Menopause and Me, Part 1

“If I manage to learn something new, I glow with a pleasure that life seldom gave me in youth, when I took all of this for granted. There is nothing like old age to make one aware of the marvels of the human body and mind.”
–Mary C. Morrison

Bioidentical Hormones and Me
By Gail Gates
Life has a way of sneaking up on a person. One moment a woman can be immersed in raising her children, honing her career, tending a relationship, feeling pretty good about her physical shape and health, and then “poof!” everything changes. “Wait a minute! I’m still doing the same things I have always been doing!” she thinks, “Why am I gaining weight, feeling tired, and having my menstrual periods coming more than once a month?” Slowly the realization hits –she is premenopausal! Nooooooo!

That happens when a woman is…old. Or does it?

Why do symptoms appear, and what role can bioidentical hormones play in managing the symptoms? Perhaps a blending of personal experience and research will shed some light on the subject. I’d first like to share a bit about how I got involved in researching bio-identical hormones, and ultimately, using them myself. (While it would sound like I have this subject well in hand, the question of hormone replacement, and whether it should be bioidentical, or synthetic, remains hotly studied and contested.)

Several years ago I went in for my yearly pap-smear. I have had irregular periods for most of my menses life, and to further challenge my body–and that of the physician trying to use a speculum–I have a tilted uterus. Somewhat of a double bonus in the gene lottery. When the pap test results came back “odd” my doctor told me not to panic, however she did want to do a cervical biopsy as well.

When those results also came back skewed (as I officially dipped a toe into a puddle of panic), my doctor asked me to have an ultra-sound followed by a visit to a specialist. Was I worried? Yes. Two bad tests couldn’t be a good thing. The ultra-sound showed I had several fibroids in my uterus, with one as large as an orange. Aha! This information would make it easy for the specialist to treat—I thought—and I could move forward with confidence. I was wrong.