WORD OF THE DAY:  MENOPAUSE

Let me start off by saying this word/topic has definitely a lot more depth to it than I ever knew!

I will warn you now that this could be or get a little personal (for me or you) so feel free to stop reading now if you aren't up for this one!  And for any MEN out there that might be reading this, personally, while you don't have to go through this physically, if you have a wife, girlfriend, or lady friend this could really help you understand what they may be going through, go through, or been through and honestly what you may have to go through!  I can see more in this simple word than I ever have before.

After reading up on some of these symptoms and changes a woman may go through or goes through I can see why the men out there are more likely to MEN-O-PAUSE....(stop and look at us like we are crazy)!!

First off, I never really understood ALL the "things" that menopause was about until recently.  (And really... did you know there are 4 stages??... who knew!)  I have to say after being a bit intrigued because well I thought hitting 40 and all the changes that happened to me that year with my thyroid and hormones and well just changes was something, that hitting my mid 40's has been even more extreme.

I recently turned 46.  I have to say for the last year or 2 my sleeping habits have not been all that normal however I chalked a lot of that up to daily stresses in my life.  (tonight I even took some medication to help me sleep, which I am not fond of doing, and still only slept 4 hours!!  And this was the longest and most consecutive sleep I have had all week!! - UGH!!)  I won't get too in depth about the changes in my life because I could go on and on about this but I will say that I had some extreme changes in my career and personal life in the last 2 years.  Some I chose, some just chose me.

So let me share a few things I was educated about during my search for early signs of menopause.
(and let me say again - 4 stages.. who knew!)

Signs of early menopause

In early menopause estrogen levels can rapidly decline causing symptoms to appear suddenly, feel severe, and last longer. Here are some telltale signs you are in early menopause.

1.  You are between the ages of 40-45
2.  You experienced an absence of periods for a full 12 months.
3.  You may be suffering from common symptoms including hot flashes, headaches, weight gain, depression, insomnia, mood swings, fuzzy thinking or fatigue.

So I will tell you category 1 and 3 seem to be included in all my current symptoms and honestly women if we have to go through all the things that really fall into category 3 to still have to endure category 2 here just really sucks!  I mean seriously...crying at the drop of a hat or getting frustrated and screaming out for no reason at all, the headaches and lack of sleep, and to still have to endure cramps and all the 'fun' stuff that goes with your menstrual cycle just plain SUCKS!

Here are some MORE symptoms in case you didn't know - which I DEFINITELY DID NOT!

While I was "aware" of most of the common symptoms, I did not realize items like number 28(electric shocks), 31(muscle tension), 32(itchy skin), and 33(tingling extremities) existed with this!!  These 4 very odd changes that has been happening to me for about 4 months now is actually what made me look up these symptoms. Let me add here too that these 4 things can just irritate the holy crap out of you and drive you absolutely crazy!!  The constant itching of the arms and legs and electric shock feeling out of no where!  OMG!! 

I could go on and on about this topic now with all the differences that happen but I won't bore you with them.  However if you are curious and want more information here are some links that I found helpful/informational.

http://www.34-menopause-symptoms.com/
https://www.womentowomen.com
http://www.healthline.com/health/menopause
https://www.menopause.org
http://www.webmd.com/menopause
http://www.mayoclinic.org

If anyone is willing to share with me any tips on how to alleviate numbers 28, 31, and 32 please share!  And if you don't want to share on the blog, I accept emails and messages as well!  LOL

Email me at cwecker820@gmail.com or message me on Facebook if you are not comfortable posing here on the blog!!