September, 2024 Self-Care & Peri-Menopause Awareness Month

September is Self-Care and Peri-Menopause Awareness Month. And, September 29th is National Coffee Day, yay!

I don’t know about you but a great cup o’ Joe is one of my favorite forms of self-care in the morning and I don’t think I could have gotten through peri-menopause without good ole Joe!
Most of you don’t know this but I went through an intense premature menopause and was finished before my 41st birthday. None of my doctors suspected menopause and no one told me a thing about it. There wasn’t a conversation like there is now. It was a scary and debilitating couple of years for me. This was 15 years ago.

In addition to soaking through my bedsheets and waking up in a pool of sweat, I would be in meetings and all of the sudden, my face turned purple and within seconds, my clothes were soaking wet. People were visibly concerned by my sudden floodgates. No one more than myself. I was referred to specialist after specialist, lab tests galore, sleepless nights, and fear consumed me. The confusion, in hindsight, was that I was still having a period because I was on the pill and I was only 40 so menopause wasn’t a consideration.
Not to mention, no one talked about menopause and Menopause Specialists didn’t exist, no one thought to test my hormone levels.

Today, my doctors agree, “You got the short end of the stick!” Son of a B! However, after years of embarrassment and shame, I’ve decided to share the knowledge I’ve gained with women going through perimenopause so that they don’t have to suffer like I did. There are so many wonderful options now to alleviate the often painful transition. I’m glad there is a movement, a conversation, and more education about menopause. It is part of a woman’s life cycle and it would be nice to get to a place where we celebrate it. As for me, personally, it’s too late to go back and try Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) dagnabbit but I can finally understand many of the mysterious conditions I developed about 5 years post-menopause including skyrocketed high cholesterol levels, compromised bone health which was compounded with a late celiac diagnosis. The list is long and I will share more later but I wanted you to know that I am here if and when you need support. I promise I will sprinkle some colorful humor. After all, I advocate eating a Morselicious Rainbow. 🙂

Please join me in honoring Peri-Menopause, and Self-Care Awareness Month. And don’t forget to raise your cup o’ Joe on the 29th in honor of National Coffee Day! Or better yet, schedule a 20-minute virtual coffee chat with me about your health and wellness goals.

xo,

Mo