I know I should say Happy “Holidays” but I’m Catholic, I say Merry Christmas.  I’ve never been very PC and I’m not going to start now!

All I want under my Christmas tree this year is a bottle of progesterone, my estrogen cream, (which thanks to the progesterone I only need a dab every other day, thank you very much) and my fish oil and vitamins.  Maybe a couple pair of shoes.  I love shoes.  I think we women love new shoes because no matter how big our BUTT is, our feet still look good!

I also wish for all you gals and guys out there seeking treatment for your hormone issues that you find a qualified physician in your area and get started.  I know it is an investment and it stinks that insurance doesn’t cover it, but just do it.  You have to decide how much you’re worth- I’m worth every penny!  Ask your husband or wife, kids, boyfriend or girlfriend to make it your holiday of choice gift.  It is the gift that keeps on giving. 

I never expected to feel this amazing.  My hope was just to stop those brutal hot flashes.  I get it now why Suzanne Somers is so passionate about bioidentical hormones.  I feel so blessed to be a patient.  I want to shout it from the roof top!  For the first time in my life I look forward to each day.  In just 3 short months I am a new woman. We do not realize how bad we feel until we feel better.  I look back and wonder how did I function?  I work two jobs!  When I look at myself on that video of my first visit with Doc Lee - YUCK!  What a change!

So you see I really do wish for all women who want relief from menopause symptoms to find a way to take part in this miracle.  That’s right; to me this has been a miracle and an answer to a prayer.  I need to give back; if it’s just to spread the word of hope offered by bioidentical hormone therapy, that’s what I will do.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Festivus (I love Seinfeld!) to all.

May you have a blessed holiday season.

Judyb

Hi BIHS’s! (bioidentical hormone sisters)

When I first went to see Dr. Lee to start bioidentical hormone therapy, and he uttered the words “you’ll need to change your eating habits,” I felt the word ‘diet’ coming like the Jaws theme song.  Seriously, I felt like he was going to try to rip away from me (not with any ease I might add) one of the only things Menopause couldn’t take away from me- sweet, delicious food.  If feeling better meant celery juice, wheat grass, and another failed diet, I was going to hang a ‘Welcome Home!’ sign for my menopause symptoms and my ass would be on its merry way.

But thankfully (for his safety) that ‘diet’ word never came.  Instead Dr. Lee said that it would be a lifestyle change.  He said that I would still be able to eat a lot of the same foods I eat now, with the exception of “anything in a bag or a can.”  And since chocolate wasn’t one of those, it was a parting that I could live with.

Still, my menopausal stubbornness wasn’t sure it was willing to part with comfort food just to lose a few pounds.  That’s when Dr. Lee said it wasn’t about losing weight (though it is one hell of an added benefit, 15 pounds and counting!), but instead it was about maintaining a hormonal balance and finally having relief from the menopausal hell I’d been living in.

The deal is this, it’s really important to keep sugars out of your system because it can make your old symptoms come back… as Dr. Lee likes to say, “there is a connection between mood and food.”   So, I needed a lifestyle change for this natural hormone therapy to work; a much better motivator than weight loss.

And, unlike some doctors I could name *ahem*, Dr. Lee didn’t just hand me a paper of demands for me to figure out by myself.  He worked with me, describing a BodyLogicMD nutrition plan, customized just for me (exactly how I like things), with the main purpose of avoiding foods that cause inflammation and other interactions in my system. 

I will say that it was a definite change from how I was eating before, but I always feel satisfied and full. I get to eat frequently because it’s important to avoid blood sugar spikes (ha! now I have an excuse!), and I am never STARVING like I used to be whenever I would go on some random diet. I’m losing weight and feeling better, I can definitely stick with this.

On that note, I think it’s time for some chocolate, doctor’s orders!

Hello friends!

For almost 2 months now I have been going on and on about getting “tested” and it occurred to me that I have never shared my results with you.  Well, here they are.

Let me explain as best I can.

These are the results of my saliva tests.  Yes I know it sounds gross, but I HAD to do it (and it wasn’t really that bad at all)!  There were 4 separate samples taken throughout the day.  This is because our hormone levels naturally fluctuate from morning to night so multiple tests are necessary to get the most accurate results.  The hormone testing measured my cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen levels. 

Remember way back, when I confessed that I was doubling my dose of estrogen in an attempt to stop my hot flashes, look at my level 29. YIKES!  WAY too high!  No wonder I was the queen of puke.  And look at my progesterone, it’s virtually nonexistent.  I remember stopping Dr. Lee and asking him why my progesterone was so low, he gazed at me almost puzzled and said “Judy, you are in menopause.”   My only response was “oh.”  I knew it, but no one, not any of my past ‘doctors,’ had ever said the word. 

Anyways, this is what I have been talking about when I said that it is so important to know your actual hormone levels, so your bioidentical hormone doctor can treat you properly.  It’s that simple, you’ll get immediate relief from those horrible menopause symptoms.  That’s right, no more hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings, and low sex drive (*wink wink*)!  Those ‘one size fits all’ medications just don’t work; you need to know where your hormones are before you can start balancing them- it seems pretty logical to me!  So, I cut back my estrogen and started taking natural progesterone; you know the hormone every Doc said I DID NOT need.  It seems it is the one I needed most. 

So pucker up ladies and get spitting.

JudyB

Hello to all my BIHS’s (bioidentical hormone sisters)!

I know I haven’t written in a while but my schedule has been jam-packed! I’ve been feeling great lately thanks to my bioidentical hormone therapy with Dr. Lee and have been able to pick up some extra shifts.

So until I can give you a more complete update on myself, I want you to check out this video of my bioidentical hormone therapy sister Pam H. Just wait until you hear Pam’s stories about her menopause madness, they’re crazy enough to compete with mine, well almost! She was on the same sinking boat as the rest of us, struggling to deal with menopause symptoms until she found Arizona’s BodyLogicMD Dr. Eric Honing. Since then, she has gone from menopause maniac to, as she puts it, “feeling like I am 19 again instead of 46!”

I know you’re going to love her as much as I do!

Judy B

Hey Everyone! So, I promised that you would meet my friend Ellen, who I took to see Dr. Lee. Ellen was feeling awful, experiencing tons of menopause symptoms, so I dragged her grouchy ass to BodyLogicMD!

Enjoy!

Judy B.

Hi All! So, I am past this point by a few more weeks, but here is a video of me detailing how I felt after five weeks on bioidentical hormone therapy. I went to Dr. Lee’s office to take my friend Ellen to see him (you’ll meet her later this week!) and while I was waiting for her I discussed how things were going for me.

When I watch this, I can tell a huge difference in my general mood and even in my appearance! It’s amazing how menopause symptoms can make a girl look and feel so tired.

Anyway, this should give some of you the extra push you need to find your local BodyLogicMD physician! If I can feel better, so can you.

Xoxo
Judy B

Hello All!

Here is the last video from my first month with Dr. Lee. I was only a week into treatment and I was still experiencing full-on menopause symptoms! You can definitely tell.

There is just something about the F*!# off look in my eyes that gives it away, don’t you think? LOL!

Viva hormone therapy!

Xoxo
Judy

Now that I’m under the hormone therapy wing of Dr. Lee I started reminiscing about the horrible menopause episodes I used to have with my sisters – one in particular comes to mind…

This is a prime example of my epic menopause bitchiness.

It was during the prime of my worst menopause symptoms – hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats – I was visiting my sister’s house. I was feeling so exhausted I could barely hold my head up during dinner. My sister said to me, “Hey, I bought you this scratch off lottery ticket. Maybe that will make you feel better!”

She tossed it at me and I thought, “Great, I can’t even scratch my own ass, I’ll be sure to get right on scratching this ticket!”

So, regardless of my relentless menopausal mood swing, I scratched off the ticket and I saw that I won TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. I immediately hid the ticket in my bra and started thinking about how to get out of my sister’s house and go claim my winnings. I just kept thinking I couldn’t tell her, or she’d TAKE MY MONEY!

She kept asking me to see the ticket and I kept saying no. Finally, after a full blown screaming match, she told me it was a fake ticket from a joke shop. It wasn’t real at all!! I immediately launched into hysterics, screaming louder, ready for a fight – and all my sister did was laugh.

Really nice to do to a homicidal, hormonally imbalanced woman.

Watch where you step sister, I’m still plotting my revenge.

Xoxo
Judy B.

In the middle of a wonderful dream involving chocolate silk pie and a 1960 Thunderbird, I woke up screaming random curse words. Since then, I’ve been awkwardly sitting upright in bed and drenched in sweat – all courtesy of our dear friend MEN-O-PAUSE. Is it a coincidence that menopause starts with the word MEN?

Probably not.

It’s just another way for the man to keep a strong woman down. Making her obsessed with ice cubes and ceiling fans.

I digress.

I’m watching the news, why are all the men so damn ugly? They can be fat, balding, and two cards short of a full deck while all the women on TV have to look like the just walked of a beauty pageant stage in Texas. They are currently talking about “why men cheat” – obviously a very news worthy topic. (insert sarcasm here)

I will tell you why men cheat Mr. Morbidly Obese Anchorman and Shania Twain Look-Alike Anchorwoman: the thought of sex makes women want to vomit when they are going through menopause. So, our husbands are more likely to cheat. Rocket science.

There. I said it. It’s true. Don’t shoot the messenger. Even if Brad Pitt wanted to throw down with me in the sack I wouldn’t. I’d tell him to get his ass off me. Then I’d roll over, take a bite of Snickers, and drift off to sleep.

xoxo
Judy

40-ish Woman seeks MD to treat chronic hormonal issues…freaks, sarcastic jerks, and insensitive you-know-whats need not apply. I am not crazy or depressed. If you suggest that I 1.) Move out of a hot climate to stop my hot flashes 2.) Get a new boyfriend to increase my sex drive, or 3.) That I gained weight because I’m a total pig that can’t stop eating, I will find out where you live and put dead fish in your yard. Call me! 555-5555.

By the way, all of the above numbered items are real, honest-to-god things I have been told by doctors over the years as I have struggled to find someone, ANYONE to help me deal with menopause and other hormonal issues.

Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

I’m 40-ish but shhhhh, don’t tell. If anyone asks, I’m a very spunky 35. I’m an ER nurse living in Florida, which by the way is MURDER during hot flashes.

I had a hysterectomy in 1997. My ovaries were left because in the doctor’s words, “you’re young, you don’t need to deal with menopause symptoms right now. By leaving your ovaries in, you’ll go through menopause whenever you were naturally supposed to.” Yeah, OK Doc.

Within one year, I started having hot flashes. I lost ALL interest in sex, which was a total bummer because I had a slightly younger boyfriend whom I was VERY interested in enjoying in the bedroom department. The “leave-your-ovaries-and-you’ll-be-fine” doctor told me that this must be “all in my head” and that everything was fine. I listened, and let a few years go by.

My symptoms of menopause didn’t stop, they just got worse. So, I went to a new doctor, a woman. I guess I thought since she had a uterus, she’d be more likely to understand my plight. Not the case. She proceeded to put me on estrogen replacement, which caused me to gain a glamorous 30 pounds.

So here we are. I’m 40-ish, I have terrible migraines, brutal hot flashes, and I feel generally old, tired and gross. Kind of how I imagine Liza Minnelli must feel.

xoxo
Judy