The Inconvenience of Bleeding
This is the first time that I am sharing on a public platform that I am in Perimenopause. I don’t know why it has taken so long for me to talk about this. I guess I have simply just been navigating my own relationship with being a woman and managing the myriad of symptoms that no one educates you about in any way, shape or form.
Perimenopause is the term used to describe the period of time where the female body undergoes hormonal changes prior to ceasing bleeding for one year. This period of time can last for years and can begin as early as thirty five. Very little research has been done on menopause and its treatment, and even less has been shared it about in terms of education.
There is a lot of stigma and shame around menopause. A reflection of how women who are no longer able to child bear are seen as ‘old’ therefore irrelevant or no longer beautiful. And the misunderstanding and judgement for the symptoms of menopause often forced women to silently disappear into the background.
I can say the last four years have been rough and huge part of that is even female GP’s and herbalists I have seen were unable to help me identify I was going through perimenopause. My symptoms did not fit the bill and again I am shocked at the lack of education. It was only finally hearing another women describe her symptoms is graphic detail that I recognised it mirrored mine.
So what should a female expect when going through perimenopause? Well it’s not all hot flushes, that’s for sure. You can expect some (or in my case all) of these symptoms:
changes in your hair, skin and nails, such as dryness, thinning, brittleness and hair loss
changes to your body or vaginal odour
changes to vaginal discharge and vaginal dryness
changes to the quality and smell of your menstrual blood
changes to the regularity and frequency of menstrual cycle - this could look like lighter or heavier periods, longer or shorter cycles, spotting or flooding
brain fog and / or poor memory
tingling or pins and needles in parts of the body
fatigue, aching joints or bones, tiredness, clicking joints, changes in dental health
changes in sleep pattern or quality
difficult losing weight or unusual weight gain when there is no change in your diet or lifestyle
fluid retention
heart palpitations or chest pains
acidity or indigestion
lower immune system
headaches or migraines
mood changes such as low mood, or just not feeling much at all, emotional, irritable, quick to anger
feeling warm or hot, or hot flushes, usually at night but can be anytime
tinnitus or itchy ears
Weirdly, out of all the above symptoms the most inconvenient one is bleeding when least expected. In the last four years I have bled on more days than I haven’t. And after being regular almost to the day for years it has been a journey. And with the unexpected bleeds I have had to be continually prepared for all the things I would need if that happened, and I can say I have been caught short more than a few times. But what has surprised the me the most is the lack of consideration of women who bleed. I don’t know why I never noticed before. Perhaps it is because always during my bleed I made changes to my schedule and stayed home.
But there are some things that I have found to be super inconvenient - white towels in hotels. White towels in general. I mean come on. Bins without lids or bathrooms without bins. The price of sanitary products, especially eco and vagina friendly ones. Office chairs - sometimes you just need to sit comfortably.
Well those are my complaints for the moment. Not many but enough to make me write a blog post. Perhaps I am just perimenopausal :)