Night Sweats, Women Hormones and Other Fun Stuff About a Woman Going Through Menopause
The average age at menopause in Canada is 51 years old, according to Dr. Lindsay Shirreff of the Mature Women’s Health and Menopause Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital.
I started One On One Personal Fitness when I was twenty three years-old. Clients would tell me horror stories about menopause. I would listen with the smug politeness of a twenty something year-old kid and nod my head while thinking, “that crap will never happen to me!”
When Does Menopause Start?
Roll the camera and let a little time elapse. I’m 53 years -old now and I’ve had 2 sons by Cesarean section (aged 17 and 24 years of age) and 1 hysterectomy. In the early stages, I thought the dampness at the nape of my neck was due to my blankets being too hot at night. Yes, you can go ahead and laugh! I had night sweats.
What are the symptoms of going through menopause?
Menopause Symptoms Include
- Vaginal dryness, periods are irregular
- Hot flashes, night sweats, chills
- Pain or stiffness in the joints
- Anxiety, depression
- Less bone and muscle mass
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Sleep problems, insomnia
- Mood changes, headaches, memory loss, poor concentration
- Weight gain and slowed metabolism
- Thinner hair or losing hair
- Dry mouth, dry skin
- A loss of fullness in the breasts, sore and tender breasts
- More hair growing on the face, neck, chest and upper back
Here Comes Menopause…
My brain hadn’t connected the dots to my stage of life yet. Next, I started waking with a sweat drenched body like I had gone for a run. Except, it’s 3:30 a.m. in the morning! Throw insomnia into the mix, brain fog, memory lapses, hormonal changes and various other feminine indignities that I won’t share in this PG rated blog and I’ve had enough of this damned women’s change of life!
Turns out that you have too. I’ve had women break down and cry during workouts at One On One because hot flashes and their un-predictability have overtaken their lives. The worst occurrence for one of my clients was being a lone female in a board meeting trying to stay on point while overheating, dripping sweat and fighting the urge to pull her clothes off and cool down.
Menopause Facts
It’s been said, that one of the top two reasons that women miss work is due to coping with menopause. To make matters even more difficult, women are caregivers for aging parents, coping with work, relationship and financial stress, getting children launched and doing it all on less sleep!
Menopause and Sleep
There’s a ripple effect. The less we sleep, the worse we eat (and drink). Food becomes more about comfort and less about nutrition which leads to unwanted weight gain and not feeling good about ourselves! It’s a vicious cycle that we would like to help you to stop.
One on One Fitness Can Help you Cope with Menopause
First, let’s sit down and take stock of where you’re at. You may be in transition (perimenopause) or, if you’ve gone through 12 months without a cycle, you are officially in menopause. We’ll also discuss your work hours, commitments, stress level, medications you might be taking, health history, sleep, exercise habits, equipment (available or none at all) and more. Oh and about the, “and more”, everything you share with me is confidential.
After 30 years, I’ve heard it all! Together, we’ll complete a medical checklist and possibly reach out to your medical care giver if required. We want to ensure that you are healthy enough to take part in our fitness appraisal and exercise program.
Your fitness assessment will give us a baseline of your body fat levels, blood pressure, mobility, strength and endurance. Once we’ve completed and reviewed your assessment with you, we will create a fitness plan to educate you on the components that will lead towards reaching your goals.
There is help for menopause. After 30 years as a fitness trainer (and especially now as a menopausal woman), I know that working with our staff on a balanced exercise program that incorporates weight training, cardio and flexibility will help you to stay accountable, stronger, leaner, minimize your loss of muscle and help to keep your metabolism working in your favour. By the way, the added workouts lead to a deeper sleep. Let’s get your health back on track!
Menopause management is something that you don’t have to handle alone. Click here to book your no-hassle consultation with Sandra Bueckert today.
