I went through a battle with insomnia, bloating, weight fluctuation, unexplained depression, anxiety and panic attacks for over a year, before I finally connected the dots and realized what was going on with my body.
It started right before my 42nd birthday. I had been under a tremendous amount of emotional stress for a two year period. I made sure to have a healthy diet and regular fitness routine and thought that I was dealing the stress pretty well. During this time I had been having a hard time falling asleep, and when I would fall asleep, I was aware that my mind was constantly racing. I would wake up several times during the night and have a hard time falling back asleep.
All of the sudden, I began having panic attacks. I would be getting ready for work and have difficulty breathing. I would then get sick at my stomach and start shaking. These attacks would last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. The attacks began to progress from once or twice a month to weekly. I would become so upset, that I would vomit after each attack.
I contacted several counselors, thinking if I could just talk with someone, I could figure out why I was having these attacks, get past the issues and be okay. This of course was to no avail.
During this time I was experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding. I experienced severe pain, huge clots and had to keep several changes of clothing on me at work. I was taking two Advil every 2 hours to try and control the pain. This was every month and sometimes twice a month. I still did not put any of these symptoms together.
I continued to exercise and eat healthy, but was having to miss a few workouts due to heavy cycles. My weight was 127 pounds but would fluctuate to 135 during these cycles. I weighed myself every morning and could tell when I was getting ready to start my period by the scale. December 31st I weighed at 130, January 1st I weighed at 140. Ten pounds overnight, it had to be my scale, there was no way possible to gain this much weight overnight. I replaced the scale and was 140.
I made an appointment with my gynecologist and was advised to have an Endometrial Ablation. I had an ultrasound and an endometrial biopsy. The ultrasound showed that my uterine lining was 25mm and it should have been 4mm.
A lack of progesterone had caused my lining to thicken. The lack of progesterone was brought on by anxiety and panic attacks. The kicker to the entire dilemma was that it had been brought on by my battle with stress.
I am focusing on my lifestyle and nutrition from an entirely different view point than ever before. When I was younger I ate for taste, satisfaction, energy, or just because I could. Now that I have crossed the threshold of forty; I must deal with life a little differently from that of a twenty year old.
I am heading into a new age of life that will include hormonal roller-coasters, metabolism pit stops, as well as increased chances of age related diseases. Which foods should I eliminate from my diet? What foods should I eat to keep my body happy, healthy and productive as I move into this new realm of life? What forms of exercise and how often? How can I maintain a healthy metabolism and optimum weight loss?
Watch for fitness tips & recommendations, recipes, and possible home remedies I find along the way. There will be blogs on dealing with stress as well as motivation, humor and a new leash of life! I will be focusing on fitness and nutrition for women over forty.
