I’m not sure if I mentioned this or not (my mind is mush right now), but recently Estroven invited me to participate in a three month Good Sleep Challenge. I happily accepted. I am now two months into the challenge.
I know many of you are thinking “Isn’t Estroven for older women?” Well… Estroven is meant for women experiencing perimenopausal, menopausal and post menopausal symptoms. It wasn’t until recently that I started to put two and two together… odd symptoms like forgetfulness and fuzzy thinking (I kept attributing it to needing to take more vitamins), easily irritable (at the drop of a hat!), gaining a little weight, low libido (poor hubby), trouble sleeping and fatigue just to name a few.
Any of those symptoms sound familiar to you? Yes, even those of us in our early 40s can start experiencing perimenopausal symptoms for up to 10 years before full menopause hits (although not typical). You don’t have to have the textbook hot flashes to be experiencing perimenopausal symptoms either.
Because I lost an ovary with the birth of my oldest, Kaytlin, my doctor mentioned that I may start to experience these symptoms even sooner than some. I had mentioned my symptoms so we both decided to check on everything with extensive blood work at my last physical. We found that my vitamin D and iron levels were low. I am working on fixing these issues with supplements… but I still have all of the symptoms mentioned earlier.
My biggest issue was lack of quality sleep. I tend to wake many times a night which helps contribute to my fatigue and irritability. My beginning sleep charts on Fitbit were surprising to me to say the least. No wonder I was exhausted when waking in the morning… that particular night I woke up 21 times!
I am excited at the developments that have happened over the past two months and would love it if you’d check out my posts on the Estroven website. I just wrote my 17th post that will be up tomorrow I believe. It’s been pretty quiet over there and I would love some feedback!
Have you taken the Good Sleep Challenge with me? When you do you will be entered to win a $5,000 dream spa getaway as well as have the opportunity to download a $5 off coupon to get you started.
If you’ve already joined me, let me know how it’s going for you! I’d love to hear your experiences.
I think I need a fitbit to monitor my sleep habits. Would like more info on my sleeping.
I can really relate to your symptoms. Good thing you checked it out with your doctor. Hope that it works well for you. =)
I haven’t taken the challenge but that is amazing how the fitbit can monitor your sleep.
I’ll be excited to hear more about your experience! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m glad you are finding your groove, Heather.