Last year my physician diagnosed me as being pre-menopausal. During my annual examination I shared with her some unusual symptoms I'd been having. Over the past year I've gained an unexplained amount of weight and my mood changes often and my hair was thinning at an alarming rate. On occasion I suffer from night sweats as well as insomnia. While the night sweats are sporadic the insomnia can go on for several weeks. After a full physical examination she told me I was pre-menopausal. I knew the night sweats were a sign of menopause but I had no idea insomnia was one of the signs of menopause. I blamed my insomnia on my increased use of caffeine and stress. When my physician gave me the list of signs and symptoms of menopause I was able to identify with various symptoms. In fact I felt like a text book case, all of my complaints were listed right on the list. Once my symptoms were identified I was on a personal quest to find something to assist me in relieving some, if not all of the symptoms.
Many years ago doctor's would prescribe hormone replacement therapy for women experiencing menopause. During menopause a woman's hormone levels are decreased so the natural solution was to replace what was being lost, right? Wrong, hormone replacement therapy was identified as a possible cause for an increase in cancer in women. So much that hormone replacement therapy is no longer given to women during menopause. What was I to do? Suffer through it? I couldn't imagine not sleeping every night or continuing to wake up drenched in sweat.
My physician suggested I give Estroven Nighttime a try. She explained it was an over counter medication that did not require a prescription and many of her patients had found relief using the product. I decided I would ask some of my friends and family members who had either gone through menopause or had been like me diagnosed as pre-menopausal. In speaking with my family and friends the use of soy based products was mentioned as well as all natural herbs and melatonin.
As it turns out my physician was right and so were my friends and family. Estroven Nighttime is a safe multi-symptom menopause relief solution. It is an all natural tablet containing no gluten, lactose, yeast, wheat or preservatives. It naturally and safely combats many of the symptoms of menopause. It also contains soy, all natural herbs and melatonin. Taken daily Estroven Nighttime has greatly reduced my mood swings, insomnia and night sweats. Although the symptoms still occur they have reduced in intensity and duration which is a great relief.
Pink Pajama Party
Recently my friend Marica celebrated being being cancer free for 2 years. She was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on her 43 birthday 5 years ago. Marica and I met while attending Nursing School together over 20 years ago. We were instantly friends. We spent countless nights studying, laughing and talking together. Marica and I have so much in common it's scary. We've often found ourselves completing each others sentences or saying the same words at the same time.
The diagnoses and subsequent treatment really took a toll not only on Marica but all of us who loved her. Seeing such a vibrant and beautiful spirited person go through such a hard time was devastating to us all. She told me one day she felt her birthdays would never be the same. For the past two years Marica has been cancer free and has refused to celebrate her birthday. It was hard for me to imagine her never celebrating another birthday. I wanted to do something to ease her back into celebrating birthdays again. I knew she would not be receptive to anything on a grand scale. I learned about the Sleep Pink pajama party project and felt it was the perfect project for what I was planning. I planned an intimate birthday/cancer free celebration and a Sleep Pink Pajama Party for the two of us.
We started the night celebrating with cake and ice cream. Seeing Marica and her family together happy again was priceless. Later Marica and I looked through family photo albums. We were both amazed at how our kids had grown so quickly over the years. We laughed we cried and we talked about our hopes, plans and dreams for the future. This was something we used to do all the time and hadn't done since before her diagnosis.
Estroven has partnered with Avon to celebrate the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and promote the Sleep Pink campaign. The project started by the Avon Foundation for Women is designed to support those impacted, while raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research and prevention. The goal is to provide education while raising awareness of two important women's issues: breast cancer and menopause. During October National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Estroven is inviting women to gather the important females in their lives to help raise funds for breast cancer research by "Sleeping Pink" and throwing Sleep Pink pajama parties.
For each Sleep Pink Pajama party photo submitted to the Sleep Pink Facebook page Estrogen will donate $250 to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (One photo per party),
The SleepPink.com website was created to provide women with the digital tools to help in the organization of Sleep Pink Pajama parties. Included are downloadable invitations, menopause-friendly drink and food suggestions, decor and music playlist. It also provides an online space to raise awareness of the important issues women are facing.
Did You Know??
- Few things we will go through as women compare to menopause, it's been described as tumultuous
- 1/3 of the current female population in the United States has reached menopause
- two out of the three invasive breast cancers are found in women 55 and over
- a woman's risk of breast cancer triples from her 30's to her 40's and quintuples from her 30's to her 50's
- nearly 100.000 women between the ages of 45 and 64 are diagnosed with breast cancer annually in the U.S.
- many of the women diagnosed with breast cancer are also experiencing menopause
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sleep Pink from the makers of Estroven. The opinions and text are all mine.