And So It Begins.....
This January I turned 51. Up to this point, my life was pretty much normal for a single mom of two teenagers. Busier than I chose to be, but with doing it all on my own, there wasn't another option. It was this first month of the year that I paused.
I wondered if this could be it, but not too hopeful. I had yet to experience any of those dreadful sounding hot flashes or mood swings that I've heard so much about. This pause didn't last long, because the next month brought my old friend back for a brief visit. And so, it begins........
Over the next couple of months, life got strange. I began not feeling like myself and it scared me. What concerned me the most was my blood pressure spiking, something I had never experienced. Along with this increase in blood pressure, I began feeling overwhelmed, a tightness in the center of my chest, fuzzy headed, mild heart palpatations, pounding heart beat at night, exhaused, and unable to stay asleep each night. I literally felt like I was losing my mind. Then something happened that I was unprepared for......I began having what felt like panic attacks during my work day while I was driving from account to account as well as waking up in the middle of the night, finding it difficult to breathe.
After a couple of emergency room visits, stress test, 24 hour holter monitor test, complete blood work up, it appeared that it was all in my mind. Or, so I interpreted from the lack of treatment options given to me. To help me cope with these symptoms, my doctor prescribed Xanax. But for anyone who knew me very well, this was not okay with me. I don't like taking any kind of medicine, not even vitamins....and if I did have to take cold medication or anything like that, it was half an adult dose at the most.
So, reluctantly, when feeling that heaviness in my chest, I would try a reduced dose of what the doctor prescribed....and found relief. But this would be no way to live acceptable to me, so I sought a different path.
