TW **pregnancy talk towards the end**
I have begun taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy), to me this is another milestone in life...
I went to a second doctor to get a second opinion about an ultrasound result and was given the all clear for treatment. It was a 1 hour wait to see him, also my first male GYN doctor. He came into the room with a resident in tow also a man, and sat down, apologized for the wait and asked why I had come in. I said, get ready for an earful, and then I recounted the history with my uterus & ovaries, why I get yearly pelvic ultrasounds, recent tests and results and my concern about the most recent ultrasound results*. Once I was done, he asked if I was in gynecology, as my descriptions and knowledge was similar to his...I said, well I've had to be my own advocate for a long time and this is the result. He said he only had one question, and it was a simple yes or no. My assumption about the current situation was true and he agreed with the prior midwife and the result was that I did not need the procedure the ultrasound tech suggested.
After that was cleared up, I asked if he could recommend a menopause care doctor in town, to which he explained that we could take care of it there....I could get onto HRT, as my breast lump is benign, and I am early into menopause. I told him I had been reading about all the benefits of starting early into menopause and that I was tired of feeling like a zombie. I wasn't sleeping, I was having a hard time focusing, I was more and more concerned about my overall health, my libido had dropped, and although my hot flashes are mild, my night sweats for the last 10 years were getting REALLY old.
He reassured me of the benefits, and after suggesting that I start a patch. I told him that although that was a great option, I have an allergy to adhesives and so we needed to find another mechanism for delivery. I asked my questions and voiced concerns about my endo, and fibroids and cysts; which he answered and then I left with a prescription and knowledge in what I was choosing.
I sat in the car and felt..........SEEN, HEARD, and scared but EXCITED. A new milestone.
When I picked up the drugs from the pharmacy, I asked the pharmacist what to expect and was given another pep talk and left feeling good about my choices.
My bestie and I have had conversations about HRT and when she went into the doc to have her IUD removed and to ask about HRT the doctor was far from helpful, instead delivered the phrase " it is just something we need to deal with" She is now on the hunt for a doctor that specializes in menopausal care too.
This is not something we should have to "deal with" she is miserable, I am feeling less miserable (even after a week, even if it is psychosomatic at this point) and we deserve better care.
All this after a span of two months of constant stress trying to make something for the newest exhibition that the gallery invited me for. After too many sleepless nights, failed attempts and tears I turned in four options, that I had created with the theme, knowing that I had literally tried everything I could to make the art. Thankfully, and with a kind nod from the universe, I was invited to submit a selected work. So I am in the exhibition. It is a fundraiser, but 50% of the sale goes to me, and the rest is split between the gallery and the garden. I am quite proud that all the work manifested into a positive reality.
I have been "resting" my creative self since the submission. I had tea with some longtime friends who are painters and preparing for their solo exhibitions. I told them that I was flattened creatively from what seems like a constant sprint. They told me about the post exhibition breakdown, I was still running on my treadmill in an effort to make something else, capture that spark...grab for the stars...be everything and everyone!
It was reassuring to hear it is real and needed. We are all feeling and looking haggard, wanting to make beautiful, meaningful work while still being everything to everyone and trying to take care of ourselves too...it is alot, a big furry, alot, just there waiting to see what we step in next.
Does the world seem to be spinning strangely? Is time whipping by like a top?
It is graduation time again, maybe that is why the alot appeared, time markers, reminders of how old my star child is...
Why are all of my yoga classes filled with visibly pregnant women, so so many of them and so many more that are newly pregnant women talking about how newly pregnant they are...
I thought all the dudes got vasectomies' when Roe was overturned...I guess not.
I guess it is another alot.
*my ultrasound result said that I should get an endometrial biopsy, as my endometrium is too thick for a woman my age. I got two opinions from two doctors who looked at my past ultrasound results and agreed it was not needed. Plus, with my closed cervix, I would require a D&C just to access my uterus...
1 comment:
I'm a big advocate of HRT. I very quickly developed stronger menopause symptoms after my hysterectomy, even though my ovaries were left. My gynae (a man) put me on black cohosh, which is effectively a placebo, and it was no help. I talked to my GP, told her about my 30 hot flushes a day, and she said, "no-one should have to put up with that," and promptly prescribed HRT, increasing the dose a month or two later. It is so good to have someone (male OR female) who listens, and cares, and doesn't just tell us to suck it up. A friend told me that as I was bleeding (almost on the cafe chair) as I was chatting to her. She was wrong. I needed surgery. So many women - drs, friends, family - assume our experiences are like theirs. We need them to listen!)
So glad you feel listened to - both by your drs, and your artist friends. But sorry that "alot" is rearing its ugly head right now. Sending hugs.
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