Written by my client, business partner and friend Leslie Mincey about her experience with menopause.
"At 45 years old, I had a total hysterectomy after years of painful, heavy flow periods, four surgeries for ovarian cysts and almost dying having my only child by C-section. The final straw was fibroid tumors that bled along with my period. My periods sometimes lasted 21 days. Ugh!
In the recovery room, a nurse applied and estradiol patch to my hip. Thus began my decade long relationship with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) because, frankly, I was too young to experience menopause.
As the years went by, I grew more and more concerned about the long-term effects of synthetic estrogen so when I was 55, my doctor and I started the weaning off process…
Mild menopause symptoms started: weight gain, migraines, digestive issues, sleep issues, and itchy skin to name a few.
So now at 57, I decided to stop taking my hormones and see what happens... The end result was I added hot flashes, trouble concentrating and clumsiness to my list of annoyances!
Talk about right place, right time! I was introduced to this company that recently launched a new product that’s formulated without hormones or soy isoflavones. It addresses fluctuating levels of key micronutrients that are linked normal menstrual and menopausal symptoms.
I stopped taking my HRT and replaced it with Ova-m.
It’s been amazing! One capsule a day. I immediately started sleeping better. The insides of my ears used to itch (I know, strange), not anymore! I haven’t been constipated either (TMI, but it was an issue). I still have occasional hot flashes, but now they are best described as "warm fuzzies". Best of all, I haven’t had a migraine since I started on March 1!
I never regretted my hysterectomy, after all, that horrible menstrual phase was gone. But now my menopausal experience has been much improved too thanks to Ova-m! No more HRT!"
I am so thankful to women like Leslie for sharing their story about their struggles with menopause. It just takes a few brave women to start the conversation. A conversation that needs to happen! By keeping quiet and suffering in silence, women have let the patriarchal society, specifically healthcare, impact our lives in a negative way.
One in five women report having felt that a healthcare provider has ignored or dismissed their symptoms, and 45% of women said they’d been labeled as chronic complainers.
I was fascinated to learn that...
The cost of simply being a woman in our society, and certainly in our healthcare system, is high. Women pay more for the same consumer products and services men also use in what is called the Pink Tax (pdf), affecting everything from the price of razors to dry cleaning and more. And we pay more in injuries and deaths in a world designed by and built for men. For example, women are 47% more likely to sustain severe injuries in car crashes, even when using seat belts. This is because car safety testing is done with 50th-percentile male test dummies, optimizing safety for the muscle mass distribution and body shape of men. Women also have a greater risk for adverse side effects from medications. This is because women are underrepresented in clinical trials (it wasn’t even until 1986 that women were allowed to participate in clinical research and trials).
1986!! Thats only 37 years ago. That's crazy to think about... There is little knowledge out there about the female body. It's eye-opening.
So let's start talking, ladies!
Tell me your menopause story! I would love to hear about your hot flashes, your first period, your worst cycle, the struggles of vaginal dryness. Let's talk about all of it! (email me using the link below)
If you would like to speak directly with Leslie, find her at IG @LeslieTMincey
For all the details on Ova, start here.