A Brighter Day

September 28, 2012 by 18 Comments

 Today is a new day.  I am feeling so much better, glad I finally went to the doctor.  I’m getting back to the old me, happy, spirit filled, loving woman full of life.  I miss that, and relationships of the past.   My priority was for me to feel better, the rest will follow.  The night sweats are better, I can tolerate them and  I’m able to sleep better.  My thoughts are clear, and I wonder why I thought I could go through menopause without any help.  

I wanted to be strong, the woman who could do it without any help, tough it out.  That was too much pressure, I had to do what was right for me.  Why do women put so much pressure on themselves, to be perfect, superwoman and handle everything?   Then when we fall, we hit hard.  Well I’m glad I took that pressure off myself and my family.  

I have one more test that I need to do, and hopefully I’ll get a clean bill of health….other than the weight I need to lose, but hey I can handle that.  I got a flu and tetanus shot, mammogram and pap smear done.  That other test….a colonoscopy, ugh.   According to the timeline, a woman should get one at age 50.  I won’t bore you with the details, but I’m gonna have the test done.

I love fall, it’s one of my favorite times of the year.  Time to get apple cider, snuggies, booties and anything to help keep me warm.  I also love going to the pumpkin farms, where they have the hayrides, pumpkins and games for the girls to play.  Ok, so they are a little old for that, but we still love going.  I’m ready to enjoy the season as this year turns the corner for the last quarter of 2012.  This is the first tree I noticed that started turning colors, can’t wait for the others.

One thing I must remember is how precious life is and  not take anything for granted.  I’m so blessed to have this life and I should try to live it to the fullest.  The adventures, trials, triumphs, whatever this journey brings, I must tackle it head on.  Thank you Lord for keeping me!  I’ll be back to my schedule next week.  Have a great weekend.

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Inspirational, Menopause Mania Tagged With: , ,

Are You Broken?

September 17, 2012 by 4 Comments

This past weekend, Iyanla Vanzant’s new show “Iyanla, Fix My Life” debuted on OWN~Oprah Winfrey Network.  Those of you that watched know that Evelyn Lozada was on and it was an emotional show filled with crying, digging deep and some down right truth.  Not sure what Evelyn got out of it, that’s what it did to me.  I don’t watch “Basketball Wives”, but I know from TV about Evelyn and her antics.  I am a very big fan of Iyanla Vanzant, I believe the show is gonna be a big hit for the OWN Network.    Between my Twitter timeline and watching the show, I was busy….then I started to think about the things Iyanla was saying to Evelyn, and applying them to my own personal life.  It’s easy for us to look on the outside and judge, but when we start to look at our own life, it’s a little more complicated.  I could also tell from my Twitter feed that women were relating to what Iyanla was telling Evelyn.  We all have our own story, but I know that a several years ago, it was my desire in life to be loved.  I didn’t realize at the time that in order to be loved, I needed to truly love myself and my life.  

Speaking of feeling broken, I went to my appointment today, and by the time I ran everything down to the nurse I was balling.  I told her that I was tired of fighting menopause by myself and needed some help.  There are so many options that’s available to women today.  This was my first time with this new doctor and I appreciate the time she gave me and really talked to me as well as listen.  Her name is Dr Shequita Richardson, and with her help we came up with a plan to help me take control of my emotional and physical well being.  She gave me a prescription, also told me I could take Estroven and with diet, exercise and the medication I believe I will be on my way to feeling like myself again.  She told me what I already knew, but I wanted to know for sure, with the medication it will help battle the depression.  I sure hope so.  She wants to see me again in a month.

Throughout it all, I am a strong woman and I’m so glad that I was able to reach out for help.  Prayer works, I know it does I’m a witness…but when you have the symptoms that you can’t seem to shake, it’s time to reach out for help.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for me, I truly appreciate it.  

This video is from Oprah’s Lifeclass when they came to St Louis.  I was in the house and enjoyed it!

 



Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Inspirational, Menopause Mania Tagged With: , ,

Your Blues Are Not Like Mine

September 10, 2012 by 12 Comments

 

 

I’m making an appointment to go see my doctor for a physical today.  That’s saying a lot because I don’t like going to the doctor, at all.  Two reasons: I’ve always had a weight problem and I’m afraid they will find something wrong with me.  I would always get the lecture about my weight, so I did something about that in 2003.  I’ll blog about that on  another post.  Friday I felt like crap, I couldn’t stay cool, my head was racing from everything I’ve got going on and I was on edge for no reason at all (to my family).  You see, this is part of menopause and it’s time I stop trying to handle this on my own and get some professional help.  I talked with a friend Friday who I’ve been knowing since I was 5 years old.  We’ve been through a lot together, and we were just discussing our lives.  I was telling her how I was feeling, we laughed at the situation and when we finished our conversation, I decided I was tired of feeling this way and I’m gonna make an appointment.  

I was talking to my husband yesterday morning and he told me I sound like I may be battling some form of depression at this time.  Who, me??  After I thought about it, I know it has to be menopause, the “thing” that my mom and other women her age didn’t like talking about.  It was never discussed, just called “the change”.  We are a different kind of woman today, the internet is our resource to everything.  I will “google” something in a minute, but I can’t on this.  I’m tired of being exhausted, hot, irritated and not feeling myself.  Gotta bad case of the blues, mixed with a does of menopause.

One of the things I’m gonna try and do twice a week is just to get out of the house if it’s just to go around the corner.  I need to get out especially before it gets too cold, but I’ll welcome that because I’m so hot all the time.  I don’t like being in clothes, because my hot flashes are that bad.  We went to the commissary yesterday afternoon and I had my window down and the sunroof open and I looked over and husband was complaining about how cold he was.  It was 75 and beautiful, but we found a middle ground and rolled up the windows and left the roof open.

I’ve been going through this for the last three years, but the intensity of it has increased in the last six months.  I’m researching hormone replacement therapy so I can ask about it when I go to the doctor.  Pray for me ya’ll because I want to get back to where I was, get my energy, body temperature below 120 degrees, and stop feeling like the crazy lady.  

*****UPDATE******

I have a doctor’s appointment next Monday, so glad I took that step.  You all don’t know how hard it was for me.

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Menopause Mania Tagged With: , , ,

Motivation and a Push

May 21, 2012 by 7 Comments

I’ve been slipping lately….feeling like I’m all over the place.  I haven’t exercised all month.  Yes I know, and believe it or not I miss it.  On Monday’s, I always go to Rene Syler’s Good Enough Mother to listen to her Monday Morning Motivation and today it was about things we need to do for personal growth.  Rene was on point with her advice today because I haven’t been focusing like I need to.  The first thing I did this morning was get out my planner and write down my agenda for today.  I’m sticking to it!  It’s amazing, because without it, I would spend 20 minutes working on a project, stop in the middle of that project and go to something completely different which to be honest with you, was either a social network that would totally distract me or something around the house.  I like this, I’m focused and calm, working and listening to some jazz as I write.  One thing I decided to do was to schedule time to do my social media and read other blogs, and really stick to that one.  This activity can and does take hours because I get caught up reading and socializing, which can last until 10:00 pm.  That’s late because I start my day at 5:30 am.

Since I started blogging and building my brand, one of the things I do is take plenty pictures of myself.  I had my daughter take a couple of pictures of me yesterday after church and decided two things; to continue exercising and invest in a good camera!  I walked 2.3 miles this afternoon and although my knees are killing me, I’m glad I got out and walked.  I use the app Pedometer to keep track of how far I walk, time, steps, and calories that I burn.  I also use Lose It! to keep track of what I eat and my weight.  I usually take pictures with my iPhone, which sometimes it takes very good pictures.  I have a Kodak 35mm, 10.3 mega pixel camera that I’ve had for about 4 years.  I used it the other night when my daughter had a concert at school, and it was awful for distance.  Later this year, I’m going to have some pictures taken by a photographer.

Menopause is a time in a woman’s life when her body changes and I’m determined to not let it get the best of me.  I remember my OB-GYN told me that I would gain weight, cry for no reason and have mood swings with menopause, and  I’ve experienced all of those symptoms.  I want to be a healthy, happy middle aged woman with goals and aspirations.  Keep praying for me while I achieve my goals, build my brand and tackle menopause!  Have a good week everyone!


Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Entrepreneur, Health & Wellness, Menopause Mania Tagged With: , , ,

Midweek Motivation

April 18, 2012 by 2 Comments

Hey everyone, hope you all are having a good week so far.  It’s amazing what you can do if you believe in yourself.  I had that, “what if” belief in myself, but fear kept me from enjoying life completely.  I had to change that and let go of fear, it was holding me back in so many ways.

I am pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and when that ugly feeling of fear enters my thoughts and spirit, I quickly remove those thoughts and reaffirm beliefs in myself and my goals.  In Psalm 34:4 David sought God to deliver him from fear, and that is what we must do when we allow fear to enter our mind and soul.  Ask God to remove fear from your spirit and mind set.   No more fear and small thinking for this girl!    I also used to think that because I’m turning 50 this year, that my choices were limited because of my age.  Isn’t that crazy?   We must stop allowing fear and feelings of being inadequate stop us from achieving our goals.  

Currently, I do customer service work from home.  It helps out with the household, little extra here and there.  I have done customer service work for a very long time, and it’s time to take my skills and experience to the next level.  I’m not afraid, just ready to challenge myself.  I’ll keep you all posted on my plans very soon.  

My health is also on my agenda.   I’m exercising 3-4 days a week, walking and Zumba on Wii.  I downloaded an app to my iPhone that helps me track my steps and the distance I walk.  I have been walking 3 miles and over 4400 steps and I didn’t realize it!  That’s why I’m so tired when I finish!  My diet is doing pretty good, I try to make sure I keep fresh food, fruits, veggies, nuts and water in my daily regiment.   Being transparent is a way for me to be honest with myself.  I share to keep me on top of my game.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

 


 



 

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Currently, Work & Career Tagged With: , ,

Our Health Issues

February 21, 2012 by 3 Comments

We have a long and complicated relationship with our issues with our health, eating the right foods, exercising and just taking care of ourselves in general.  I’m not sure about you, but I come from a family of serious soul food eating.  We grew up eating pork, beef, chicken, fried foods, including fattening deserts and breads.  We had to eat bread with every meal, my mother made sure of that.

I bet you already know what I’m going to say…I grew up as an overweight girl.  I used food as a comfort, and I still do that, so I have to be very careful.  I’ve lost a lot of weight, and I struggle to keep it off because I’m an emotional eater, stress will cause me to start eating.  Trust me I work on this daily, almost every meal, because as much as I try when something real stressful happens, I start to eat.  Plus I’m learning to let go of stress.

I am much better because I keep plenty of healthy alternatives in my pantry.  I love all kinds of nuts, so I keep plenty of those.  I also love Honey Crisp Apples, I’m enjoying them until spring.  I eat a banana every day because I need the potassium in my diet.  I don’t drink soda, that wasn’t hard to give up.  I drink lots of water and for a change, I’ll drink a Vitamin Water, I love those.  I know it has the sugar, but I like them and drink one probably twice a week.  And as the title of blog states, I love coffee.  I even learned to drink it without sugar.

I am not a expert on health issues, I research on what is right for me.  I know we have to take care of ourselves so we can enjoy a life well beyond what the life expectancy used to be for women, especially women of color.  Take care of yourselves…your mind, your body & pray everyday, God will listen.

Whitney

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Lifestyle, Menopause Mania Tagged With: ,

Moody Monday

January 24, 2012 by 23 Comments

Do you ever get the blues?  You know, can’t really put your finger on it, got the blahs, don’t really have an opinion about anything, but don’t want someone to get on your nerves either?  You know it, it’s called having a “mood”.  I have them a lot, especially at this time of my life.  I don’t try to have them, they just creep up on me.  It’s one more of those characteristics of menopause.  Moodiness will break you down and have you crying for no reason.  

Perfect example I had to make a business call this morning, the lady was helping me and we got disconnected.  Now knowing that this happens, I called back, put my info in and guess what, I got the same lady.  I asked her what happened, she told me it was a glitch in the system.  I asked her why she didn’t call me back ( I don’t why I asked her that), and she said that she immediately got another call and was unable to call me.  She apologized and I accepted her apology.  Here’s the kicker…my emotions got the best of me, I started crying!  I kid you not….I don’t know why I cried, but it probably had something to do with the nature of my call and having to verify my info all over again, the very long list of questions she had to ask.

I quickly got it together, but was just confused how I lost it and got it together within the same minute.  I need to seriously get on some kind of hormone replacement therapy, and soon…ASAP!  Lawd, help me!  They say this will last 10 years!  I’ve got 7-1/2 years to go!  I really need a good mellow song this evening….have a good one!  Ben Tankard is awesome, enjoy & be encouraged!

Whitney

 

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Menopause Mania Tagged With: , ,

Menopause Monday

January 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Hey everyone, since the purpose of this blog is for women over 40, I was thinking that on Mondays we will discuss the issue of menopause.  Some of you probably haven’t started this journey, or some of you are right in the middle of it like I am.  Can those of us that are say, crazy time?  I have never felt so out of control about my body as I do now.  My mother didn’t talk about menopause, she was that kind of woman that didn’t talk about those type of things with anyone, period.  I had a hysterectomy in July 2009 and that was the beginning of what has been the longest 2-1/2 years of my life.  I remember my doctor telling me that she wouldn’t take my ovaries if she didn’t have to.  I had some other issues going on which resulted in having a complete hysterectomy and the immediate start of menopause.  My doctor started out with a low dosage hormone, but I decided after 3 months to do this on my own, with all the reports of the damages of taking hormones can do to you body.  I admit, I kind of half researched this, I wanted to be a Superwoman.  Please….you don’t have to prove anything when you are going through menopause.  You just need to let your family, friends and co-workers know if you cry at the drop of a hat, eat everything in arms reach, take off as many clothing articles that you can without offending anyone, don’t have you committed….it’s just menopause. 

Hot flashes, hot flushes, personal summer moments…however you want to describe them, are real and the number one thing that has prevented me from a decent nights’ sleep since I had my surgery.  You actually feel your body temperature go up to what feels like boiling!  I have ruined a many hairstyle from night sweating (which is one of the reasons I’m going natural).  I have to sit up, grab my fan that is on my nightstand or open a window.  During the summer months, I turn that air down as low as I can get away with.  I know, I should and will consider hormone replacement therapy or HRT.  Trust me I am as we speak because I am definitely no Superwoman.

Let me say this right now, I am not an expert and I have been and will continue researching this subject to make sure anything I say about menopause I can back up with references.  We’ll get into this subject more, including things like how diet affects menopause, taking anti-depressant medication, and just how we can support one another at this time of our life.  Remember, it’s a journey and anything we can do to support one another we should.   Please don’t forget my sistas, God is with us and protects us as we go through any journey…menopause too!

Whitney

Did you like this? Share it:
Filed Under: Menopause Mania Tagged With: , ,