Chiropractor Visit
In early 2019, I made a trip to my chiropractor as usual. We discussed random things about life. I had mentioned that I was tired a lot and couldn’t lose weight.
He mentioned seeing a hormone doctor since he knew I was about the same age (I am 48 and not afraid to say so) as he and his wife. Said his wife was seeing one and had been helping her quite a bit.
First Appointment
Stress at work had me putting that off for quite a while and then finally made the appointment. I went in to the appointment wondering what a hormone appointment really entailed.
They did the basics like getting your weight, checking your temperature and blood pressure. Met with the doctor who asked a lot of questions about me and medical history.
She recommended I do a urine sample collection so she could determine the exact time my hormones started dropping. Yes, you read that correctly, the EXACT time frame.
Well the urine collection took place over the weekend which I highly recommend since you have to collect every drop over a 48-72 hour time span. Not fun, but definitely worth it.
Second Appointment
Results were back and I had an appointment to discuss them with her. A lot of the words she used I truly didn’t understand, but she eventually started making sense.
She told me that urine sample was able to determine that my cortisol hormone (stress hormone) had dropped to the point of borderline burnout. Timeline? About she said she was able to figure out that started happening about 8 years ago.
She prescribed some supplements that I have been taking for over a year now. I still take them faithfully every day. Your cortisol levels do not get back to normal in a small amount of time. They can take years and you have to learn how to handle your stress.
To read more about your cortisol hormone, read the following articles:
Stress Management
The hormone doctor kept telling me I needed to figure out how to manage my stress. Believe me, I thought I had been handling it quite well over the years but now that the results were in and there was some type of proof saying different, I had to rethink it.
First, I researched cortisol hormone and learned a ton of stuff. Then I hit Pinterest trying to find ideas of how to manage the stress. I was dealing with a lot of stress at the same time I found all of this out.
My parents relationship wasn’t doing well and by the fall of 2019, they were filing for divorce. Then the continued stress from being there for my dad over the phone almost daily and two visits (November 2019 and March 2020) I had made to see him.
I had realized on that first visit that my sister was also dealing with a lot of stress with my dad. She lives right down the road from him and he was at her house every night right after she got home from work.
She was grateful I was visiting so she could have a break. Now that may sound terrible, but neither of us was ready to have to take care of our parents or one parent in any sort of capacity. We thought we had time.
Today
I try every day to manage my stress but it is not easy. I workout every day and take those supplements recommended by my hormone doctor. You can view those workouts by clicking the link and seeing what I do. They are simple and not overwhelming.
I try to meditate when I can. I truly can do about 5 minutes of it and know I need to learn to meditate longer. Yoga is next on my list of ways to manage stress.
I hope this will provide some detail and information, if you are a mom of young ones or do not have any children at home. Our stress can come from anywhere and when we learn to take time for us, even if it is only for 5 minutes, we help ourselves just as much as we do our loved ones.