I never had hips or breasts but at least I was generally thin/proportionate to my skeletal frame and somewhat athletic. My legs and waist were my best physical features aside from having a lot of (dirty/dishwater ‘blond’ color) hair which only got more non-descriptive and eventually greying as I aged, and my steely blue eyes. I even managed to retain my waist and legs for years after I delivered my only child. However, I not only began to get a pooch and start to lose my hair at 40, my eyesight going at 45 or so, but my breasts also tried to kill me at 50!! As if a double mastectomy during the beginning of the pandemic wasn’t enough, they put me on hormonal-chemo - an estrogen blocker! I’m still not officially in menopause at 54, but have had all the brain fog, hot flashes, mood swings, forgetfulness, acne/skin problems, increased hair problems, memory and cognitive problems that my up-and-imminent real menopause will continue to produce. And I will have to take hormone-chemo for a total of 10 years!!! Never mind everything else I’ve endured prior to this; my body over the last 4 years went from pooch getting pudgy to what you have described (only I call it looking like a sack of potatoes or a badly stuffed sausage.) WTF. 😳 🤬 🥴😆 Thanks for writing and sharing your experiences.
I wrote this when I was on the post surgery hormone blocking meds that said saved my life. I was very lucky they found my breast cancer very very very early so I never had to go through anymore than surgery and radiation, well plus those meds:
I have found those meds to be more of a kick in the pants than I expected (partly because I was so grateful I didn’t need “chemo” 😆😳🤷♀️ - it is chemo! Chemical hormone blockers! And hormones as we know are VERY powerful!) I have a friend who is a pharmacist and it was she, not my oncologist, who told me the adjustment to the medication would be at least 6 months, not two weeks like my dumb oncologist said. 🥴😆 Good luck 🍀 I still have 6 more years of this stuff 🤮
I never knew these pills were chemo either until after I had used them for awhile. They really need to tell you things upfront. Honestly, I never really adjusted and stopped the meds after 3 years. I did have the infusion for bone loss though for the full amount of time. (since the pills do cause osteoporosis my doctor said I should have the infusions.) My oncologist told me that it showed to have some effect in preventing a recurrence of breast cancer. Those side effects were minimal.
She is also the author of the Galveston diet which she claims she developed because of the menopause middle you talk about in this article, among other things. Again FYI to you and all your readers. We have to help each other! ❤️👍
I’m now looking into Dr. Marie Clair’s information and book “the new menopause” which may help me talk to my new oncologist about my options. I have very little breast tissue left, but the cancer could reappear elsewhere (and then would be called something else) although it didn’t appear in lymph nodes so here’s 🙏, but I will have to research and discuss the possibilities and percentages. 🤷♀️ FYI
Oh, this! How can I grow old gracefully without my lovely waist? I do yoga, weights, other exercise and above all ballet, my favourite thing, so I am not in terrible shape, generally. But it's no longer the shape I recognise as me. I observe that even the slim old dancers I meet can't escape the post-menopausal barrel chest and rounded tummy entirely. Mother Nature doesn't care.
Mother Nature is a jealous bitch 😳🤣
I never had hips or breasts but at least I was generally thin/proportionate to my skeletal frame and somewhat athletic. My legs and waist were my best physical features aside from having a lot of (dirty/dishwater ‘blond’ color) hair which only got more non-descriptive and eventually greying as I aged, and my steely blue eyes. I even managed to retain my waist and legs for years after I delivered my only child. However, I not only began to get a pooch and start to lose my hair at 40, my eyesight going at 45 or so, but my breasts also tried to kill me at 50!! As if a double mastectomy during the beginning of the pandemic wasn’t enough, they put me on hormonal-chemo - an estrogen blocker! I’m still not officially in menopause at 54, but have had all the brain fog, hot flashes, mood swings, forgetfulness, acne/skin problems, increased hair problems, memory and cognitive problems that my up-and-imminent real menopause will continue to produce. And I will have to take hormone-chemo for a total of 10 years!!! Never mind everything else I’ve endured prior to this; my body over the last 4 years went from pooch getting pudgy to what you have described (only I call it looking like a sack of potatoes or a badly stuffed sausage.) WTF. 😳 🤬 🥴😆 Thanks for writing and sharing your experiences.
I wrote this when I was on the post surgery hormone blocking meds that said saved my life. I was very lucky they found my breast cancer very very very early so I never had to go through anymore than surgery and radiation, well plus those meds:
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/3-years-and-counting/
I have found those meds to be more of a kick in the pants than I expected (partly because I was so grateful I didn’t need “chemo” 😆😳🤷♀️ - it is chemo! Chemical hormone blockers! And hormones as we know are VERY powerful!) I have a friend who is a pharmacist and it was she, not my oncologist, who told me the adjustment to the medication would be at least 6 months, not two weeks like my dumb oncologist said. 🥴😆 Good luck 🍀 I still have 6 more years of this stuff 🤮
I never knew these pills were chemo either until after I had used them for awhile. They really need to tell you things upfront. Honestly, I never really adjusted and stopped the meds after 3 years. I did have the infusion for bone loss though for the full amount of time. (since the pills do cause osteoporosis my doctor said I should have the infusions.) My oncologist told me that it showed to have some effect in preventing a recurrence of breast cancer. Those side effects were minimal.
She is also the author of the Galveston diet which she claims she developed because of the menopause middle you talk about in this article, among other things. Again FYI to you and all your readers. We have to help each other! ❤️👍
Thanks for the info.
I’m now looking into Dr. Marie Clair’s information and book “the new menopause” which may help me talk to my new oncologist about my options. I have very little breast tissue left, but the cancer could reappear elsewhere (and then would be called something else) although it didn’t appear in lymph nodes so here’s 🙏, but I will have to research and discuss the possibilities and percentages. 🤷♀️ FYI
Oh, this! How can I grow old gracefully without my lovely waist? I do yoga, weights, other exercise and above all ballet, my favourite thing, so I am not in terrible shape, generally. But it's no longer the shape I recognise as me. I observe that even the slim old dancers I meet can't escape the post-menopausal barrel chest and rounded tummy entirely. Mother Nature doesn't care.
A fun read that is entirely relatable : )
Thank you.