you do experience cardiac symptoms, it’s best to get them checked out by your doctor, for peace of mind if nothing else.
What is it about menopause that can cause or aggravate these symptoms? When hormone levels fluctuate, the brain sends a message to the hormone-producing adrenal glands, which can cause an adrenaline surge, part of the body’s flight-or-fight response. A survey by the NHAS of one thousand clients found that 91 percent of women had suffered anxiety before their periods, and in severe cases had panic attacks and palpitations leading up to their periods. These symptoms can get worse as we age, because falling nutrient levels can impede normal hormone function. Once your nutrient levels and hormones are back in balance, your sense of well-being will likely return.
Easing Palpitations and Panicky Feelings
• Eliminate caffeine from your diet. Even teas, coffee, or soft drinks labeled as decaffeinated may contain enough residual caffeine to cause anxiety.
• Eat regular, wholesome meals and snacks to provide your brain and nervous system with a constant supply of nutrients.
• Minimize your consumption of alcohol, as it impedes the absorption of many important nutrients and can leave you feeling anxious.
• Don’t smoke. Nicotine may seem to have a calming effect, but it is also a stimulant that should be avoided.
• When you begin feeling anxious, take a few slow, deep breaths and mindfully bring your attention to the moment. Repeating calming affirmations can be helpful at this point, as can focusing on something beautiful, like a flower or one of your favorite pictures.
• Practice formal relaxation or meditation each day.
• Use the Pzizz app to help you calm down when you feel anxiety building (see chapter 4).
• Take a good broad-spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement each day, like Gynovite Plus or Fema 45+ (in the UK), which has been shown to boost nutrient levels and calm anxiety.
• Try taking valerian supplements to help you feel calmer, and rhodiola to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. These adaptogenic herbs help your body deal with an elevated stress response (seepage 82).
Fiona’s Story
When Fiona first approached me for help she was forty-seven. She was scared by her extreme brain fog, especially as she had consulted several doctors who suggested she might have dementia.
I started to lose myself at the age of thirty-seven. For ten years I felt progressively worse before I realized it was due to menopause. My memory went blank, and I couldn’t sleep. I had terrible aches and pains and body stiffness. I suffered palpitations, sometimes up to five episodes in an hour, and the heat permeating from my body made me feel unattractive and claustrophobic. My periods suddenly became a major disruption to my life, and I felt anxious and irritable most of the time. My confidence was very low, and I felt confused and afraid when my mind failed me, as it did on many occasions. Plus, I had severe constipation and bloating. My doctor, who rolled his eyes when I suggested it might be menopause, put me on Microgynon [oral contraceptives] to manage my periods, gave me some sleeping tablets, and referred me for a sleep apnea test and an ECG before diagnosing stress and advising I adjust my work-life balance.
Towards the end of it all I felt so ill, it was as if my brain had died. The brain fog was so severe, there was no point writing myself a note, because I wouldn’t remember where I’d put it. Inevitably, I cut down on work and eventually left the workplace because I couldn’t cope. If I had stayed, I know I would have cracked and had an incredibly public meltdown, as I was so overwhelmed. I can understand why women feel there is no point to living at this stage in their lives.
It was a sleep apnea nurse who was the first person to agree that my symptoms might be related to menopause, so I plucked up the courage and insisted my doctor measure my follicle-stimulating hormone, which had never been measured during my ten-year-long nightmare. I wasn’t too surprised to find out it was elevated beyond belief. It confirmed I was in the middle of menopause. I was put on HRT, which I thought would be the answer, but I had unbearable side effects. Although it controlled the heat and palpitations, I put on masses of weight, still felt bloated, had chronic indigestion, vaginal bleeding, and headaches. Even though I began to sleep through the night, I was overcome with exhaustion. HRT also did nothing for the brain fog. On the advice of my doctor, after five months of nonstop bleeding, I stopped taking HRT. The effect was catastrophic: every symptom returned, and I hit rock bottom.
I found Maryon Stewart on Facebook and was interested in her years of experience helping women overcome menopause naturally. I enrolled in her Six-Week Natural Meno-pause Solution in June and made the changes she suggested to my diet and lifestyle, and I took some supplements that have been shown in clinical trials to help. I now feel like a different person. I feel like me again. I sleep. I wake up feeling refreshed. I’m clear-headed and no longer have brain fog. I no longer have bloating or constipation. I am able to work, and I’m even managing a house move now, which I couldn’t have even thought about before.
I find it outrageous that my symptoms were so easily controlled by natural measures that are based on published research and don’t have any side effects, yet most doctors are not familiar with them. It’s beyond sad that women are left to suffer in this way. So many relationships are wrecked by menopause symptoms, and it’s such a waste of talent in the workplace.
Aching Joints
Falling estrogen levels result in reduced lubrication in our joints. In addition, a lack of essential nutrients can cause degeneration and result in creaking bones and aching joints, especially first thing in the morning. Here are some tips for reducing pain and increasing mobility.
Soothing Aching Joints
• Eat two to three servings a week of fish rich in omega-3 EFAs, such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and sardines. These substances have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and may help ease aches and pains.
• Unless you have respiratory or heart problems, exercise vigorously enough to raise your heart rate a little for at least thirty minutes several days a week. Retaining flexibility really helps the body to stay comfortable and keep moving.
• Do some gentle wake-up stretches in the morning.
• Try taking EPA and DHA (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) and krill oil supplements, which have been shown to alleviate arthritis pain, possibly by helping the body create anti-inflammatory prostaglandins that reduce joint swelling. (Avoid cod liver oil, which contains high levels of vita-mins A and D that can be harmful in excess.)
• Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements can also help to relubricate cartilage and regenerate the cushioning in stiff joints.
Lisa’s Story
Lisa is a sixty-two-year-old woman who lives in Maryland. She had a number of unwanted postmenopause symptoms and had been diagnosed with osteoporosis.
When I met Maryon I hadn’t had a period for four years, but I was still experiencing hot flashes and night sweats. My worst symptoms were insomnia and almost nonexistent sex drive. Even though I have a wonderful and gorgeous husband, I couldn’t face sex, as it was so painful due to vaginal dryness. I’ve had lifelong aches and pains, as I was diagnosed with arthritis when I was fourteen years old. I felt forgetful, overweight, irritable, nervous, bloated to the point of looking six months pregnant, and my skin was uncharacteristically dry.
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