How it Began
I began perimenopause in 2021 aged 44, I took oestrogen for around six months and thought I’d cracked it and decided to stop with the HRT. I was fine for 2 1/2 years. The thing with peri, is that your hormone levels go up and down. They were obviously fine for a bit and I didn’t have any noticeable symptoms until May 2024.
A few other health things happened giving me signs and more importantly tangible information. I had a tooth removed at hospital and during the blood tests they noticed my platelets were much lower than normal. I have low platelets (ITP) an auto-immune disease, but they had dropped to 81, normally they are 110 (normal person platelets are 250 to 400). The blood doctors get concerned when they drop below 80, platelet transfusion action is required if they drop below 50. Then I did a health MOT through my income protection insurance, a free added extra and it told me that my cholesterol was high 6.2. Then the insomnia started.
In April and May I had a lot of stressful things happening with my children and my anxiety was high, this was contributing to my insomnia. I quickly got a GP appointment, literally on the same day I asked for it, begging/crying to see a GP urgently saying I’d had insomnia for two weeks and it was affecting my work and ability to function.
Sleep is THE MOST important part of life and without it things fall apart. I was getting broken sleep totalling around 4 hours a night. The result was anxiety, anger, depression, irrationality, bad decision making and overwhelm. I needed a solution. A plan.
The root cause of the stress was still unresolved in May. My very kind GP put me back on HRT, gel 0.5mg a day to be rubbed on my inner thigh, but I had to give it THREE months to build up my hormone levels. She gave me sleeping pills to try to help with my sleep. We agreed to take the oestrogen for three months then do a full health review again to check all my bloods, namely platelets and cholesterol as that was likely impacted by my lack of oestrogen.
High cholesterol runs in my family, as does heart disease with both parents dying young of heart attacks and both siblings having had heart attacks recently and survived. Doctors take my heart health very seriously. I had three months to change my diet and reduce that cholesterol.
Dietary Actions
I immediately changed my diet. I cut out caffeine, red meat and dairy. I hugely reduced my alcohol, sugar and gluten intake. I started taking my multi-vitamins and nano magnesium every night. I am also recently taking lions mane mushroom supplement for brain fog and improving focus and reishi mushroom supplements for sleep.
Prescription Drugs
I started taking sleeping pills in May, and daily anti-histamine to stop the itching legs that were also waking me up. Plus the daily oestrogen. I have the Mirena coil for progesterone fitted in 2021.
Retreat time
June was my month of spa days, and retreats, I had a blissful day at Paus Spa on 1st June with my wise friend Marie. She has been talking to me about menopause and peri for the whole of my 40s, we need to prepare younger women for menopause and talk openly about it!
The next weekend was a three day yoga retreat in Kent with Freeform Freddie. I knew not one person except Freddie and made the best of friends, again all older. I am needing the wisdom of women currently, and that comes from people who have experienced life, are spiritual, love yoga and nature.
The weekend after was a 24 hour spa in Ingatestone, Greenwoods with my university besties Gem and Helen, then I drove over to the Green House, spa also in Essex, Upminster for a press trip menopause retreat. THIS WAS THE GAME CHANGER. I had 28 hours of ultimate luxury, wild swimming, menopause treatments, sleep therapy, 121 Pilates, sound baths, beautiful vegan food and again made new incredible friends.
Fitness
The PTs at my gym Odyssey in Knebworth have been brilliant at tracking my health on the fancy measure everything machine. Goals were set, to reduce my body fat %, and to increase my muscle %. Overall weight, who cares. I started tennis lessons, I was running and still walking my 15k steps a day and I started doing more Pilates and yoga classes. I was trying different things, hot yoga, Clubbercise, weights programs. I have grown to love Pilates and it’s SO hard!
Therapy
I am seeing my Human Givens pychotherapist Jennifer once a month. we are working on the drivers of the stress and emotions with talking, meditations and coping mechanism including boundaries, self-love, grey stone approaches, removing toxic people from my life, breathing techniques to name a few.
I am reading so much and listening to podcasts on psychotherapy. Books like Choose you from Helen Marie and her podcast ‘We need to talk about’ has been brilliant. Also I have been speaking to amazing guests on my podcast Mrs Mummypenny Talks about big questions such as What is Happiness with Timi -Mr Money Jar and What is Financial Freedom with Faith Archer. Surround yourself with the right people.
The Results
By July everything feels immensely better. I have levelled up. My sleep is good, I stopped the sleeping pills at the end of June, as they (amitriptyline) gave me even worse anxiety, didn’t actually help me to sleep and made me constipated. My weight is down by 5 kg from May to July, my body fat % is healthy, I’m a size 12.
The family stress was resolved during June, with a lot of hard work from me; time, emails, phone calls and meetings. The flux of the last five years feels like it’s settled with all three boys at the same really good school and living back at the lighthouse (my home).
Life is feeling pretty balanced. I love myself, I have much better boundaries and I’m not compromising on anything. I have a whole new cohort of friends who share their wisdom, work is flowing so positively. I am doing several projects in TV/BBC, Meta have identified me as emerging talent (after 11 years ha) and are helping to level up my social media, and corporate work is flowing which then means more free content for you my readers The reason I am here. Your continued support; your likes, your comments, you saving money or buying my books or coming to my events, everything makes a massive difference and I am forever grateful.
