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A rude awakening to Peri-menopause.

  • Writer: Shani Yeend
    Shani Yeend
  • Aug 28
  • 4 min read

Updated: Sep 30


A moment of relief during the three weeks of madness, water and sun to heal always.
A moment of relief during the three weeks of madness, water and sun to heal always.

I'm 41 and have always had regular periods. My cycles are relatively short, around 24 days and I only bleed for around four days. I've also been really lucky throughout my life and have suffered little from PMS, mostly a little cramping, a headache or pain in my lower back a few days before.


Within the last year though I have noticed increasing shifts in my mood during my luteal phase. The week before I bleed I'm impatient with the kids and I want to eat everything in sight. Earlier this year I also noticed I was getting increasingly hot before my period - this is normal for a women's body temp to rise during ovulation, but it was another symptom which was becoming a lot more obvious. And then this summer in August my period didn't arrive. I peed on a couple sticks which came back negative. I’m not sure what would be more concerning, another kid or peri-menopause? Three weeks later my period did finally arrive, 48 day cycle and 17 days late. We're going to talk about those 17 days of hell.


I realised my period was coming because a) I tracked very casually using iPhone Health and b) because I was getting irritable and impatient with my family. Time went on and I suddenly couldn't get out of bed for my 6am clients, it was like I had bricks in my head. To set the scene - for over a year now I've been waking up a 5am, mostly I bound out of bed for a ritual oat matcha and sometimes meditation. But mostly I get straight on the laptop for mini work blitz with a fresh brain. But I this month I was cancelling my morning PT clients nor could I drag myself to the gym. The school holidays were in full force so I had my kids Minnie (5) and Rocky (3) with me full time. I'm an energetic and hands-on mum, we're always outside adventuring and constantly being creative with games, activities and crafts. However this insane lethargy took over me. Not only was I too physically exhausted to run, jump or play. I also didn't have the mental capacity to care for Minnie and Rocky, the constant communication and narratives were plaguing me. I couldn't bringing myself to play or create with the kids. It was exhausting and overwhelming. I was short with them, irritable and feeling completely unlike myself. My boobs we incredibly tender and sore, I had bouts of nausea, my usually restful sleep was suddenly interrupted - I was waking up at 2am and 3am randomly, I was needing to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. I started waking up with headaches every morning. I was reaching for all the sugar. My skin started flaring up. My joints also became sore. And then I couldn't stop crying. Crying to my husband, crying with my kids. Crying before I went to bed. I was crying because I couldn't recognise myself any longer. I had become riddled with feelings of incompetency. I was physically and emotionally suffering in a way which felt completely our character and out of body. I was desperate for my period to arrive. During this time I spoke to all the birds, my mum, my husband. I had also communicated to my kids that my period hadn't come which meant my hormones were going wild and so I was feel unlike myself. Side note - my children will be hormonal educated and aware. Peri-menopause is common chat in our flock so I knew what was going on, I booked a GP appointment and then 17 days later my period arrived. Like a magic red waterfall, I was released of (almost) all of these symptoms instantly. I felt whole again, I could immediately recognise myself. It was literally the most insane experience, similar to pregnancy - everything if very much an out-of-body experience. With the arrival of my period I could finally feel, think and communicate like my usual self. I still can't remember what I did on the weekend, the brain fog is real, my brain often jsut goes empty when needing to grasp words. . And although I haven't completely got my b-b-bounce back, I am about to get up at 5am again. I've since had a more 'regular period', however I'm still getting pumbled with irregular symptoms, the latest is a two week long joint pain fest. Aching hips and spine during my sleep, my joints are doing weird things during training and generally movement, I even noticed weird sore wrists when trying to play '1,2,3 weee' swinging Minnie. I've moved on to tracking with the free Clue App, I'm staying on top of creatine, a mushroom complex and with the cooler weather vitamin d. Work is stretching me big time, so like the rest of us my strength training is not being prioritised - but it will be! (Hold me accountable birds). This morning - catching up with my bestie on the other side of the world, I found out that her peri journey was plagued with mis-guided support. Battling intense symptoms insomnia and low moods her GP prescribed her sleeping pills and anti-depressants. Gratefully a specialist female health Dr finally landed in her lap and like a switch the HRT patches have brought her back to balance.


we stand in solidarity to all women of the world battling it out, this mad constant hormonal rollercoaster ride. The bros who are reading this - a reminder your hormone fluctuations are much more stable than a women's so you'll never really know what we go through, however as a bird rightly put it 'it is like we are going mad'. So if you think we are going mad, we are, but it's largely out of our control due to our hormones. Please give us patience and support, and do your reseach so you can support us. So here we are, bascially fucked, but we are fucked together. It's been a blessing to share, to lol and to cry with women around me. We do need all the grace and space with this. Through exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, medicine and conversation we will make it out alive. I will go to the doctor in a few months after gathering more tracking data, ensuring I find hormone specialist GP (thank you Happy Hormones Club) like a hawk. HRT I'm coming for you. Shani x

 
 
 

1 Comment


yevel36742
Sep 04

Le quartier de Guéliz attire ceux qui veulent découvrir Marrakech sous un autre angle, plus moderne et cosmopolite. La gastronomie y occupe une place de choix, avec des restaurants qui reflètent cette ouverture. Lilly billy en est un exemple concret, puisqu’il propose un espace où la cuisine devient un moment de partage. Ce restaurant illustre l’identité du quartier et confirme la vitalité culinaire de Marrakech.

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