How do you know if what you're experiencing is menopause related?  What if you're not ready to hear that it is menopause? 

What if you don't have a womb so you don't have those obvious signals that your periods have ended?

That's how it was for my 3rd MenoChat guest, Lyndsey Byrne.

Having had a hysterectomy with very few symptoms, Lyndsey was convinced that when hot flushes and other symptoms started with a vengeance a few years later, there must have been something other than menopause going on, especially since her blood tests told her she was definitely NOT in menopause.

Going to some pretty extreme measures to manage her symptoms including wrapping herself up in plastic and exercising hard to literally 'sweat' the hot flushes away, Lyndsay finally began to accept that menopause probably was at the core and decided to take a functional medicine approach to manage her symptoms.

I'm a huge believer in finding your own way through this transition.  Every one of us will approach our symptoms differently and there's no 'one size fits all'.  And that's why it's so helpful to hear different approaches, different stories and different experiences. 

Story sharing is an important part of how we can figure out what the right way forward is for us as we navigate menopause.  There's no one size fits all, and often hearing other people's experiences allows us the chance to take a different perspective.  

So I'd love to invite all the women listening to come and join our amazing community in Your Best Midlife over on Facebook where you'll find over 1000 women sharing experiences, cheering each other on and building each other up so we can all thrive through midlife and beyond.

PS:  the book that Lyndsey referred to is called Easy Way to Control Alcohol by Allen Carr