Symptom 8 - Trouble sleeping

This picture could not be more true! The clock appears to be on 2 am ish and I have lost count of the amount of times that I have seen that time!

Trouble sleeping, for me as a perimenopause woman, comes in many varieties from not being able to get to sleep when you are absolutely shattered to falling asleep quite happily but then waking up anytime after midnight and clock watching for maybe hours or being in a vicious cycle of waking, falling asleep then waking again and falling asleep. I don't remember my sleep pattern being disturbed as much during pregnancy or even with having small children waking in the night because they'd lost their dummy out of the cot, they needed the toilet or because they were ill!

Like many of the perimenopausal symptoms that I get this one does not affect me all month; it only strikes in the week to ten days before my period starts. I also get other symptoms at this time but I'll blog them separately. Now for someone who currently has an average cycle of twenty-four days that is quite a lot but I hold on to the fact that for at least fourteen days a month I do sleep 'fairly' normally!

I found this image on the National Sleep Foundation website looking at how much sleep was good for us. As an adult between the age of 25 and 64 I should be having a seven to nine hours sleep; I definitely get this on the other fourteen days of the month but that ten days before my period starts well that is a totally different matter. I'd like to be generous and say that the minimum that I can get is four hours sleep and maybe I can get seven on a 'good' night. The problem with this is that this sleep is disturbed so it is never a 'good' night's sleep. Like many of my perimenopause symptoms I have been experiencing this for over two years now.

Lack of sleep makes me irritable! Really?! Yes, it's true! 

About six months ago I started looking at alternative remedies as I am loath to go to the doctors and ask about HRT; I'd very much like to be able to find something else to help get me through. One of the things I have tried I will blog about separately and it may have to be a video blog as writing may not do it justice! I have shared my experiences with two friends who had somehow missed out on this 'trial' over the last couple of days and the laughs we have had have been amazing! One of those Tessa moments!!!!

Anyway, where was I?! Having done a bit of research I decided that I needed to take a magnesium supplement. The supplement that I bought was called We Support Magnesium-OK; it is a food supplement that also has other 'things' included in it. Like everything related to perimenopause you will never get a 'quick' fix (I wish!). I was really good and took it for approximately six weeks; once a day at my evening meal. It appeared to work, I did not experience the insomnia that I usually do so t was a good thing. The problem that I had was that I kept forgetting to take it!

This month the insomnia has been really bad. I have a stock pile of magnesium supplements; 120 tablets to be precise which is approximately five monthly cycles for me! I am going to start taking them again to see if that one month was a fluke or that it was having a placebo effect on me. I just need to set myself a reminder to take them . . . oh that's Symptom 17 - Faulty Memory!! Ha ha welcome to another one!

Friends

We all need friends, some of us more than others. My friends keep me sane (or maybe not!?) 

What makes a great friend? I'm not sure that there is a definitive answer to that; friends could be like cocktails, different ones for different occasions! At certain times in our lives we might need friends for very different reasons.

Do men and women have the same need for friends? I'm not sure and as a woman I can only answer for myself. As we travel on life's journey we may have had several different friendships. As a woman in my mid 40s I can say that I have had a 'best friend' in every decade of my life and each one of them has been different. I'm not sure what that says about me, maybe nothing, but maybe more about the fact that at different times in our lives we need different things out of friendships. I have to say that I am still in contact with all but one of my 'best friends' that I have had since the age of 18. It always amazes me that you can go for ages, maybe even years, and that you can meet up and just carry on where you last finished.

I am someone who will always offer a hand of friendship to anyone but I am maybe not very good at asking for help myself! So when I do my friends generally know that I am in need! I am the type of woman who doesn't need anyone to give me answers, usually! What I often require from a friend is just someone to listen to me speak. . . okay, they might be listening to me for a while!! Seriously a good friend, to me, does not try and solve my problems they listen, offer advice and don't judge. . . what works for them might not work for me.

Friends are also people that you can share memories with. . . and boy do I have some amazing memories from times that I have spent with friends. Sometimes just laughing can be the best form of remedy that anyone needs!

Let's spend time together and make loads more!

I keep losing weight. . .

They sold this in Next last Christmas and I loved it so much that it was on my Christmas wish list.

I once had a member in a WeightWatchers meeting say that once you had a weight problem then you always have a weight problem; some of us learn how to manage it but it is something that will always have to be managed. If you take your eye off the ball then it smacks you in the face and very quickly you can end up right where you started. . . anyone else know that feeling?!

I have previously mentioned in this blog that I have all the tools and having spent three years as a WeightWatchers leader I definitely know what to do . . . but that doesn't mean that I always do it!!! #normal 

Whilst on countdown to my boys leaving and going to university I can honestly say that I took my eye off the ball; I was comfort eating and they both knew that the way to my heart were haribos and crunchies! I will admit to eating quite a few of these over the last five weeks!

Knowing that I was starting Insanity meant that I also had to take my eating back under control; so I did what I would always adhere to. I have tracked everything that I have eaten. I have used the WeightWatchers and MyFitnessPal apps. I have set myself a realisitic target of 1 lb a week which means that by Christmas I would have hopefully lost 12 to 14 lbs.

I know that many people reading this will be struggling or have reached a plateau. Always remind yourself WHY you want to lose weight, or why you DID lose weight. Take each day at a time and set yourself some small, achievable targets.

Some people lose weight really easily and for some of us it takes time. Even not losing weight means that you haven't put any on!

This week has gone well; I have resisted the biscuit tin at work and cake Friday! I've stood on the scales today and was happy with the outcome. I am unlikely to blog about my weight loss each week but rather do it once a month; I believe that that is a more realistic and honest way to look at weight loss especially as a perimenopausal woman!

Are you insane woman?!

About fifteen years ago (!) I was first described by a then five year old boy as 'the nutty woman'. I did things that I thought were normal but that he had never witnessed in his short life; my antics always brought a smile to his face, probably my intention. He and his mother know who they are and I'm sure that some of my antics would still bring a bemused smile to their faces!

How many exercise videos do you own? Honestly?! Every New Year when the 'celebrities' bring out a new one do you go and buy yourself one?? I have over the years bought many; the first Davina exercise DVD (I have difficulty doing any Davina DVD as so many of her mannerisms are mine!), Tracey Shaw, Salsa, before the days of Zumba, Kettleworx (I do love this one). There are too many to list I could go on and on!

As I believe one of my sons lovingly told me once, 'all the gear, no idea'! Well you have to have the right exercise gear before you start, don't you?!

I first saw an infomercial for Insanity about six years ago whilst on a Christmas break in New York. I'd never seen anything like it and when I eventually saw the same infomercial on British TV a number of years later I knew that I had to own it. I think it took at least another year to pluck up the courage to actually buy it! That I did a little over two years ago.

Insanity, for those who don't know, is a 63 day total body workout programme given in a series of DVDs that is as the title so rightly says . . . INSANE!

This programme is not for the faint-hearted and I am not suggesting that you all go out and buy it. Here we go with a Tessa Moment!! The first time that I attempted the programme I got to day 43; for the first four weeks you exercise for no more than 40 minutes six out of seven days. Days 29 to 35 are called Recovery (!) but the DVDs are still 40 minutes long. Once you hit day 36 the minimum amount of time spent each day is about 60 minutes.

How often have you said I don't have time to exercise? If it's important to you, you will make the time but what I have learnt is that when I am doing an exercise DVD I really don't like anyone else to be around so I was getting up at the crack of dawn to do the exercises as I was still holding down a full-time job and at that point doing three WeightWatchers meetings a week! Something had to give and yes it ended up being Insanity. . . 

Insanity is one of those things that when you are doing it you are dying but afterwards you feel great; the prospect of starting it is very daunting though. I attempted to do the programme again about this time last year but quit at day 45 . . . two days better than last time and now doing four WeightWatchers meetings a week!!

That takes us to now. . . today is day 6 and I WILL do it this time!! I have an empty nest, I no longer do WeightWatchers meetings so when I come home from work I can just think about me!! 

The first time I did Insanity I heard my calf 'pop' about three days into it; there is a lot of 'jumping'. What I realised is that MY body couldn't cope with the repetition of movement on a hard floor. I was 44 then, I'm now 46!! I own a rebounder, which I has been in the family for over 30 years! I think my parents still have one too! I have replaced the 'mat' on it once but it was fantastic when the kids were little. I now use the rebounder for all the exercises that require my body to be lifted off the floor; this means less strain on my joints and actually I'm getting more of a workout as the I'm having to balance on the rebounder.

My eldest son has always said that I can't do it. . . this time I want to prove him wrong! My last workout is on Saturday 28 November. I have one of my brothers as inspiration as he has done it and his before and after pictures are amazing. I haven't taken any photos this time as for me it's actually about completing it and if I look amazing at the end of it that will be a bonus!!

New potato stir-fry

This is such a simple easy dish!

I have it with chicken but to be honest you could have it with anything; fish, steak, pork chops, a vegetarian option, you name it.

The portion that I made here was just for one and it can be easily made for more by just adding extra per person.



Ingredients

• 100 g new potatoes
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

Method

Firstly, I steam the new potatoes. I steam all my vegetables and have done for over twenty odd years now. If you are not steaming them then just boil them. I generally set them cooking before I start the preparation of the rest of the vegetables.

Remove the skin of the red onion and I generally cut it into eighths depending on the size of the red onion used. Then de-seed and slice all the peppers. Add a glug of oil into a plan to heat up and then add the onion and the peppers; stir-fry for a while and then add the crushed garlic. I usually cook this until everything has sweated down and all the peppers and onions have started the caramelize; it is totally up to taste though.

With about ten minutes of cooking time left I heat another pan and then, having cut the potatoes into quarters, i then saute them off. For the last minute of cooking i add the potatoes to the onions and peppers. When I first started making this I used to stir-fry the potatoes with the onions and peppers but they did not hold their form very well, hence the reason that I dirty another pan!

For the meal that I have photographed I used a chicken breast and just sprinkled it with a seasoning; you could use anything. I then cooked it in my George Foreman but it could be grilled or cooked in the oven.

This is a really bright, colourful, healthy, easy meal to make . . . oh and delicious! 

Symptom 23 - Headaches

Symptom 23 - Headaches

I wonder if the list has any order?!

So another of the main perimenopause symptoms that I get are headaches. I think that I know when I get them and then my body does a u-turn and changes it . . . what is that all about?! I log when I get them on my WomanLog app.

Unfortunately they regularly turn into migraines and as a result I am unable to go to work. At one time I thought that I was losing a day a month but the reality is more likely one day in every three months; still not good.

I like this picture as it really does sum up a migraine; for those that get them, no-one gets migraines the same as others. Well that's my experience!

I have to catch mine early by taking ibuprofen and a paracetamol, aspirin and caffeine tablet, together! If I do then I can almost definitely make it into work but I have been known to not last the day. If I don't, well that's a different story!

When I went to the doctor in April, with my list of symptoms, my migraines were at the top of the list. I have been known to have headaches for three to four consecutive days; the worst recently being a five day stretch.  

The doctor gave me a prescription for some 'magic' pills; I only get six per prescription so I use them sparingly. So sparingly, in fact, that the first time I should have taken one I was 'frightened' to do so! I have no rational explanation for why I didn't take a pill prescribed by the doctor but let's just say I was worried by what effect it might have on me. Stupid eh?!

I should take one pill the moment I feel the migraine coming on; I get eye ache, that's when I know that I am getting a migraine. I can then take another two hours later. Having got over the initial worry I gave in and can confirm that, for me, they work! What usually happens is that I take the first one and then sleep. I wake up just around the two hour mark and the take the next one and, usually, sleep again! Sleeping works; the problem with 'normal' pain relief is that I really struggle to get to sleep. The only problem that I have been aware of with these pills is that after the sleep I generally feel 'great' for a couple of hours, think that I am a superwoman and do things I shouldn't, then I 'crash'! I possibly need to learn! 

The 'magic' pills haven't always worked, in fact I had the worst migraine that I've had in about nine months approximately six weeks ago. If I take both of the 'magic' pills I am not allowed to take any more of them for twenty-four hours. I have not taken any of my 'normal' pills when I have used the 'magic' ones but with this migraine I had to as nothing else was working. I will say that the 'edge' had been taken off by the doctor's pills but taking my regular ones helped finally get rid of it.

I would say that I have questioned why it was so bad on that particular day and I have come to the conclusion that it may have something to do with what I'd eaten that week. If you haven't read my post, Routines . . ., then please do! I have to say that I had fresh bread and cheese three days before and on the day before I got the migraine! After a discussion with my mum, she said that my dad had very bad migraines in his forties and that he had cut cheese out of his diet almost completely and that the migraines had effectively disappeared (maybe dad was going through some perimenopausal symptoms to be in tune with mum?!).

I am trying to manage my symptoms naturally and food is on my list of things to look at. When my birds have flown the nest and I have all this time on my hands (!) I am going to sit and read two cookbooks that I have bought; Eat.Nourish.Glow. by Amelia Freer and Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward. Both of these advocate going sugar and gluten free. I am going to read them, decide if it's something that I can and want to do and go from there. I'll keep you posted on that one!

The final countdown

I am on the final countdown. . . 

I have known that this week was coming for over a year and been preparing myself for at the least the last three months and on countdown since my youngest son received his A level results on Thursday 13 August! But it is bitter sweet. . .

On Saturday I will take both of my sons to Sheffield; one to continue his degree and the other to start his own adventure. I think that it will be great for both of them to have each other in the same city but they will be leaving me 'home alone'.

For people who know me I am a woman of structure and order. If you were to walk into my house, at the moment, you would not believe that; let's just say that you would have to be a very 'close' friend to be invited in! 

I often find myself lying soaking in the bath and considering where I will start with the MASSIVE clean up operation. I have contemplated their bedrooms but I really don't think that I can face them, just yet!

I keep coming back to the same room . . . where I have always gone to escape and have that little bit of 'me time' . . . the bathroom! So on Sunday I plan to start in the room where I find peace and solitude, reclaiming it as MY space . . . with music blaring out that no one can complain about! 

One room at a time, only six rooms upstairs and five downstairs. I'm going to clean and have the house spic and span before I start making it a mess by decorating it!