The day has come. The day I’ve reached the Evelyn Couch Event Horizon. I am officially in the Evelyn Age Bracket from “Fried Green Tomatoes,” as a woman in her late 40s who is struggling with “The Change.” And while I have not taken a class about my vagina or crashed my car into any whipper snappers — YET — these days I often feel the impulse to just Towanda my whole damn life. My perimenopause started when I had my period three times in five weeks earlier this year. And it has continued with a cacophony of other delightful symptoms — from your standard hot flashes to wild mood swings and undeniable brain fog. In fact, if you’re reading here and see a word out of nowhere that doesn’t make any sense, that’s just my tired broken brain doing its best these days.
It seems wild that “Fried Green Tomatoes” remains one of the few mainstream films to deal with menopause head-on. In the 32 years that have passed since its release, the topic remains somehow still too taboo. Yet basically all women and people with female reproductive organs experience this in their lives. ALL OF US. And let me tell you, it is not subtle nor sweet — and definitely not something to be kept secret. We should talk about it. I can’t stop talking about it. Honestly, it makes me feel kinda crazy. Couple that with other huge recent life events and some days I feel like my entire existence is about to break through the bottom of Evelyn’s paper-thin Piggly Wiggly grocery bag. Yesterday, a 30-second video tweet of Elmo (yes, ELMO) saying “Happy Pride!” made me weep. Things are not OK inside my skull, clearly. But I am working on it, and honestly knowing the “Why” does at least help. Now, onto the what to do next. Speaking of Evelyn, has anyone else got themselves some hormones? I am also not opposed to Stress Tabs No. 4. I feel like Jessica Tandy was onto something.
10 comments:
I love my hormones! Well, the ones I get inn pill form at least.
Sleeping through the night without panicky awakenings followed by a desperate crawl to the top of the covers three to six times a night makes a huge difference. Brain fog and general crankiness has been greatly reduced as a result of sound sleeping.
Ooooof! 3 times in 5 weeks, 😭 Check out the Menopause Manifesto by Dr Jen Guntee. 🤞🤞🤞
Hello from the other side! It gets better.
It took a while but I feel better physically and emotionally, post menopause, than I ever did before. Hang in there.
Strongly recommend the book “What Fresh Hell Is This? Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You” by Heather Corinna. Fabulous, direct, and honest. Great guidance.
I just bought myself a cooling dog bed to sleep on. And about a zillion little hand-held fans from Aldi. And I've finally stopped trying to strip naked everytime a hot flash comes on, and have found acupuncture helps with the panic and EMOTIONS that precede a hot flash. I'm in the trenches with you!
Absolutely agree with a previous comment that it really gets better. Talk and read about it and you will discover what works best for you. Thinking of you.
Thank you for talking about this! I'm a few years into perimenopause symptoms, and after several different doctors / OBGYNs being mostly unhelpful, one recommended Amberen Perimenopause supplements. I'm hella skeptical of supplements in general, but I've been taking these for three months and my wildly unpredictable perimenopause period has calmed down to a regular monthly cycle, I have way fewer hot flashes — and I think I feel slightly less insane? So for me it's been a good alternative to hormone therapy, at least so far.
Too old to be young and too young to be old. Oof.
Perimenopause was hell. Menopause is INCREDIBLE. I feel like I have been waiting my whole life to be who I am right now.
Another prisoner in perimenopause land right here.
The 3 times in 5 weeks hit home…
I’m ashamed of how unprepared I was. I expected hot flashes (bizarrely the only symptom I’ve not had), brain fog, moodswings etc but I was completely taken aback by the continuous 35 days bleed…
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