I turned 45 this past December and do you know what that meant?
Yes, it was time for a colonoscopy.
To be completely honest, I hadn’t been to a primary care doctor for an annual checkup in years. Aside from annual gynecological visits since having my children, I only went to the doctor — usually specialists — when something was wrong. I also had a psychiatrist who prescribed my psychiatric medications.
But earlier this year, my psychiatrist retired, forcing me to find another prescriber for my mental health medication. This new doctor wanted me to have a full blood panel done because I had been on these meds for such a long time and he wanted to make sure that my organs hadn’t been negatively affected.
So I found a primary care doctor through my insurance company and got all the tests done. I explained to her that I hadn’t had a physical examination in years so she put me through a litany of tests.
The good news? I was within normal range for everything aside from triglycerides (which was high but the doctor said this could be because I had a sugary meal before the test) and low vitamin B12. She recommended I take B12 supplements. And, because I was 45, she gave me a referral to a gastroenterologist.
So I had a colonoscopy done. The worst part was the prep/cleanse the day before the procedure. No eating solid foods, a crapton of laxatives, and diarrhea through the night. My sister told me that my BIL lost about 15 lbs from his prep. Ever curious, I weighed myself before and after the prep, and I lost 5. The procedure itself was a breeze. As soon as they wheeled me into the procedure room, they knocked me out and I woke up after it was all done. No pain or anything else negative. The doctor found nothing concerning in my bowels. He gave me pictures from the procedure, and a diagram of where each picture was taken.
The other health-related update I want to write about is regarding the big M-word: menopause. Or, in my case, perimenopause. I think I may have been in perimenopause for the past few years and not noticed it.
Why do I think I may have been in perimenopause? Well, a few years ago, I experienced frozen shoulder — first, on my right shoulder, then about half a year later, on my left shoulder. Back then, I just thought I had pulled my muscles or slept wrong. I only recently learned that this condition is called frozen shoulder and that it can be a symptom of perimenopause.
Then there was my continuous period for over a year. Irregular periods is a sign of perimenopause, no?
So why haven’t I had the other, obvious signs of perimenopause like mood changes and hot flashes? I think it has to do with the medications I’m on. I’ve been on birth control pills since I had Aerin, and birth control pills can hide or mask menopause symptoms — some doctors even prescribe them to alleviate the symptoms of perimenopause/menopause. There are also my psychiatric meds. They work to balance my moods, so any hormonal mood changes would have been controlled by my meds.
One interesting thing that happened to me recently is that my period returned two months ago. I had shared that after my surgery to stop my neverending period, my periods had stopped altogether for over a year. (My doctor attributed this to my birth control pills.) Well, two months ago, they returned — on the day I’m supposed to get them according to my birth control pills — and this time, they stopped after a few days. It came again this month too, again on time and stopping on time. I have no idea why my period started up again. Another perimenopause symptom? I have an OB appointment in a couple of months so I will definitely be talking to him about this.
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