HRT and the Estrogen Journey

" When things change within you, 

you may have to make a decision that could change your life" 

As I posted in my last journal after many years of going through the menopause taking the herbal Female Essence (which was working well) things started to change.

my hormones became imbalanced causing my estrogen to be low, now every woman will have different experiences where some women don't experience any symptoms at all even though the change will still happen. Estrogen play an essential role in the growth and development of a female's body and some of the symptoms can be as follows below if estrogen is low:

Irregular or absent periods (if you still experience having your periods)

Mood swings

Anxiety

Paranoia

Hot flush

Breast tenderness

Depression 

Fatigue

Low sex drive
Weight gain

I was experiencing most of these above and it wasn't nice, I felt like my happy life was being taken away from me bit by bit, I had to do something so for me I wanted to try the HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).

It states at the patients.info approximately 80% of menopausal women experience symptoms, a quarter of those are thought to have severe symptoms, only a small proportion may decided to take the HRT. 

The doctor first gave me the 0.625 mg Premarin to try, the first day I took it I became ill I felt nausea and extra tired, by the second day things were the same sick in the mornings just like morning sickness and my mood swings were still up and down, I thought I would only give it a week and if there were no changes I would try another, no way did I want to feel like I was pregnant again.

As I thought by day 7 things were no different, I went back to the doctors to change the tablets. I explained my side effects I was experiencing, the doctor said this can happen and changed the tablets, I really hoped the new tablets would work as I felt like I was running out of time and my mood swings would be the new me from now on.

My first tablet was taken, I felt no sickness or tiredness, this was a good sign by day 5 my mood swings were becoming balanced and my sex drive was rising wohooo the Zoe I knew was starting to show itself again lol💃💃.

I will stress the HRT will not be for everyone and please always read the side effects and make sure you are totally comfortable with your decision beforehand.
For me this was something I wanted to try and see if it could make a difference for at least a little time to bring back up my Estrogen levels. For now it is my new friend.

References:
www.healthline.com
www.patientinfo.com

   

Changes that come in life

Thursday 24th May 2018

When changes come, sometimes it is showing life is ready to take a new direction but for that to happen action has to be taken.

This day felt like the worse day, I was crying for the whole day and felt down, I didn't understand as life was beautiful, the children were healthy, my relationship was good, finances were growing well, I had nothing to feel down about or was I just losing my mind.

I looked back at the past year and realised I had been up and down, not wanting to see people or socialise and feeling very drained. With my eyes swollen (from crying the whole day) and feeling like crap I jumped in the car and started to drive to where I did not know.

I drove and cried, cried and drove nothing seemed to make sense why do I feel like this? why do I feel so down and alone?. I stopped the car in a side road and took some deep breaths I went through all my past situations with friends, family and my dyslexia business and realised I had been sensitive and very touchy for quite some time but still wasn't putting the puzzle together.

It suddenly came to me, go and speak to someone Zoe, I went to see my brother. I don't know when was the last time my brother saw me in such a state, he was waiting outside the door when I drove there concerned and worried, I dried my eyes and walked towards the door.

He made me a herbal tea and I sat and released all my emotions. talking has always helped me, it allows me to break things down and see things much more clearly, he just listened intensely, I spoke about everything I could think of that would make me feel this way, then it came to me THE MENOPAUSE 😕............" maybe it is the menopause" I said.

I explained I'd been going through the change for some years now but never like this, we agreed I would go and see the doctor just to see, if it wasn't the change then at least we could rule it out and continue searching.


Friday 25th May 2018

My eyes opened and I looked over at the time it was 5.15am I new I had to ring the doctors for 8am to try and get an appointment for that morning. I didn't feel any better so went and done some meditation to relax my mind. within that meditation a thought came to me " say it is the menopause what will you do?" I knew I didn't want this feeling any longer after all I had a family to think about and our fostering business, no way would I want to make our foster children feel uneasy because of my emotions at play, I decided there and then if it was the menopause showing itself in a different way I would try the HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). 

Now this would be a massive change for me as I never wanted to go on HRT as I prefered the natural remedies however I was willing to fear the change and do it anyway if it was going to make me feel better. I called the doctors and got an appointment for that afternoon.

I got to the doctors and, lo and behold it was what I expected the last stages of the menopause was taking its turn (a phrase I like to use lol). I was so relieved, I wasn't losing my mind or going crazy my Oestrogen was very low causing the symptoms I was experiencing.
I explained to the doctor I wanted to try the HRT, he said he would put me on a low dosage and see how it goes. I skipped out of the doctors feeling so happy then remembered Zoe you are an adult the skipping behavior is no longer for you but I didn't care I had the biggest smile on my face knowing I wasn't going crazy but changes was happening to my body.

Healthy Tips:
Vegetables to eat to help boost your Oestrogen levels
Chickpeas
Olives
Seeds
Nuts
Dried fruits
Galic
Kale
Green bean/Sprouts

Why not give it a try I am..............
  

Is Life just beginning or ready to End?

WHEN THAT TIME BEGINS................

So why am I here writing? I am asking myself this question as my thoughts start to wonder, what the hell is going on with my body right now!

It started at the tender age of 38 when I made a profound life change decision to have a hysterectomy, it was my decision and a positive one at that, I knew this would be my last attempt to have a happy life without severe periods pains, heavy bleeding (which will cause Iron deficiency anaemia) feeling fatigue, hormonal imbalance (where I would experience depression, mood swings and changes in appetite) which I would call a monthly intake of experiencing a series of Jekyll and Hyde, it was constant and it didn't feel good. 

I also had cancer cells in my cervix (stage 2) in my 30's however they caught it early and was able to have it removed, this gave me a great scare and I feared it would one day come back so my decision to have the operation was a difficult but important one to make.

I would feel positive and life was good running up to two weeks, then suddenly everything would change, I would become sensitive, very emotional, angry and at times wanted life to end which was very concerning to me after all I had two children to look after.

I tried eating healthing, exercising, Acupuncture, Reiki, meditation and taking tablets for example Evening primrose and red clover. Nothing seemed to work for long however I do believe consistency is key but when you are dealing with fatigue running up to that time it was difficult to keep the consistency up.

So here I am today nearly 5 years in and going through the most biggest change of my life the Postmenopause (which is seen as the final stage), because I had a hysterectomy this meant the menopause started straight away, it was not messing about, it showed itself within months after my operation, in the beginning it was gaining weight, hot sweats, fatigue and aching of the bones, even though I was experiencing all these symptoms I was just happy my hormones seemed balance, no depression in sight or crying all the time, I felt like a winner. I would start herbal drops called female essence, they were great and worked wonders they took away the hot sweats so I could sleep well at night....." wohooo ain't I a lucky woman"  I thought lol, I felt great for the most of 5 years no needing to go on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).

THEN IT BEGAN..............................

With this blog I wanted to share my journey with this vital change all women will go through in all different forms and ways. This is my journey which I hope can help other women, families, partners/husbands and by sharing health tips other women might not need to go through it like I have. I hope you get something from my weekly or daily diaries.....enjoy.

Love Zoe xxx