My Story: The Beginning of Perimenopause and How I Dealt With It

If you're like me, maybe you’ve been going through the issues that arise during perimenopause, but didn't recognize that's what was happening. You might not have known the reason you aren't sleeping well at night, having difficulty feeling comfortable in mild to moderate temperature changes, have GI bloating, or a slew of other things that may actually be associated with perimenopause. Or, perhaps you’ve noticed your body's ability to train the way you did last year is just not the same. Yep, another issue related to perimenopause.

Recognizing the Signs of Perimenopause

I didn't recognize the signs, even though I work with women and tell them about this stuff all the time. Can you believe that? Why did this happen? Why did I not know when it was happening to me that it was perimenopause and not just stress related, or as many people say, it's just in your head. Yep, women are given that response so often it's infuriating.

I didn't realize the issues because I was so focused on other things, as so many women are. I didn't have time to really feel into my own needs. And when I did, all I had time for was catching up on sleep, or trying to. Another perimenopause related symptom is difficulty getting to sleep and or staying asleep, I had the latter.

The Dismissal of Women's Symptoms in Healthcare

All this started for me near the end of 2022. It started with irregular periods. Irregular in both amount of time they would last, to amount of blood loss, to the increasing pain getting so bad I was getting migraines, vertigo, and nausea from them. I just figured it was because I wasn't sleeping well. So I ignored it. I did mention to my doctor my lack of sleep issues, and I was just told to take some melatonin. I was NEVER asked about any other symptoms, nor did menopause come into the conversation.

A year later, summer of 2023, I was noticing my body getting smaller. And not in a good way. I've always been lean but muscular. My muscles were getting smaller with the same amount of lifting and training. To top it off, I was having debilitating hot flashes, to the tune of a dozen or more a day, and they were so bad that I would pack extra clothes with me to work to change when I needed. What the hell! This was when I knew something was wrong. Again I went to my doctor, and again I was never asked further questions, nor was I told it might be perimenopause. Keep in mind I was 45 at the time, so well within the range for it to start. Instead this time I was told to take black cohosh (supposedly for the hot flashes) and keep taking melatonin. I never did take melatonin, just too many possible side effects.

Searching for Answers: My Journey to Understanding

At this point it has been over a year of suffering. I had enough of no one caring, and no one with knowledge to help me. At that point I met with a friend of a client. Unbeknownst to me this person just happened to be involved with Midi health. After meeting with her, I filled out one of their intake forms and made an appointment. This was the beginning of some major positive changes and much relief.

At first I was resistant to taking hormones. Not because of any fear of cancer, but instead I feared how much it would cost to go on this, and what if the US took away my ability to access the hormones. I didn't want to have to go backwards. So my goal was to see if doing more conservative things would help me. During the next 10 months, we tried several different protocols to deal with the hot flashes, inability to sleep, brain fog/memory issues, anxiety and muscle loss. It just wasn't working. I also passed the point of no period for 12 straight months and was now considered to be post menopause.

What Are My Options?

I'd had enough and chatted with a new amazing health care professional who understood me and my issues. We did a full blood panel. I'm telling you they took 12 vials of blood. I learned that in addition to my hot flashes, muscle loss, and memory issues, I also had high cholesterol (high on the bad stuff and low on the good stuff), low iron, no estrogen or testosterone, and had huge platelets that were causing my lightheadedness and a couple other things. At this point it was time to make a decision on hormones to help even all those issues out, or take nasty medications that have so many other side effects it makes your head spin.

Hormones, Nutrition, and Strength Training: A New Approach

I've now been on a low dose of estrogen and progesterone for 6 months in addition to daily creatine, BCAA's, no processed food (super hard to do), more protein, Omega3 and Iodine, and have had a complete end to the hot flashes. Yay, no more multi outfit days, unless I'm riding, running and lifting. I've also stopped losing muscle mass, but not yet put any on. My brain fog is nearly gone, and I'm sleeping again.

We will do another blood test in 3 more months to check in on the cholesterol and other issues, but for now I'm feeling back to normal. Or my new normal. I'm still training hard, and in fact am lifting more than I have been in the past, 180 pound deadlifts and 160 pound squats. I'm also putting out more power on my bike and in my runs because of my extra time in the gym.

Advocating for Yourself: Finding the Right Support

If you're like me and are having trouble with not feeling yourself, don't let a doctor tell you you're fine and just take melatonin or whatever they try to pass off on you. Look for someone else, someone with the training and knowledge in peri and post menopause. You wouldn't go get a coach that only coaches soccer to train you as an endurance sport athlete, so why get a doctor who isn't trained in your needs to care for you?

Minimal Equipment for Shelter at Home

Here we are at day 2 of our mandated Shelter in Place for California and many other areas of the US and around the world. These are going to be some interesting times ahead of us, but there is no need to miss out on keeping yourself healthy while you are stuck at home.

Since the shutdown happened I've had the opportunity to start doing more online type training. This has included creating home programs for people to do on their own, hosting Zoom classes, and doing one on one training through Google Hangouts and FaceTime. All my people are doing a great job keeping up an active and healthy lifestyle which is what is needed more now than ever. If we want to get through this together we all need to keep our bodies healthy and our immune systems strong, and that is done through consistent exercise.

Some people are wondering what equipment they need to be able to do workouts at home. I'm going to share with you some ideas of simple to more integrated gym style equipment you can have to keep you moving and healthy.

First off you don't need much to get a good workout in. Many exercises can be done with just using your own body weight, AND you don't even need a yoga mat. All you need is a nice large beach towel for things you do on the ground. Sometimes when I'm outside on the cement I'll layer 2 beach towels on top of one another to give me a little more squish underneath me.

The basic equipment that is cheap and doesn't take up much space for your home gym are...

Starting with Bands:

Mini Bands - Perform Better brand is the one I use as they are just the right size. There are many other brands that make "mini" bands, but most of them have created a very long one and they won't work for many exercises. These mini bands come in 4 colors depending on the amount of resistance they provide. Yellow is light, Green is medium, Blue is heavy and Black is extra heavy. I would suggest getting one of each color to get you started.

All Purpose Exercise Bands with handles - also from Perform Better and stick with the regular size. I use both the regular and travel size and have found that the travel size though a bit shorter and less bulky to pack, does not create the same amount of resistance. In fact the resistance is much higher than their regular sized bands. The best use you will get is out of their level 4 and level 2 bands. For anyone who has shoulder issues a level 1 will be very handy as well. And for anyone who wants more resistance or are just a bit stronger than most the level 6 or 8 bands are a great addition to your home gym.

Super Bands -  Just when you thought you had enough bands, there's one more. The Super Band. This extra long band is great for a wide variety of exercises including squats, and overhead pressing. I have no preference on brand for these as most of the companies make them about the same length. The difference with these is how they create the resistance. With these bands it is based on both the width and the thickness. The narrower and thinner the band the lighter it is and vice versa. If you go with the Perform Better brand I would suggest starting with the 1/2 inch, and if you want more resistance also get the 1 inch.

That's about it for the bands that I would recommend for your own home gym. In total if you were to buy all 4 mini bands, 2 of the All Purpose bands, and 1 of the Super bands your total expense would be approximately $72 plus shipping. With that you can do many total body workouts without the big expense of machines, kettle bells or other weight equipment.

If dumbells are kettlebells are something you want, go with the hex shaped dumbbells (less chance of them rolling away when you set them down), and you can do exercises that require you to put your weight on them easier than the round ones. Keep in mind these have been out of stock and then back in stock due to so many people setting up their home gyms, you will have to check the sites often to see when things are in stock. I'd go with Perform Better kettlebells, or Power Systems kettlebells as they seem to be in stock more often than the other brands. If you have the ability to get dumbbells I'd start with 5#, 10# and 15# getting them in pairs, and then for the kettlebells I would suggest a 20#, a 30# and a 40# just singles to get you started.

Another type of equipment I regularly recommend for home gym use us a weighted non bouncing ball. These can be used in place of dumbbells and kettlebells for certain movements, and you can use them for dynamic and functional movements too. These come in many different types of materials (rubber, leather, blends) and weights. Some brands make the ball smaller for light weights and larger for heavier weights, other brands do not. I would suggest if you are like me and have small hands it is better to use a brand that has smaller balls options. That's just my preference though.

Now these are not a requirement by any means, but do add a bit of variety to your home workouts without taking up too much space. These do however cost significantly more that the bands I mentioned earlier. These medballs can run anywhere from $25 to over $100 a piece.

A few examples of medicine balls I have used.

No Bounce ball with a 9 inch diameter and rubber material.

No Bounce Ball with 10 inch diameter and leather like feel.

No Bounce 14 inch diameter leather like feel.

As I mentioned earlier you do not need to get this specific brand as they are a bit on the expensive side. However I have used them for years and do love their quality and longevity, not to mention the grip.

I do not get any kick back from this company so rest assured I am suggesting you these pieces of equipment because I use them and I trust their quality. If you have any questions about how you can make your simple home gym better please feel free to reach out. We love hearing from our readers.