A couple of years ago, I became a shell of who I had previously been. I went from being driven and active, balanced and controlled with the memory of an elephant. Over time, I found myself lethargic, unmotivated, wildly insane and I couldn’t retain a thought long enough to write it down. I gained weight because I was having severe cravings and eating nonstop. I became depressed and the harder I tried to return to “normal” the worse my situation became. By sheer coincidence, I mentioned some of this to my doctor and she referred me to a hormone specialist. I was barely 40 but they wanted to exclude perimenopause?!?! Guess what? It wasn’t excluded. I was experiencing early onset menopause. When my bloodwork came back, I was producing virtually none of the hormones that women need to function properly. I am not a doctor but I have done a TON of research to learn about female hormones and I was shocked at how little I knew. It took over a year to get the right formula to balance my hormones and I was back to feeling like my self. As I began to share my story with friends and peers I learned a few things. 1. Most women do not truly understand their hormones and the impact they have on their mind and body. 2. Women are not really educated on menopause and what happens within the body in the time leading up to this stage. 3. Doctors discount the symptoms women have and actually refuse to test hormones even when requested. So here is my rant: Why? Why are we not taught about hormones and menopause during the “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret” class in fourth grade or in our high school health class? Why are we told that menopause is just the stage when your period ends? Why wouldn’t a doctor test hormones or outright refuse to test them when asked? Every year, at my physical my cholesterol is checked. I have never even been close to having a high cholesterol result. Same with blood sugar, etc. Why aren’t our hormones baselined and at a minimum tested ever few years? How many women are suffering because their hormones are out of balance and the symptoms are written off as PMS or female crazy or exhaustion, etc. We are not taken seriously when we go to a doctor and ask for testing because something is WRONG and we cannot explain it. I had been working out like a maniac and couldn’t lose a pound, which I mentioned to several doctors. The response I received was “….metabolism slows down when you get older, keep at it…”. No! That was not the issue. The issue was that my body had prematurely stopped generating hormones but no one bothered to check because of my age. As soon as my hormones were balanced, I began to lose weight. There is a great deal more to that part of the story, but I’ll save that for another post. My point here is that we, as women, need to take control of learning and educating ourselves and our sisters on this topic. We need to make it part of our health routines. We need doctors to baseline our hormones and track changes. The hormones I take (and I take 4 and counting) are all natural. There is no downside to testing hormones. It’s one vial of blood which can be drawn at your physical. I encourage you to research what I am saying and speak to your doctor and speak to your friends. There has not been a single time that I shared this experience and the person I was speaking with did not respond with a resounding: “Wow, that’s how I feel…”. It’s time to make our minds and bodies a priority and change the mindset that we are “just crazy women PMSing!” Please feel free to contact me with questions. This topic has become a passion for me and helping to educate others is quickly becoming my mission!