Just recently I have been having “Heart Palpitations“. I of course mention this to hubby to accuses me of being a Hypochondriac. So I ignore it for a few weeks. At the same time I stop having my mutl-vitamin thinking that perhaps it is being overly ambitious.
The palpitations are still there – even when I am at rest or laying in bed at night. So I look it up on the web and of course it says it could be due to menopause. I then mention this to hubby who responds with a comment “you don’t even know if you are going through menopause – has a doctor actually done any tests“. (I felt like punching him in the face after this comment so I ignored it)
So I looked up the symptoms of menopause on the web and this is the list – I have indicated if I have the relevant symptom or not:
- Hot Flushes – YES
- Night Sweats – YES
- Irregular Periods – NO – (What’s a period?)
- Loss of Libido – YES
- Vaginal Dryness – YES
- Mood Swings – YES
- Fatigue – YES
- Hair Loss – YES
- Sleep Disorders – YES
- Difficulty Concentrating – YES
- Memory Lapses – YES
- Dizziness – NO
- Weight Gain – YES
- Incontinence – YES
- Bloating – YES
- Allergies – YES (Prior to menopause as well)
- Brittle Nails – YES
- Changes in Odor – NO IDEA (Generally don’t smell myself)
- Irregular Heartbeat – YES
- Depression – YES (very occasionally)
- Anxiety – YES
- Irritability – YES
- Panic Disorder – NO
- Breast Pain – NO
- Headaches – YES
- Joint Pain – YES
- Burning Tongue – NO
- Electric Shocks – YES (probably due to very dry air at the moment)
- Digestive Problems – YES
- Muscle Tension – NO
- Itchy Skin – YES
- Tingling Extremities – YES (often get pins and needles)
- Osteoporosis – NO
So I have checked 26 of the 34 Symptoms – There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I am menopausal – with or without a doctor verifying this……..
To appease myself, I duly went to see the Doc last week about my heart palpitations. He did an ECG – resting and stressed. All is normal and fine with my heart – good rhythm / pulse / blood pressure etc etc. He says it is caused by menopause and I must not stress about it all. He also goes on to recommend I start taking HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). This was then a debate as you are either pro HRT or against HRT – I have discussed this in the past with my Gynecologist. I explained that I was neither pro or against HRT but would act on the advice given, providing my Gynecologist agreed with him.
So I have stopped taking my little soy extract pill each day and am now on HRT. Probably a bit too early to say if it is working and will give it a few weeks.
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