Last in the 3-part series on the 34 most common symptoms of menopause and how they fit into my life

Ok! We’re almost done, friends. I’m going to post the second half of the dreaded list and go into a little more detail on the ones I’m dealing with. Here’s that age-old disclaimer: not an expert, not a doctor, not a therapist. Your mileage may vary and you’re about to know what’s really up with me.

1. Tingling extremities
2. Electric sensations
3. Burning mouth
4. Digestion changes
5. Muscle aches
6. Disrupted sleep
7. Thinning hair
8. Osteoporosis
9. Irregular heartbeat
10. Weight gain
11. Memory lapses
12. Concentration lapses
13. Brittle nails
14. Incontinence
15. Dizziness
16. Allergies
17. Body odor

Digestion changes This one sucks and honestly, it is one of my biggest challenges. Within the last 6 or so months, a lot has changed for me. I used to be able to drink caffeine all day–yeah, no more, and it’s a serious pain in the ass. I pay for it if I drink a diet coke or large iced coffee after about 12p, meaning I struggle getting to sleep and I’m super irritable. Have I mentioned where I work? I’m surrounded by coffee I can’t drink all day.

I’m also noticing bloating and discomfort after I eat diary, but not all dairy and only in larger amounts. It’s also a pain in the ass.

One thing that has seemed to help is the addition of more protein into my diet, starting with collagen (about 16g of protein per every two scoops). I use vital proteins and I buy it at Costco. Since I started using it about 3 months ago, my gut health seems to have improved and I’m fairly certain my skin is in a lot better shape than it has been ever. I would also like to point out that I actually started washing my face twice a day (for the first time ever) with a skincare regimen that a local woman makes. It includes essential oils and natural ingredients. (Yes, you heard that right. I wash my face with oil–go figure!) So I think the collagen peptides and the skin care go hand in hand with this skin thing–and I’m thankful.

Muscle Aches While I’ve always experienced aches after I work out (which I haven’t done in a few years until just recently), I now find myself achy a lot. I wake up and stuff hurts, I sit and stuff hurts, I stand and stuff hurts. It’s very irritating and catches me off guard more than I care to admit. I just started working out and being a little more consistent, so there’s no way to tell if the aches are from working out or midlife, but I need to drop this midsection, so I’ll just keep working out.

Disrupted Sleep I’m going to spare you the details, but I’ll tell you what I’ve tried and what’s worked. First, I tried melatonin. It worked in small doses but stopped working fairly quickly. I upped my dose and then ended up falling asleep fine, but couldn’t stay asleep. I didn’t want to up my dose even more, so I moved on.

I tried cbd gummies next (no thc) and they did the exact same thing as melatonin. I went from taking one to taking two and it just kind of stopped working. They’re gummies, so they’re also full of sugar and stuff, and I didn’t want to just keep taking more. So then I took cbd gummies with thc and I ain’t gon lie. These worked. But they are expensive and I didn’t want to have to use them every night to get to sleep. I started taking a quarter of one on nights I could get to bed early enough, just to make sure I didn’t wake up groggy for work (I get up pretty early). Then I started taking half of one maybe twice a week, but again, only on nights I could get to be early enough and those nights started becoming fewer and farther between, so I ditched the gummies, although I for sure took a whole one last night because it was just me and my dog and we had nowhere we had to be this morning. It just worked “ok” because said dog was restless all night.

My most recent solution is by far the best one I’ve experienced and the most bang for my buck. It basically involves a routine, a sleep mask, magnesium bedtime lotion and tri-mag. I try to turn all screens off 30-45 minutes before I actually want to sleep and work hard to settle my mind and my body. This is absolutely the best solution I’ve found and I 100% owe it to my holistic coach and the podcast she has with her friend. It was nice to not have to go through a bunch of different brands before I found ones that worked for me. Also, satin pillowcases and a sating sleep mask are MONEY.

Thinning Hair I’m going to be honest. This one is really hard because of the recent crap I’ve gone through with my hair and I’m really tired of talking about it, mostly because it is one of my biggest insecurities (the other one is listed next). I will say this: I currently use a line of products called Verb, but I’m considering trying a new line from Monat formulated just for thinning hair. I have to see what’s in it first. I’m trying to be kind to my hair and scalp and don’t want a million chemicals.

Weight Gain I feel like we talk about this a lot. Here’s what I’ll say I’m trying: eat more protein (I’m shooting to get to 100g a day), move my ass more, and sleep better. I’m trying to walk 3 days a week and strength train twice a week.

Memory and Concentration Lapses These are a trip because they started during COVID, way before I suspect I even had it. We call it “brain fog” and I’m more and more frustrated by it every single day. I forget a lot and my concentration is a joke. I’ve kind of resigned to the fact that this is where I am, but I do really need to do some research.

Incontinence I haven’t peed my pants yet, but holy hell, if I sneeze and have even close to a full bladder–yikes. If I laugh hard or cough, same. It’s dumb and it means I pee a lot so my bladder is empty more often than not, but I no longer think this is normal, just because I had babies. I’ve heard recently of pelvic floor therapy and have just started looking into it. I’ll let you know what I find, because that’s what we do ’round these parts.

Body Odor Nothing weird or gross, but I have recently realized that natural deodorant is cute, but they smell funny and they are for sure not antiperspirants. And ladies, I need an antiperspirant these days. Because I’m heavier than normal, I sweat more. I mean, like more more. It’s irritating and gross and I would honestly love to find a natural antiperspirant, but they don’t exist because aluminum is the key ingredient to stop us from sweating–it’s in all antiperspirant. I’m at an impasse and it’s irritating. Clinical deodorant sounds better and better every day.

Ok, y’all. There’s me–naked and vulnerable. I can’t wait to get back to regularly scheduled programming soon so there aren’t so many words. Here’s to the best week ever!