version of me was an unrecognizable and unwanted intruder. I had heard the older women in my life openly discuss hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and lack of libido. They openly talked about menopausal rage, (hello unrecognizable intruder mentioned above) and out of nowhere weight gain. No one in my circle ever mentioned depression or anxiety. In my recent quest for knowledge of all things menopause, I was finding that these two biggies were extremely common due to the dip in our hormones. Who knew?!

I experienced my first real bout with anxiety about 2 years ago and didn’t attribute it to menopause until my recent findings. I was struggling recently and those closest to me noticed. I did a lot of reading, talked to whoever would listen, got angry and felt sorry for myself. BUT the single most effective and important thing I did was get myself to therapy. I am happy to report that after only 1 session, I felt a million times better and plan to stick with it.

I PROMISE it’s not all doom and gloom ladies! Once I decided to haul my butt to therapy and opened up more to my husband and friends about what I was feeling, I started to feel a bit better. I was more mindful of my diet and worked on shifting my focus to being more accepting of where I am mentally and physically on any given day and adjust accordingly. Maybe I didn’t sleep well the night before because I had a million night sweat episodes. In that case I’ll try to be extra mindful of my nutrition, give more thought on how I approach my workout or maybe I don’t work out that day and rest instead. Meeting yourself where you're at and not beating yourself up for it. It’s been a learning process for sure.

Below are a few of the things I’ve found that have given me some relief or that I have worked on to help get me through the Menopausal Madness.

While attending SP Summer camp last May, I was mid hot flash and one of our sweet members who I had never met previously, reached into her bag and told me to put some oil on my neck. I did and it helped! (Thanks Christina!) I’ve also purchased edible peppermint capsules and I pop one in my mouth when I feel one coming on (when I remember). This doesn’t work 100% of the time but when it does, it seems to lessen the duration of the flash.

I get a bi-weekly massage and don’t feel one bit guilty about it. Yes, there was a time in my life that I felt it was a luxury, but now it’s a necessity. End of story. I realize not everyone can do that, but find something you can do. Regularly scheduled yoga, (get those SP Maintenance videos in regular rotation ladies) meditation, journaling, a daily walk, sitting in the sun for a bit with a good book, whatever. You get the idea.

This one was huge. Hands down the best thing I’ve done for myself recently. There are so many changes going on within our bodies. These changes come at a time in our lives when we are possibly still raising kids, or have kids leaving the nest, or elderly parents who need care, or any of the other major (or minor) things life can throw at us. It can be overwhelming. This transition can also bring things to the surface that we thought we had already handled, dealt with and buried. Some women also sink into a deep depression or in some instances may become suicidal. If you are experiencing either of those symptoms, please don’t wait a minute longer and immediately reach out to your doctor or a suicide prevention resource.

NUTRITION

Many of us have been on the SP template life for a while, maybe some of you are just starting. This is GREAT and we are lucky to have Molly and Michelle as resources! I did my first nutrition challenge with SP 2 years ago. I did have results initially, but with each challenge it became less. Not that the template isn't solid and well thought out (it’s great), but whatever is going on hormonally with me currently has required me to play around with my nutrition a bit. I started eating only 3 meals instead of 4, eating smaller portions and a little less starchy carbs. Don't forget you can always reach out to either Molly or Michelle if you need some extra guidance in this area and don’t want to figure it out solo. One on one coaching might be your best bet.

This has been the hardest thing for me to do by far. In my opinion, If you aren’t sleeping well, you shouldn’t be going all out in your workouts and my body was giving me signs I needed to dial it back a bit. I swallowed my 52 year old ego and made a few changes. Instead of 4-5 workouts a week, I now average 3-4. I’ve also reeled in the intensity a bit by sometimes going lower in weight or cutting reps depending on workout. As I said this was tough for me coming from 12 years of CrossFit background where 5 of those were spent coaching but I have noticed a little bit of body composition change and I’m hopeful I am on to something here.

Another one of my SP besties turned me on to this stuff. I have been using it for about a month. I feel I have had fewer hot flashes and although I can’t prove it, this could totally be why. The active ingredient is Wild Yam extract and it is fragrance free with no colors/dyes, or animal products. Bonus, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the price. You can find it here.

I make sure to talk regularly with my core group of girls. Connect with those ladies around you that are just starting out on this journey, but also with the ones who have been there and done that. We have so much to offer and learn from each other. We have some wonderful ladies here in the Street Parking community, and I truly hope you take full advantage of that perk! Also, always know you can reach out to me. Slide into that DM girls!

In closing, below are a few more blogs, podcasts, and other websites I’ve found helpful in my travels. I hope you find them informative and helpful as well.

- Gina

• Menopause Goddess Blog

• Conversation With A Menopause Goddess: Lynette Sheppard Talks With Team Gennev

• Gennev

• National Menopause Foundation

• The Flipping 50 Show

• The North American Menopause Societyloading