Happy Menopause

Aged 44 my periods stopped and I had a few months of hot flushes, particularly at night, the type where you wake up cold because you sweated so much your night clothes got soaked. But then that was it. All done, nothing more. The menopause was done! How? Why? What? This isn't a blog about menopausal symptoms. We are fortunately hearing much more about those, and rightly so. We are talking and sharing so much more than we ever did before and this is a good thing. I want to see if there are answers as to why I was let off so lightly. In my late teens and early twenties I had been suffering with endometriosis, a painful condition where tissue similar to that which lines the uterus, grows elsewhere, normally in the fallopian tubes, ovaries or tissue lining your pelvis. I didn't know what it was, not till I was in my 30s. I had joined the Office Training Corps whilst I was studying at University. Often on early morning PT I would be doubled over in pain lying on the changing room floor. I thought this was normal. I also thought if you went to the toilet for a number 2 it was normal to need to brace your arms against the wall in pain. I didn't talk about it, we didn't did we, we just got on with it becasue that was the done thing! But why should it be? Then, when my older sister had a big operation to remove a very large endometrial cyst I started to look at my symptoms again through different eyes. And I was encouraged to buy a book that my sister had read. She didn't want a second round of surgery and it was looking that way for her, I had already had one round of surgery by then and it was looking like some of the symtpoms were returning. So this book became the turning point for both of us. "Endometriosis, A Key to Healing Through Nutrition" by Dian Shepperson Mills and Michael Vernon coincidentally got the updated title 'A key to Healing and Fertility..'. I subsequently adapted my healthy-ish diet to help rebalance my hormones naturally. Adding more fruit particularly berries, taking out gluten for a while, taking away dairy which I actually found quite easy when I realised the pain free benefits. Having more whole foods, nuts, seeds, pulses, grains, more raw fruit and veg every day, every meal, seemed to suit me.

So I was now in my mid 30s, improved nutrition, no pain, fully active again. Recently married and then, later tha year, rather surprisingly....pregnant. Having been told endometriosis makes you sub-fertile, plus I was heading towards my late 30s...well, there wasn't much hope (I was told!). Unexpectedly the key to healing through nutrition obviously did impact my fertility too. My husband and I feel really very fortunate to have our wonderful son in our lives.

Did the lifestyle changes I made in my mid 30s to help endometriosis also then help me move well into perimenopause and onto menopause? Very possibly. Western diets and lifestyle can sometimes seem to conflict with our natural responses, we aren't as in sync with nature as we were decades ago. Moving regularly, walks, swims, being in nature. Eating seasonally and as much whole food plant based as possible, being mindful and calming down the stress hormones where possible all seemed to benefit me in my transition. Maybe I was just lucky or had a different genetic predispostion. But we can do something about this, we can switch our genes on and off. We have far greater mastery and control than we think. We are rather wonderful.