When I reached menopause it felt like I’d entered a new territory without a road map. There were the ubiquitous “jokes” about hot flashes and night sweats, but very little information about how to navigate this time or what to expect overall. (The medical community is mostly mum on the topic.)
While I rarely suffer from hot flashes or night sweats, there were other things going haywire that I didn’t even know were connected to my decreasing estrogen levels. At times I was convinced that something was seriously wrong with me and I’d find myself googling my symptoms to see if I could discover what condition or disease I had. You know how that ends–you convince yourself you have everything!
But it turns out it was all menopause. Check out this insane list.
Partial List of Menopause Symptoms
- joint and muscle pain including hip pain
- vaginal dryness
- loss of libido
- heart palpitations
- increased risk of urinary tract infections
- increased risk of incontinence
- changes in cholesterol
- difficulty sleeping
- weight gain (over 42% of women are affected by this)
- depression
- mood swings
- brain fog
- tingling/pins & needles in extremities
- loss of bone density
- fatique
- thinning hair
- vertigo
- tinnitus
- breast tenderness
- itchy skin
- changes in taste
- increase in allergies
- high blood pressure
The good news is that some of these symptoms may only last for a short time and then disappear. The bad news is that our estrogen continues to diminish the rest of our life. So what does that mean symptom-wise? I’m not sure.
What I’m Doing About It
I have more menopause symptoms than I care to think about and I wanted to do something to help my beleaguered body and retain a bit of sanity. A number of companies offer hormone support formulas of herbs, vitamins, minerals and such that supposedly help ease menopause symptoms. So I decided to put two of them to the test for three months each. But during these trial months I would not be changing my eating habits or exercising more. If something improved I wanted to be sure it came from the capsules not some other lifestyle change.
Brand 1 – GleeFull Hormone Support
I started with GleeFull which highlighted (amongst many other benefits) that 95% of women lost weight within the first 15 days, had improved sleep and less joint pain. It took 30 days to achieve any weight loss (4 lbs.) and it stopped there with no more loss the last two months, though I did notice my belly seemed flatter. It did lessen my occurrence of hip pain. Was hoping for improved sleep, but that didn’t happen. Did my mood improve? Hard to say!
Brand 2 – Stonehenge Health Menopause Support
Stonehenge capsules provide a few other elements not found in GleeFull and are a tad more expensive. (I’ve only completed seven weeks with this product so far so it’s not quite a fair comparison.) I haven’t weighed myself lately but have noticed that my jeans are a skosh looser as are my bras–which is good on both fronts. Hip pain is still reduced. Improved sleep is still minimal. Am I more energetic? Not significantly.
With both brands the longer you use the product, the better your results so I’m going to keep going with Stonehenge. Curious to see if the product improves my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers in the long term and eliminates a few other symptoms. Still on the weight-loss front I am disappointed. GleeFull in particular hyped that result with testimonials indicating that losing 10 lbs. the first month was not unusual.
Would I recommend either product? While I can’t provide a ringing endorsement for either with such a short trial, I did see some improvements so I can say give them a try for yourself.
Lastly, know you are not alone.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to replace medical advice. Please seek the advice of a qualified medical professional.
Today's Women of Age 
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