Every day I see it time and time again. Patients come to me and they say,” I have seen many other physicians and they all told me I was too young to have hormonal issues”. They have been dismissed, told nothing is wrong or worse; made to feel crazy. Women have largely been failed by the medical community. It is this reason, I take this mission on every day…..that and I too have been there done that.
You see, when I was in my late 20’s, I started having symptoms of ovarian failure (perimenopause) and nobody could help me understand what I was feeling. I was already in the early years of my medical career, having just graduated from medical school and newly married. I had everything I had ever dreamed of, but I was not happy, did not feel good and asked “is this all there is” every day.
I was alternating between anger and depression, mentally and physically drained (although residency can do that to you) and started having vague physical symptoms, like not sleeping well, feeling hot all the time, putting on weight, migraine headaches and overall fatigue. Little did I know that it would take 15 years to fully understand what I was going through….but in the mean time I was told I was crazy, depressed and even put on anti-depressants. Although many of my friends and my husband would argue that I still might be a bit crazy (haha) that I was really experiencing the start of ovarian failure and having symptoms of perimenopause. I went through menopause very early and I am now on hormonal replacment. Mind you I am only 43 and went through menopause at 38.
I was not too young…….and everyone is going to have ovarian failure. This is biology. However, this is a process that takes many years and does not just happen to us at the age of 52. (average age of menopause in the U.S. is 52). What this means that depending on our genetics, our environmental exposure, medications, medical conditions and surgeries etc…..we are all going to start having symptoms in our 20, 30’s or 40’s.
Although this is mother nature at her finest….it does not mean we have to suffer through it and get old before our time. We have the medical knowledge to help women……we just need to get physicans and the medical community to get up to speed and it is up to us (women) to help them along.
This is why I do what I do…..and why I have started the blog today.
I hope others will share there personal stories as well.
I plan to educate, provide the real data to help you better understand hormones and how they relate to our overall health. More importantly,I want to help you better understand the data around hormonal replacment so that you can make wise educationed decisions regarding your health care…..and not let the media, myths and misinformed medical professionals hinder your wellness. It is too important.