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To
my Menopausal Friends
I wanted to take this
opportunity to share with you a brief story of my encounter with Menopause
at the age of 44. I thought menopause was something that began in the late
50's or early 60's. Little did I know that by choosing to go off the birth
control pill that I would literally be thrown into menopause as such an
early age!
Within a week after going
off BCP's, I experienced my first "hot flash" as they're commonly called.
Some doctors now try to pass it off as a "hot flush" but it sure felt more
like a "flash" to me. You know, the overwhelming heat that comes over you
unexpectedly and you start peeling off every layer of clothing that you
possible can, as fast as you can.
Between the night sweats and
day flashes, I wasn't feeling very good. It didn't help that I wasn't
sleeping well. In addition, I started to lose my clarity of thinking
(perhaps it was due to the lack of sleep). And being a newlywed, it didn't
help much that my (you know) drive wasn't even in gear. Not to mention the
weight gain. I was always slim and now my weight soared. I guess all those
years of eating sugary sweets and desserts caught up with me too. The
average woman can gain 18-20 pounds in menopause. I guess I'm average. No
one told me I would gain it all in the first year!
My husband being patient and
compassionate with my situation, heard my cries for help. One day, while
watching TV alone, he came across an infomercial with Suzanne Somers who was
marketing her new book, "The Sexy Years." It didn't take much to get
his attention as she shared her struggle with menopause and her "Secrets to
fabulous sex, great health, and vitality, for women and men."
My husband knew how much I
loved to read and that I was seeking help with this new stage of life that
wammied me so unexpectedly. He promptly purchased the book for me and
presented it to me as a gift for my 45th Birthday. Yes, my birthday. He
couldn't have given me a better gift!
Suzanne Somer's book opened
up a whole new world that I had never explored before - the world of hormone
connection - and hormone therapy, the natural bio-identical way.
I was pleased to discover in
her book, that her Endocrinologist, Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., was the very
doctor who's books I had been introduced to in the previous year when a lady
spoke to one of my networking groups on menopause and metabolism.
Schwarzbein has an excellent book on the market, "The Schwarzbein Principle
(I and II) The Transition" as well as a cookbook. Her book focuses on how to
heal your metabolism, lose excess fat weight, prevent and reverse the
diseases of aging, achieve your ideal body composition and eliminate (sugar)
cravings and addictions.
I've never been so intrigued
by two books before like I have these too. For the first time, I'm learning
about how my body actually work. How my body processes food, how my insulin
works and what I can do about healing my metabolism. As Diana Schwarzbein
says, "You don't lose weight to get healthy, you have to get healthy to lose
weight." What a concept.
I'm sharing this information
because I know how much it has changed my life. Little did I know that by
being on BCP's for so many years, that my body had stopped producing my own
estrogen, progesterone, and yes, testosterone. Suddenly, without warning, I
was literally thrown into menopause.
It took a little research, a
few phone calls and some questions, but I was able to find a local doctor's
office who was up on bio-identical HRT (hormone replacement therapy). After
initial blood work (next time saliva testing), my doctor and I were able to
determine where my hormone levels were low and replace them with natural,
bio-identical hormone creams which are made by a compound pharmacy to
replicate what my body produces. No synthetic or over-the counter hormones
for me! Just read up, and you'll too find why it's so important to stay away
from hormones that are "patented." To patent a hormone means to add a
synthetic chemical in order to make the product unique enough to put a
patent stamp on it. Natural bio-identical hormones don't need to be
patented. Get the picture? You can't patent something that is naturally
found in nature.
I encourage you to find out
more for yourself as this is a personal journey.
Check out these books as first step:
The Sexy Years
Suzanne Somers
Crown Publishers, NY
The Schwarzbein Principle I
or II The Transition
Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. with Marilyn Brown
Health Communications, Inc.
I am work in progress and as they say, we teach what we
want to learn. I know that I am one of millions of women who are struggling
with the challenges of menopause, weight gain, the challenge to adapt and
maintain a healthy lifestyle.
We're in this together for the long haul....
Wishing you well,
Vickie Springer
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