I thought I would be sad.
I thought that I would cry and feel a loss.
I thought it would be devastating, the day my ovaries entered retirement.
When I turned 42, my body started to change and my periods became a nightmare for my period tracker app. Since I was still a newlywed, I bought stock in the pregnancy test kits and upon every late period, I would use a test, just to make sure I was not pregnant.
I visited my doc and she said that I was way too young for menopause and checked my thyroid. Assuming I was just way too young, I started on a thyroid med (the only logical solution) and dismissed any menopause thoughts. My periods became more erratic and I took more and more pregnancy tests. I came to the conclusion that is was probably stress, we had 4 teens and had just adopted our first son, and life was a little challenging.
My symptoms only got worse – hot flashes (thank God for peppermint oil and popsicles) and weight gain, hard to lose weight and keep it off, and again missed periods. Each calendar year, I would have less and less periods. Could this be menopause?
I went to my new Nurse Practitioner (she rocks) and asked her if I was crazy. She did a complete work up on me and GUESS WHAT????
I was in MENOPAUSE!
There are levels they can check to see what your ovaries are doing and the lower the number the closer to menopause. We talked about the changes and she assured me I was not crazy. Once I had gone one full year without a period, then I could not get pregnant and had reached menopause. The hot flashes, weight gain, dark hair on my chin (have I mentioned the unwanted hair?), all part of the hormone changes going on in my body.
I had fewer periods each year for 5 years until I reached the #yearofnoperiods that put me on the menopause team.
Now at age 47, I am happy to report that my ovaries have officially retired. I’m not sure if they expected a party. They had a good run – 31 years is a great career. They served me well; no major problems, a few cysts here and there and they enabled me to get pregnant and supported my womb in carrying 2 precious babes. But now their usefulness is over. They can rest and chill out and take a well-deserved break.
Turns out 42 is not too young to start planning their retirement. Listen to your body, talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner, have some blood work done. Talk to your mom to find out when she went through menopause. Keep track of your periods and irregularities – knowledge is power and it’s your body.
Turns out, I’m not sad or weepy or devastated at all. To everything, there is a season. As one chapter ends, another begins, and I am welcoming my new found freedom.
 and asked her if I was crazy. She did a complete work up on me and GUESS WHAT???? I was in MENOPAUSE!){kind=link}