16 Jun
Okay so I had a hysterectomy at 47 and I keep running into this wall where everything written about menopause assumes a slow build. Perimenopause symptoms for years, gradual shift, time to adjust. That is not my story and honestly reading those timelines sometimes makes me feel like I missed something or did it wrong somehow. Mine was a light switch. Surgery Tuesday, menopause Wednesday. Hot flashes started in the hospital. I did not even fully understand what was happening to my body because I was still in recovery mode, still figuring out the incision, still on pain meds. The menopause conversation felt like it got stapled to the discharge paperwork and that was sort of it. I have an appointment with a new specialist next month and I am actually building a written timeline this time. Surgery date, first symptoms, how intense, what changed and when. I figure if I walk in with paper in hand it is harder to get the fifteen minute brush-off. Also on a completely different note: does anyone have thoughts on eating when your appetite is just gone? Not nausea exactly, more like my body forgot it needed food. I have been doing broths and soft scrambled eggs and it helps but I feel like I am feeding a sick child, not a grown adult woman who used to love cooking.