We’re doing an amalgamation of posts here today, with Spidey (with his newly spruced-up graphic!), and Linda’s #JusJoJan, together!
Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your twenty ninth prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Wendy. Thank you, Wendy! Please be sure to visit Wendy’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.
Linda
Your prompt for JusJoJan, January 29th 2023, is “Exercise.” Use the word “Exercise” any way you’d like. Have fun writing!
“I am wonderwoman!
I wonder where my keys are.
I wonder why I went upstairs
I wonder where my mind has gone
I wonder who will annoy me today.”
The Hot Flush Club
Thanks, Spidey. That quote kinda sums up my life right now.
Perimenopause is a painful thing, my Peeps. I know many of you are experiencing it at the same time as me.
Some have been through it, some are approaching or not near yet, and then there is the other half of the population who don’t know what happens to the women in their lives…
One minute your missus/mum/sister/friend is as she usually is. The next, you have a screaming banshee/blubbing mess standing in front of you, quite possibly fanning herself as she negotiates a hot flush or scratching her skin/unmentionables as the dryness is driving her insane. Or she is looking at you without a clue in the world. Why was she even there? What did she come to say/do?
Welcome to the World of Perimenopause!
Did you know that Menopause – that big word that we have bandied about forever actually only lasts for ONE day?
It is Perimenopause that is the killer, as your body begins to negotiate the withdrawal symptoms of hormones slowly seeping away from your body, rendering you a loon/monster/incapable. (Or none of the above, if you’re lucky.)
Then once you’ve hit a whole year without a bleed… that day, that ONE DAY is Menopause day.
Then you are in Post-Menopause, where you might still feel weird things…
But apparently, nothing is as crazy as that ‘peri’ part.
So I began my initial journey when extreme tiredness was unexplainable, I was snapping at my family, my joints were aching for no reason whatsoever, despite all investigations being undertaken. My weight crept up despite me trying so hard to eat well, and lose it. Sleepless nights, fitful sleep when I got it, cold sweats, and what I now know were hot flushes.
Then I started to feel this brain fog. My thoughts were unclear. And I could not remember the simplest of things, despite being in the middle of a conversation about the same damn thing! It came to a head when I was forgetting the names of the children in my class.
My Boss is brilliant. She is a headteacher who is going through the same right now. I have several colleagues who are too. We spoke at length. And I was convinced to go and speak to the GP.
I did.
And they first tried to send me off with antidepressants. (A common occurrence when misdiagnosis is happening due to GPs not actually having enough knowledge of Perimenopause.) I am the least depressed person around!
But I persevered, and we started our journey with HRT>
Can I say that I am feeling so much better. There are still things that aren’t perfect, but I can remember more, and I feel a little less tired, and that is a good thing.
I take special vitamins, too, and I have embarked upon an exercise routine, set by my son, to help build my core strength, and hopefully feel better all round. And I try and take my 11k steps every day, too.
I am also very open about what I am feeling. As long as my family know what I am going through, they can support me through it, as I support them through their own ups and downs.
It’s a ‘give and take’ game, life. Don’t you think?
So, Peeps, anyone want to share how they have coped with the dreaded Change, whether as a woman, or a male watching someone else go through it?
But I Smile Anyway... 
