PERIMENOPAUSAL JOURNEY MARCH

March was the month I finally got an appointment to see my doctor to discuss some of the symptoms I've been having and see if they were to do with menopause and a bit of a MOT while I was there

I've only been to the doctors about hormonal problems once about 6 years ago, I was having really bad hot flushes and night sweats ,as my mum went through the menopause early I wanted to check to see if I was to .

My appointment had been with a male doctor and because of my age at the time was quite dismissive of my symptoms but he did do a hormone test which came back fine so I put up with the hot flushes .

Around October last year was when my periods started changing and that's what I took as a sign menopause maybe happening so decided to take another trip to the doctors .

This time I got an appointment with a female doctor. As I walked in to her office she asked what she could do for me . I told her I thought I had started the menopause and asked if it would be possible to have a hormone test .

Straight away she said yes I would say you have started the menopause she said she’d already looked at my age and being 45 it was extremely possible. When diagnosing the menopause they start by look at the age as 55 is a normal age to end the menopause anytime in the 10 years before it could start , me being 45 put me in that bracket, she also said it doesn’t mean you can’t go through it earlier or later that’s just the majority of women . In fact symptoms can start 2 years earlier with no hormone changes detected,the hot flashes I was having a few years ago she said were the start of it even though it didn’t show up in my test .

She then asked why I thought I was menopausal I told her about my irregular periods,hot flushes and night sweats , mood swings , anxiety and sleep problems .

These were all classic symptoms but she also said they can also be symptoms of a number of things for example the irregular periods can be caused by polycyclic ovary syndrome (pros) stress or a over activity thyroid .

She said it would most probably be menopause but wanted to rule out other problems . When I told her about the red wine causing my hot sweats she was even more convinced it was the menopause .

I also asked if it was possible to do a iron test and told her about the burning sensation I’d had on my tough

( if you want to read more about mouth problems in menopause, check out my menopausal mouth section in my January s perimenopausal update )

My doctor confirmed that the burning sensation on my tounge could be a sign of lack of iron . Since changing my diet over the last month the burning has stopped but I still thought it was a good idea to have it checked out .

The tests she put me down for was. Hormone, iron, zinc, magnesium, thyroid, and one I hadn’t thought of vitamin D .

She explained lack of vitamin D can also cause a lot of the symptoms especially women going though menopause, she also said she was finding more of her patients had very low levels of vitamin D once tested and started taking vitamin D they became more them self’s and this is exactly how I want to feel .

She gave me some information on menopause and said once the test results were back she would like me to book myself in for a gynaecology visit to check everything was ok down there.

She did try to to talk to me about meditation I could take, I explained to her that I was all for doing it the natural way and have already stopped drinking red wine cutting out caffeine and changing my diet that’s why I wanted to know my iron and other vitamin and mineral levels so I could change my diet accordingly . She seemed really happy with me and didn’t push about HRT .

A few days later I received a letter to make an appointment with the pharmacist to discuss meditation , I kind of freaked out a bit as I hadn’t had any results yet .

When I rang my doctors and explained about the letter I asked if it was normal to receive a letter like that before you had any results , as I hadn’t been to the doctors in a long time I didn’t know you had to ring up for results,the receptionist gave me my results over the phone it seemed the pharmacist wanted to talk to me about a Vitamin D perception . I’ve never felt so relived .

The pharmacist told me all my results had come back fine,hormone test did show menopausal activity but my vitamin D level was very low which ment I had a bad vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and helps the body use calcium from our diets , its extremely important vitamin as it has a powerful affect on several system through out the body, unlike other vitamins vitamin D functions like a hormone and every single cell in your body has a receptor for it . Vitamin D is made from cholesterol which are body makes from our skin being exposed to sunlight .

It's also very common as 1 billion people world wide have low levels .

People at risk are .

DARK SKINED

ELDERLY

OVERWEIGHT

LIVING WHERE THERE IS LITTLE SUN

OVER USING SUN PROTECTION

STAYING IN DOORS

FATIGUE & TIREDNESS

This symptom is often over looked as a sign of vitamin D deficiency as many of us feel tired, but having low levels of vitamin D can affect your energy levels severely and course a negative affect on the quality of life .

In one case a woman who had chronic daytime fatigue and headaches was found to have a vitamin D blood level so low that when she started taking a vitamin D supplement her levels increased so fast and resolved all of the symptoms she had suffered with for so long .

BONE & BACK PAIN

Lower chronic back pain is another symptom and you are twice as likely to experience bone pain in your legs , ribs , joins and the biceps . The muscular contraction becomes compromised so often you can face difficulty getting up from sitting or carrying heavy objects .

BONELOSS

You need vitamin D for healthy bones many older people are pron to getting more broken bones and fractures due to bone loss especially in woman .

DEPRESSION

Vitamin D is a positivity mood influencer when missing can course low moods .

Serotonin a hormone that promotes the sate of relaxation in the body and the mind produces the presence of sufficient vitamin D levels in the blood . Low serotonin levels in the brain is what can cause depression and low moods. This could also explain why you feel low during the winter months as sunlight is linked to good moods and positivity .

Taking a vitamin D supplement can help with some cases of depression including seasonal depression .

POOR MEMORY

Problems with the ability to keep recently learned information in the mind and use it right away is something we all suffer with from time to time but being more forgetful than normal is a common symptom with Vitamin D deficiency and also with midlife women during hormonal changes with the menopause, memory loss is more likely in perimenopausal women than premenopausal .

The hippocampus and predental cortex which are used for the working memory are rich in estrogen which we loss when perimenopausal . This is what causes your brain fog in menopause .

Memory loss in menopause can improve with time but because of fluctuating hormone levels the body and mind find it hard to adjust .

Vitamin D deficiency is very common but people are unaware of having it and dismiss a lot of the symptoms to getting older or busy lifestyles.

My doctor prescribed me a high dosage of a vitamin D supplement to be taken twice a week for 6 weeks after the 6 weeks I have to have another blood test, the doctor did say it was likely I would have to take it for the rest of my life as my levels were so low and even though its a vitamin to me it was medication . I was also told to make sure I got adequate sun exposure around 10 to 15 minutes of morning sun is best with arms and shoulders out if possible but hands and feet work to. So once this spring weather kicks in i'll be taking my breakfast outside to eat .

If you feel like you can relate to any of these symptoms get in touch with your doctor as the only way to check you have a vitamin D deficiency is though a blood test and fixing the problem is easy and it could benefit your life .

please get in touch if you have a vitamin D deficiency and have any advice or just let me know about your experiences .

Lets hope the vitamin D helps me find zen in a house of hormones .