In my early 40’s I opened my first, busy Pilates studio. To counteract the stress involved; I had regular, weekly acupuncture sessions, daily Pilates workouts, I was jogging on the beach, drinking 2 litres of water a day, veggie juices, plenty of fresh fruit and veg plus fish and lean meat to keep my body healthy and my mind stress free!
“I was blessed to experience no physical, mental or emotional havoc in my life, during the journey through perimenopause to menopause.”
At my acupuncture sessions I’d always be asked if I had night sweats and the time of my last period. I always said no night sweats and my periods range between 18 to over 30 days…Erratic! But I didn’t think anything of it.
As I reached my mid 40’s, I continued my active, healthy lifestyle plus acupuncture, at least monthly. Due to my erratic periods my acupuncturist started to say that I had better watch out as I was heading for ‘menopause’. I never thought about menopause. I was too young! The only experience I had of menopause was my mother behaving erratically in my late teens. Mum always said it was due to ‘menopause’!
After each visit with my acupuncturist I started to feel a sense of despair as she filled me with such doom and gloom of this approaching dreaded ‘menopause’…. hence, I stopped seeing her.
After spending so much time and money on my acupuncture and always having to book nearly a year ahead in advance, I found the ‘Acupuncture Collective’ in Bondi Junction. It had recently opened. You just walked in, took a bed, no bookings, $25 for an hour plus amazing, caring technicians. So, I continued my acupuncture journey. I have always felt it balances my body and keeps me healthy.
I had “No hot ‘flashes’, No mood swings, No loss of libido, No night sweats, No weight gain, No bloating.”
When I turned 46, I had a period that lasted 17 days. I thought I had something terribly wrong with me and I remember calling a triage nurse hotline, at 2am, to see if I might be bleeding to death. I booked to see a female gynaecologist, and she said she would give me one prescription only of progesterone pills, that should stop the bleeding. If it didn’t stop, I would need a hysterectomy as my only alternative…I discovered from this doctor, that one of the signs of impending menopause, was very heavy, nonstop periods. The only way some women stop it, is by having a hysterectomy. The progesterone pills stopped mine. A couple of months later a period continued for 10 days. This time, I went straight to acupuncture and asked if they could help stop it. After 1 session it stopped.
Meanwhile, I was moving on keeping as healthy as possible, with
my busy life, busy Pilates studio and six months later my period stopped. I was
47 years old. One year later, I still hadn’t had a period and I asked my new
local GP, did this mean I was entering the menopause?…
I had read the menopause was when you didn’t have a period for one whole year.
She said I had been through the menopause and it was done! Over and out! No
more! Finished!
I’m now 54, six years later, symptom free, which is amazing! My husband is pleased he hasn’t experienced any side effects of it either. I always wake up happy and full of life.
Life goes on; I am blessed that I don’t have a period and have not felt a transition into a different phase of life. Everything is the same. For me there was nothing to dread. I just keep concentrating on staying healthy, exercise, water, sleep and healthy eating. In the current days of the ‘coronavirus’ I have just started back at some weekly, immune boosting acupuncture sessions at the ‘Acupuncture Collective’.
My 5 Tips to Being Symptom Free Through Menopause
Daily Exercise- jogging, Pilates, weight bearing exercises or stretching
Acupuncture- regular weekly/monthly sessions
Drinking lots of fresh water – over 2 litres/day
Healthy diet – mainly veg with chicken or fish/ limit sugar
Positive outlook every day – positive affirmations
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