WEIGHT GAIN DURING PERIMENOPAUSE

Hey Girlfriends

Did you know that an increase in fat around the waist is often seen in perimenopausal women. Boy, did my waistline increase. All of a sudden I was at my highest weight ever. Some of the increase was due to the fact that I had quit smoking. I was wearing elastic waist pants so I never really noticed the increase until I stepped on the scales one day.

Perimenopause weight gain is just another symptom resulting from your system being out of balance. To restore balance we need to figure out what is going on. We must treat the whole person, not just the symptoms that are resulting from Perimenopause.

Remember there are three parts that must be acknowledged. The physical, the spiritual and the emotional or soul (which includes the mind, emotion & will). We need to address all three parts of ourselves on this Journey of Life if we are to be balanced. Are you neglecting any part of yourself? Do you take the time to nurture all three parts of yourself? Share with us what you do for yourself in any of these areas!!

 

SOOTHING THE SLEEPLESS PERIMENOPAUSE SOUL
 

Hey Girlfriends

Have you figured out what's causing your sleep problems at night? Hopefully your on your way to some sort of plan to cure or treat your symptoms. Don't just sit back and do nothing Girlfriend, take time for yourself, find help for yourself, otherwise your no good to anyone. Share with us what you think may be causing your sleep problems, others need your insight and encouragement.

What did you do last night to help with these Perimenopause sleep problems?  Like I said before: I try to eat a handful of dried cherries every night for the physical effects of my Perimenopause sleep problems.  To easy mind, emotion & intellect "Soul", I distract myself by watching TV or reading a book or magazine.  To calm my Spirit, I prayer, sing or read psalms. We must not neglect the physical, emotional or spiritual "ME" in Perimenopause.  Take time to sooth the Perimenopause soul Girlfriends.  Share with us your plans for a better nights rest.  Sharing is Caring!

WHY ARE YOUR WAKING UP AT NIGHT?

Hey Girlfriends

Do you wake up during the night? I do. I have no problem falling asleep.  Its staying asleep that interrupts my nights.  I can usually go 5 hours before I awaken at night, but usually not any longer.  It's as if I have an internal alarm clock that after 5 hours automatically wakes me up. 

We do have sleep patterns that we go through at night. Anywhere from 4-7 cycles that will last anywhere from 60-90 minutes each. REM sleep or Rapid Eye Movement which ends each cycle is the most important part of our sleeping patterns.  We get the most rest when we enter REM sleep.

What can you do to help with those sleepless nights?  Depending on what seems to be waking you up at night will determine what you need to do to help your sleeplessness.  http://www.stop-being-tired.com/tiredness-and-sleep/stop-waking-up/ gives us a few examples of problems that may be hindering your sleep.  Check it out.  End those sleepless nights or at least take time to help yourself get the proper rest. 

Sharing is Caring!  Any suggestions out there?? 
Share either here or on Facebook at Perimenopause Girlfriends or FB http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002880890957&sk=wall.  Become a Girlfriend!!

PERIMENOPAUSE SLEEP PROBLEMS

Hey Girlfriends:

Are you having problems sleeping?  Another sign or symptom of Perimenopause can be sleep problems.  Many women suffer from sleep problems during perimenopause. You may find it difficult to fall asleep, or to stay asleep. Sleep difficulties during perimenopause can be often caused by night sweats, as well as hormonal fluctuations.  Some nights I flop around like a fish, first one side, then the other, then the other, then the other and wake up to hot to sleep.  Add sleep problems at night to depression and you start to stay awake at night and sleep during the day. Worry and anxiety take up your nights and sleep envelopes your days. 

I am learning to adapt to this these sleep disruptions.  Instead of staying in bed tossing and turning.  I now get up - watch a tv program, read a book or magazine, take a shower, etc.  I have learned that these distractions keep my brain from focusing on things I can't change, especially in the middle of the night.

I am starting to eat a handful or two of dried cherries before bed.  Cherries contain serotonin, which produces beneficial effects on sleep. A study by M. Garrido and colleagues published in the September 2010 issue of "The Journals of Gerontology" performed a sleep study with volunteers. They found cherries had a positive effect on sleep and sleep duration. I'm now sleeping 5 hours continuously.  Not the 7 recommended yet, but I have hope!

What are some of the things that you do to help your sleepless nights?  Any suggestions?  Sharing is Caring.  Share with my Girlfriends!!!!

REALITY CHECK FROM DEPRESSION

Hey Girlfriends:

You know that I have been expressing to you the need to take some time for yourself - "ME".  Well, I figure I better show by example.  Taking time to smell the roses is a great reality check from Depression.  This is a must for my life.  You need to make it a must for your life.  Life will be so much more enjoyable and so will work in the end.

Ever just enjoy your day by spending time with friends?  We went canoeing on the Peace River this week-end.  Seven canoes, 8 miles, 14 friends with 5 hours of wilderness grandeur.  What a great time!!!  I love the outdoors, especially when there are no mosquitoes.  I live in SWFL and this time of year, except for those pesky bugs, is a really great time to combine the outdoors, with sunshine, nature and friends.  What a wake up call or reality check. 

The reality check came from the enormous oak and cypress trees just overflowing with spanish moss.  The turtles taking time to sun bathe on logs with no need to rush.  Water flowing to the point of just carrying your canoe along almost effortlessly.  Fresh air that penetrated your lungs cleansing your mind and body.  Laughter so contagious at times you couldn't catch your breath. Friends that share your passion for life, themselves needing a reality check.

Yes we must work, yes we must be responsible, yes we must take care of our daily needs, but the reality is that life is stressful, life is complicated, life can get out of control so we must learn to balance work with pleasure.  The reality of it all.  If you haven't had a reality check lately make time for one. Your favorite spot, your favorite people, equals a contagious reality check from depression Girlfriends!!!   

NEGATIVE & POSITIVE SIDES OF DEPRESSION

Hey Girlfriends:

Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days but for some reason writing about my depression, caused me to get depressed and not feel like blogging. Go figure.  Focusing to much on my depression gets me in trouble and those fluctuating hormone levels don't help my emotional stability either.  Does that every happen to you? 

I have discovered that I have to properly evaluate my emotions especially when it comes to Perimenopause.  My emotions are unreliable, misleading and will constantly betray me. If someone agitates me I have to evaluate my part and not let angry get the best of me. If my finances are in decline and depression slithers it's way into my heart I have to evaluate if there is something I can do about it.  If a sense of deep weariness saturates my soul and my emotions start to ridicule me by taunting voices shouting, “You might as well give up. It’s no use. Just quit!” I have to stop listening and refocus or I get depressed.  So I am learning to evaluate where, when and why my emotions are present at that moment.

These negative emotions can take hold of you and destroy your life.  Taking control helps you in discarding negative emotions while learning to safeguard and reinforce positive emotions. If you can't find something or someone to reinforce your positive emotions, I'm here for you Girlfriend.  Email me or post a comment.  I would love to hear from you.  Sharing is Caring!!!

"DEPRESSION" MY NUMBER 1 ENEMY

Mood changes including depression, anxiety, irritability, and mood swings are experienced by a significant number of perimenopausal women.  I was experienceing them regularly.  I found out that this was due to my daily production of estrogen.  During perimenopause there are days when estrogen levels are low & days when estrogen levels are high. My daily mood swings would depend on what level my estrogen was at.

Depression which affects about 12 million women in America each year can cause energy levels to plummet; changes in sleeping and eating patterns; problems with memory and concentration; and feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and negativity.  I would lay in bed for days at a time not wanting to deal with anything.  Dwelling on my problems, crying over them and then sleeping.

Your emotions are to your soul what your physical feelings are to your body. Nobody in their right mind enjoys pain. But if you didn't feel pain, you would be in danger of injury. If you didn't feel anger, sorrow, joy, etc. your soul would be in trouble. Emotions are our indicators to let us know what is going on inside.

Emotions in themselves are neither good nor bad; but how we respond to them can be. Just like you respond to the warnings of physical pain, so you need to learn to respond to your emotional indicators properly.  We usually respond to our emotions by covering over them or ignoring them - called suppression; thoughtlessly lashing out - called outburst expression or by peering inside to see what's going on - called acknowledgment.  I usually suppress my emotions that's where my depression comes from.  Keeping it inside.

Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, PhD, a psychologist in San Francisco, encourages her patients to acknowledge their problems. "Depression is meant to stop you in your tracks because, like physical pain, it's a signal that there's something wrong and you need to fix it," says Dr. Honos-Webb, who wrote Listening to Depression: How Understanding Your Pain Can Heal Your Life. "The social withdrawal that comes with depression can help you change something in your life that's broken--and once you've gone through it, you can be stronger and more resilient because of the experience."

I did change something in life that was broken and that was me.  I started an exercise program, which lead to me losing weight.  The exercise also increased my lung functions so my asthma began to be more manageable.  Those are some of the physical changes that began to take place.  Emotionally I began a searching process - what AA might call working the 12 steps.  Finding out where my co-dependencies were leading me.  And Spiritually I started to feed my spirit.  I began each day with prayer and meditation. Surrendering my life and will to God as I understand Him.

I pray today that you will find this same Peace as you begin to examine your life and take time for YOU Girlfriend!  Sharing & Caring with my Perimenopause Girlfriends!!!!

Transitioning into Perimenopause

Hey Girlfriends

I began to transition which means a change or passage from one state or stage to another.  I started to accept where I was in life- 47 years old and counting.  I started dealing with stress in my life differently.  I started adapting to my hormonal imbalance, even though it was still causing itching, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, irritability, sleep disruption, headaches, dry eyes, hair loss, and weight gain. 

My new motto became "You're not getting older, you're getting better".  Better in the sense of making healthier choices.  I realized that I was in the prime of my life and I needed to start to enjoy it, but being so unhealthy was taking the joy right out of life.  Who knows how many years I have left in this life.  Five, Ten, Twenty or maybe even Thirty if I am lucky to live to be 80 and unless I started taking better care of myself, I sure wouldn't make it to 80.  I started taking time for the small things.  Savoring the moment.  All my life has been rush here, rush there.  I was finally accepting time.

I started to take charge of those things that I COULD CHANGE and let go of those things I COULDN'T CHANGE.  Life is not always pleasant but we can choose how we deal with our situations by not letting our situation choose how it deals with us.  It's our choice.  I became proactive.  Stress can cause a lot of physical and emotional problems in ones life and it was wreaking havoc on mine.

I started to keep track of how I felt each day, whether good or bad.  I started to not just take each day as it came, but prepare for it, ready to fight this demon called "Perimenopause".  The fight has not been easy nor is it over.  It's is more defined now.  I am more aware of the rules by which I must play.  The hormonal imbalance during perimenopause is the cause for many of my demons - itching, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, irritability, sleep disruption, headaches, dry eyes, hair loss, and weight gain, and many other extreme emotional distresses.  As my estrogen levels roller coaster up and down so do my symptoms, but I can now anticipate more readily the signs.  How did this all happen?  Not overnight but gradually as I came to examine the needs of my mind, body & spirit.  Is it time for some transitioning in your life Girlfriend? Sharing is Caring.  Share with me!!!!