There's not really a theme to this morning's check-in. I had one for Tuesday and yesterday, but my pre-period anxiety started kicking in, so I took the time over the last few days to not let that unfounded anxiety take over completely. It can be frustrating because I know that the anxiety and negative feelings I experience pre-period are just that, unfounded, but unlike during the rest of my cycle (menstruation, follicular, and ovulation), talking my anxiety and depression down during the luteal phase can be like trying to move a building with my bare hands. And I ain't Carol Danvers, so yeah, that can be pretty difficult 😅 I started the wellness plan my doc and I talked about at my appointment last month, and it kicked in relatively fast, so I'm happy about that. Now I have to be diligent with ensuring that I time the start of that process each month. I knew the first month might be off a bit, but I was also traveling and didn't worry too much.
Of course, my anxiety kicked in the same day I had a job interview, so yeah, the anxiety attack after that job interview helped me go, "Hey, Nora. This isn't your norm, and your period's starting this week. You probably should have doubled up on your Prozac (the wellness plan I mentioned) starting at least yesterday!" And honestly, yes, I gave myself a hard time for it, but I immediately took another Prozac and doubled up on my daily dose yesterday and today and will do so until my cycle starts. There are two ways to address increased anxiety and depression during the luteal phase (also known as PMDD, but there can be a whole host of other symptoms as well): either increase antidepressant duringantidepressantncrease an antidepressant overallantidepressant the first route, and as I mentioned, the timing can be iffy - even if you have a reasonable base understanding of your cycles as I do.
Tracking my cycles and symptoms has been a part of my health journey for a long time because of my Endometriosis. However, I didn't really start understanding the importance of cycles until many years after my diagnosis. I THOUGHT I understand periods and cycles, but oh no. There is WAY more than what we're taught in sex ed in school (which is basically nothing). If you're interested in a great book to start out, I recommend the Period Repair Manual. My big sis gifted it to me in 2016 and it was incredibly instrumental in the foundation of understanding my body!
Anyway, in 2019 I went off all hormonal birth control, which was incredibly scary given the numerous set of symptoms I'd experienced when I was a teen, and after I was on birth control and diagnosed with Endometriosis and later Adenomyosis. Luckily for me, the excision surgery I'd had in 2018, the chiropractic care (oooh, more on that sometime because it was invaluable, and I miss it so much!!), and the steps I took to prepare for my health post-HBC (hormonal birth control) helped my body begin to not only have a regular 24-30 cycle for the first time in my life, but the symptoms were physically way milder than anything I'd ever experienced (well of course not experiencing any symptoms thanks to an IUD was nice but that was just medical masking and was what led to so many problems in the long run - for me at least anyway). I dealt with hormonal acne, bloating, physical exhaustion, and slight cramps, but I addressed the root of those symptoms, and within a year, year and a half, they were under much better control.
The mental and emotional symptoms have persisted, and based on my stress, they haven't always been consistent, so it's been a bit harder to pin down. But I'm so grateful to have my amazing husband and family to support me, a great therapist, a wonderful PCP, and an incredibly GYNO (she trained with the doctor and surgeon who did my 2018 excision surgery!). And so many awesome friends and colleagues along the way who are so understanding when I need me time, extra time in general, or may be a bit more groggy or...sassy when I need to be rather than adding in the ADHD masking which just adds on a whole other layer of exhaustion.
Welp - that's not exactly what I intended to write about, though like I mentioned I didn't really have a direction this morning; just went with where my head took me! Plus, destigmatizing talking about womens health and period health is something I believe in, so thanks for coming along for the ride, and I hope there was something insightful here for ya!
So while I try hard not to consume caffeine before my period, there are just those days. The last few mornings I've been waking up around 4 a.m. and not able to fall asleep again for a few hours, and this morning after I got up at 9 a.m. (which is super late for me!), I was still ready to fall back asleep, so I made up a half-caff with THREE scoops of the Four Sigmatic Think creamer. I'm finalizing a project and getting prepped for The Clark Collective photoshoot tonight so I need my brain working! Looking forward to getting back in the groove of homelife and sharing some fun updates along the way! 😎
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