Dr Anna Garrett - Perimenopause: The Savvy Sisters Guide to Hormone Harmony

Perimenopause Copyright 2019 Anna Garrett Companies LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Anna Garrett Companies LLC

Asheville, NC

info@drannagarrett.com

Dr. Anna Garrett, author

Rebecca Frederick and Anna Caddell, cover art

Kristi Hedberg, cover photograph

ISBN 978-0-9600583-0-3 Paperback

ISBN 978-0-9600583-1-0 eBook

First Edition

This is a work of nonfiction. Some names and identifying details have been changed.

This book is dedicated to Stephanie,
Jennifer and Caroline.

Im often asked why I decided to write this book. There are many reasons, but the main inspiration is that I saw a need that was not being filled. Three years ago, I started a group called The Hormone Harmony Club on Facebook (www.drannagarrett.com/hhc). It is a private group where members can ask anything they want about perimenopause and menopause. As the group grew, I began to notice there were huge gaps in what women knew about their bodies and the process of perimenopause. I also discovered that the quality of information about perimenopause was seriously lacking.

For the last three years, I have been writing blogs, making videos, answering questions, and thinking about how best to serve women who are confused, scared and hungry for information. All of that work has become the basis for this book. My goal is to create a new generation of what I call Savvy Sisters. Savvy Sisters are women who are informed, know how to advocate for themselves with their healthcare team, and refuse to settle for suffering. They are role models for their daughters and granddaughters when it comes to asking for what they need and expecting to get it. I know we have a long way to go, but my hope is that this book will help keep the conversation going and gaining momentum.

The stories I tell throughout this book are true. Names have been changed and some contain an amalgamation of multiple client experiences. They illustrate how vastly different the experiences of women can be. May they bring comfort to those of you who feel alone on this journey. Trust me, you are not.

Ive included information about different approaches you can try to improve to your peri-menopause experience. Many are lifestyle changes, but there are supplement recommendations as well. If you are considering incorporating supplements, please ask your pharmacist if there are any interactions with other medications you take. It is very important that you do your due diligence to find out if a recommendation made here is appropriate for you. And please remember, nothing in this book should be substituted for your doctors advice.

My goal is to spread the word through speaking to womens groups and consulting with wellness programs and corporations to create a culture of empathy and caring where women are empowered to speak up and ask for what they need. If you believe my message will resonate with your group or organization and youre interested in having me speak, please contact me at .

If you picked up this book, Ill bet I know something about you. In the back of your mind, youre concerned because you just dont feel like yourself. Maybe its little things, such as feeling a bit more edgy (to put it nicely) with your partner and kids. Maybe youve gotten to the point where youre afraid to leave your house for the first couple of days of your period because its so heavy. Or maybe you lie awake night after night, staring at the ceiling, when youd always been a great sleeper. Whatever it is for you, you want answers and you want to know how to cope.

I remember running to the bookstore when I was first pregnant with my daughter and proudly buying my copy of What to Expect When Youre Expecting. It has long been the bible of pregnant moms everywhere because of the step-by-step info walking you through your entire pregnancy. No guessing. No wondering if you were normal. What a gift this was for me and my friends!

And here we all are againtwenty years later. But this time, were dealing with the hormonal issues that arise in midlife and theres no perimenopause bible. Menopause is a natural part of life that ALL women will experience, but the way we experience it can be vastly different. Fifty-seven percent of women will experience one or more symptoms of perimenopause as they transition to menopause. The other 43 percent have irregular periods and nothing more. Lucky ladies! Perimenopause and menopause are talked about only in whispers, although this is beginning to change. Doctors are not well trained in how to manage all of the mind, body, and spirit issues that affect women in midlife, so we are most often left to consult Dr. Google for answers. The problem with this is that there is a plethora of misinformation on the internet.

In my work, I see many women who feel as if their bodies are betraying them. They feel like shells of their once-productive, loving selves, and it breaks my heart. They are desperate to find relief and jump from solution to solution, hoping theyll stumble upon the magic bullet. Perimenopause can last over 10 years, and that is not good news for many women. Thats a lot of time to be miserable when help can be had.

Desperation is a bad place to make good decisions from, and it leads women to make unwise choices about who they take advice from. Thats what led me to write this book. I am tired of seeing bad information shared as gospel in Facebook groups. I am tired of watching women go blindly through this change. I am tired of perimenopause being talked about as a disease. It is not. It is a perfectly healthy, natural progression of our reproductive years.

Savvy Sisters dont suffer silently. I want this book to be the second talk our mothers should have had with us to give us some kind of clue about what was coming with perimenopause and menopause. I want to drive out fear and bring in hope. I want women to see midlife for what it can be and not the beginning of the end or the expiration of their role as mother and caretaker. I want to create a generation of Savvy Sisters who know exactly whats going on. So, lets get on with it. Start by taking my perimenopause quiz at www.perimenopausequiz.com. Then, take a deep breath and start reading. Your answers are here, and there is nothing to be afraid of.

Janie is 37. Shes a successful graphic designer who started her own business five years ago. She had no idea how stressful running a business would be, especially with a family to take care of and an elderly father in a nearby assisted living facility. Janie and her husband, Dave, are debating whether they should have another baby. Her biological clock is screaming tick, tock! But with her full plate and the stress she is under, shes not sure how shed manage.

And some other things are happening, too. Something in her body is a little bit off and she cant put her finger on it. Janie has changed nothing about how she eats or exercises, but the needle on the scale keeps creeping upward. Her periods look like a crime scene where a horrible stabbing must have taken place. Her breasts are so tender before her period that even putting a bra on is painful. Janie is irritable and snappy with her kids. And poor Dave? Hes in hiding most of the time. Her friends are talking about some of these problems, too. She wonders whats up. But what Janie doesnt realize is that while shes in the thick of living her life, her ovaries are secretly making their retirement plan.