What a life altering, game changing, mind confusing time this is for women. I am 54 years old and I think I began my peri-menopause at around the age of 47. My periods started to become erratic and left me always on guard for a surprise visit out of no where. I remember one period very well. It was during the Christmas break of 2010 and hit me with a vengeance I will never forget. On a cold wintry day, I needed to head to the local grocery store to fill my fridge with all the Christmas fare as I was in charge of dinner that year. My period had begun a few days prior and was heavier than normal, which was not overly odd for me. Standing in the middle of a rather long slow line to pay for my groceries, I felt a huge surge down there, not your normal feeling, but rather alarming and frightening. It wouldn’t stop, so I parked my grocery cart aside, made a flimsy excuse to all around me and bust out of that store in warp speed. By the time I reached my vehicle, I felt it run down my leg, my clothing ruined, no feminine hygiene product could of stopped that surge. I put the towel I kept in my vehicle under me to sit on while I drove home in an utter state of panic. Mount Vesuvius had erupted and there was no stopping it.
I literally ran into the house while my kids watched confused, shut the bathroom door and peeled of all my clothing, my winter coat was even covered. I stepped into the shower all the while continuing to bleed. All the symptoms of severe anemia were present, I just ignored them, I couldn’t even get up the nine steps to my bedroom without being completely exhausted, short of breath and dizzy beyond belief. I am shocked I still manged to cook Christmas dinner, wrap presents, shop and go tobogganing. I looked like death warmed over with circles so black under my eyes that I made the Bride of Frankenstein look good. But no one cared, it was Christmas, I was the mother, daughter and sister and irrelevant to the family. This episode scared me beyond belief, so I called the doctor. Got in to see him on New Years Eve day and had all tests completed by noon. Got a call at around 4:00 pm from the blood lab which scared the day lights out of me. The technician asked if I was at home and proceeded to tell me my blood count was so low I truly required a blood transfusion. The normal blood count is around 12 to 14, mine was 7.5, not good. Because it was New Years Eve he could not reach my doctor and told me to immediately have someone drive to the local pharmacy for iron supplements. He called me a few more times through out the day to ensure I was OK.
In the end I went for testing and was told I have a condition called Adenomyosis which contributed to this period from hell. Instead of a transfusion I was given iron injections for a month and little by little I started to feel better. This was the beginning of my menopausal journey, one I am glad to one day put behind me.
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