Let's talk hormones. And anti-depression medication.
If you'd like to catch up on my backstory of how I found myself on medication to begin with, check out this long-winded rambling post: http://bkmonet.blogspot.com/2013/10/week-2-check-in-ramblings.html
Around the beginning of 2014 I made a goal to be free of medication. I found myself waking up every morning and asking, "why am I even taking this??"
I feel like over the course of the last few years I've been taking anti-depression medication when it hasn't necessarily been necessary. Have there been some bumps in the road that I have needed help with? YES. Is medication the solution? I don't think so.
I am proud to share that I have been completely off my medication for three weeks. Woo! Given, I am holding back excitement and celebration until it has been at least six weeks or more. (it usually takes 4-6 weeks for medication like this to completely metabolize out of your system) At that point I want to take some honest inventory of how I'm feeling. Best part? Even if I still feel off, there are endless possibilities of help that don't include medication.
Insert discussion about hormones.
I have begun to take hormone replacement therapy cream since January of 2014. Cream? What? Ew? If those are your reactions, you are a lot like me. Thankfully it's quite literally not gross or strange. I simply put some lotion on the inside of my arm twice per day. Done.
I have an entire inner dialogue about my hesitation to start using hormone replacement therapy. I wasn't even 30 years old when I started this. What in the hell is wrong with me?!? There are risks. Is it natural? Is it synthetic? Will I gain weight? Will I have side-effects? Is this going to royally screw me up? Are there other holistic options? So many questions. Some I have found answers to, others are still questions I am seeking answers for.
Late 2013 I started to explore hormone options after having some questionable skin "things" removed by a dermatologist. One of the questionable items led me to find out that it was caused by hormone imbalance. Pieces of a puzzle began to fall into place.
Long story short, I did a saliva test to check my hormones to discover that for my age, my progesterone and estrogen levels were quite literally almost not on the "chart." Low. low low low.
Why can't I fall asleep at night? Why do I toss and turn? Why do I wake up feeling like I want to sleep for 3 more hours? Why do I have mood swings? Why do I feel agitated and annoyed all the time? Why can't I just get myself to DO something? Why am I restless and tired all day? Libido? What's that?
These were some of the questions I have been asking myself for a long time in my life, but just figured that there was nothing I could do. I had to simply deal with it, find a way to make it better. Instead I feel like I was dragging everyone down around me in my attempts to figure it out.
Best thing ever? There ARE answers and solutions. and I'm already experiencing it.
Yesterday I had a check-up with my practitioner who prescribes my hormone cream and she read a list of my "symptoms" I came to her with back in late 2013 that I was experiencing. (the questions listed above) Since starting to use this cream I have already noticed a change. Best part? I am still just beginning this journey. I am so excited and optimistic that I might finally be finding answers to the questions I seek.
Hormones are for real!!!
Going futher, I've begun to do research into birth control, and I want to travel back in time and slap my young-self and prevent the use of oral birth control pills. You know, the pills that were quite possibly the start of the downfall of my hormone imbalance. Pregnancy hormones. Daily life stress. and all the other million factors that play a role. It's exciting and rewarding to be on the road to finding the answers I seek.
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