Was I going crazy? Were the feels real, crying at a commercial not helping myself but scream at my kids? Yet other days seemed calmer, what was going on??
I got to a point in my life that my emotions were out of control from the highs of highs and the lows of lows. I could wake up and feel myself tightly would like a spring some days ready to whip around. I found myself extremely irritable with family and friends. My children’s voices feeling like nails scratching on a chalk board. I wasn’t able to keep myself together to get through the day. I was either a maniac or depressed. Some days were good but even then I did not feel like myself.
I went to my doctor and had a range of blood test taken. From that point forward I was looking for relief and getting myself back. Here I was raising two children with my husband and I was not feeling in control of me. Thankfully my doctor was in agreement of a mix of prescriptions and herbal supplements.
“One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small … ”
Each morning and night before bed, there are a litany of pills I take, now that I’ve reached the age of menopause that help me be me. Some are prescriptions like the cocktail of pills that make up my hormone replacement therapy, and my anti-depressant. I also take a handful of herbal supplements that help me keep at bay some additional symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and irritability. The cocktail mix of all of these pills is not an exact science but after trying this and that seem to keep me together on a daily basis. It was not an automatic change but as days became weeks and weeks months and months a year, I was finding my footing back to myself.
The herbal supplements were recommended after visiting a homeopathic pharmacy. Included in my daily regime now are lemon balm capsules, magnesium and vitamin D3, calcium, and estrovera. All seemingly working together to keep at bay hot flashes, night sweats some of the irritability, helping me to sleep and keep my bones strong as well as act more human!
In this last year I have also changed my eating habits. I am now following a clean eating lifestyle. I had previously had to remove gluten and soy from my diet after experiencing daily migraines. Now with less processed foods sugars and I am feeling better. In addition to clean eating, I attend a strength training boot camp 2x a week and most recently added a 5K run training program to my activities.
Since January, I began to focus on me, thus the eating habits I’ve changed and the exercise I’ve added. I’ve lost weight, feel better, look better and am happier with myself. I have found that I can focus on me and still be a mom and wife. It was somewhere that I forgot about me with these other roles that are part of me.
I will be 53 this year and I want to be the best me! The mix of supplements that are part of my daily life are the part of me that keep me together. What have you found that works for you in this point of your life?
Mama~pausal 