OK so week 1 has been and gone and overall, it's not been as horrendous as I had feared.
That could be because i've literally done nothing - maximum chills, lots of chilling in the sun and cuddling my beautiful dog. Or or it could be because maybe I still have some in my system? From the reading I've done the specialists state that the reason you need to take HRT every day is because it doesn't last more than 24 hours , but then on the flip side they state that when you start taking HRT it takes months for it to take effect? I find this pretty contradictory and as such, I don't know if maybe my symptoms should be hard and fast or whether they'll come back gradually as it wears off?
I've eaten really well, pretty much walked and exercised (walk/ yoga or even a steady 5k jog) every day apart from Day 7. So it's been a pretty stress free and clean week - perhaps not so representative of the average women working full time, managing families etc. Oh yeah, and my daughter is on holiday so I've also been child free - literally had no responsibility other than myself.
Overall stress for the week 1/10
Overall energy for the week 8/10 (absolutely fine until day 7)
Sex Drive existence - 7/10
Aches and pains - 3/10
Headaches - 2/10
Bloat/ Digestion issue - 0/10 (WINNER!)
Weekly download...
Day 1 - Couldn't really notice I'd not taken HRT - if anything maybe I had more energy?! The night time dreams however were like a mash up of every anxious thought or scenarios that could unfold. I must have had about 10 different dreams all with strange scenarios with the same result of me being crazy anxious.
Day 2 - I woke up anxious with a heaviness as though I was carrying the weight of the world. After a few hours however I snapped out of it and felt like my energy was A OK again though. First signs of ups and downs..
Day 3 - Sex drive went AWOL, yet to be found - hellloooo are you out there're?! I am staying hopeful that this may come back as my body gets over the shock of the sudden withdrawal - a girl can dream right?
Day 4 - Nothing to report.
Day 5 - Taught yoga and an old injury flared up - not been right since. This has been fine for months - is it linked to reduction in hormones? Time will tell.
Day 6 - Good energy although I went for a long walk and felt a familiar heaviness in my hips and back that I had pre HRT.
Day 7 - Exhausted - sofa day. Very flat and emotional - I listened to my body and relaxed. Head and neck ache. 2 baths (with magnesium salts and geranium/ clary sage) kinda day!
In summary, not a bad first week, I'm a little bit achey and can feel the emotions at bay, but let's see how it progresses over the coming weeks.
I've started reading the 'Glucose Revolution' by Jessie Inchauspe which has been really interesting and occupied my mind. She talks about the importance of balancing your blood sugars as glucose spikes are bad for our long term health and can result in a whole host of symptoms (many of which correspond to that of perimenopause and menopause symptoms).
This corresponds with a wellness coach I'm working with (and training with) where she stressed the importance of balancing bloody sugar hormones while my sex hormones are eratic. Read here to find out more about this - when one of our three hormones is unstable (Sex, Stress, or Blood sugars) we need to do everything we can to stabilise the others. Hence me stripping out as much stress as possible and eating a blood sugar balancing diet/ applying the bio hacks Jessie writes about in her book. It seems to be helping...
Big love to you all, let's hope the sun comes back out this week! 🌞
Jade
xx
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