I just laughed when I typed out the title of this blog post because I literally feel like I am on fire…like literally. I am currently sweating with the air conditioner on full blast.
Is it Menopause?
I think I’m going through menopause y’all. I told a few of my friends about my “personal summers”, and a couple of them claimed to be having sweats as well, but their sweats were not as constant as mine. And they are still having regular periods…sorry if this is TMI, but this needs to be discussed, especially amongst the 40 and over ladies.
I Just Need to Know. (Where is my) PERIOD.
I’m the first one of my friends (around my age) to really talk about menopause because maybe my friends just aren’t there yet. Or maybe no one wants to talk about profusely sweating and missing their period. I’m not even totally mad if I am going through menopause because I haven’t been in as much endometriosis pain lately. My periods are not coming as frequently, and I don’t miss them – AT ALL. I don’t want to self-diagnose, so I contacted my doctor and scheduled an appointment. So, after I meet with her, I’ll try and remember to update on the results of that.
Is it Perimenopause?
I’m not sure what is happening but I am displaying some symptoms of perimenopause, which is basically when your body starts transitioning to menopause.
Some the personal symptoms I’m having are:
• Hot flashes – during the day, but mostly at night. I’ve been pumping the air conditioner, walking around the house with minimal clothing, and doing anything to cool off my body such as eating frozen fruit.
• Irregular periods / absent periods – they use to come like clockwork, but lately they are more like little surprises. And no, I’m not pregnant…so it’s definitely something going on because I haven’t seen my period in over a month.
• Moody AF – not sure if this is due to the pandemic, and I can’t even blame PMS, but I’ve been on more moody rollercoasters lately.
• Sleeping problems – this is mostly due to me waking up sweating and kicking the covers around, but I can’t sleep through the night.
• LESS endo flare ups – I haven’t been experiencing as much pain lately…this is a good thing
• There are other things, but I’m not trying to self-diagnose myself…so I’ll just leave this here.
The Bright (and Hot) Side
If I can get through this sweating part, I think I can manage the other perimenopause symptoms. But I’ll take the sweating over endo symptoms ANY DAY! I’d rather walk around, peeling off clothes, naked, and chewing ice than to be curled up on the floor in fetal position, with no end in sight to the pain I’ve endured for years.
I’ve honestly been feeling more energetic and better physically lately because the endometriosis interruptions are becoming less frequent. I know I said it before, but I don’t miss my period – AT ALL!
If I am perimenopausal, this is just the beginning stages. And I’m not totally mad about it because I’m in the process of getting it over with. Lately, I’ve been feeling more empowered and I’ve been doing more things for ME. I’m embracing getting older and I’m loving myself more. So, if perimenopause comes with all of that, I’ll take it.
Continue the Conversation
I want to continue this talk because being 40 hits differently than being in your 30s. You should hear some of the conversations I’ve been having lately, that I thought I was too young to be having. I definitely want to talk more about embracing aging in your 40s.
Anyhoo…when I wrote this blog post title, I was laughing because I’m sure when Alicia Keys wrote the song, “Girl on Fire”, she was not thinking about menopause. LOL!
xo,
Che
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