Navigating women’s health can be incredibly frustrating, especially when your very real concerns are brushed aside. Over a grueling ten-year period, I fought a severe battle with my own biology.

About 15 or 16 years ago, I received a certificate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in health coaching. I spent a lot of time studying wellness and nutrition. This background made my eventual health struggles deeply confusing. In my late thirties and early forties, I began experiencing painful gynecological problems.

The Struggle and Medical Gaslighting

• Severe Symptoms: The bleeding became relentless. I became extremely anemic, which led to zero energy and an 80-pound weight gain.
• Strange Cravings: During COVID, my anemia was so severe that all I wanted to consume was salt, water, ice chips, and tiny delivery pickles.
• Dismissal: Despite these alarming symptoms, doctors repeatedly told me they did not see any endometriosis or fibroids. They would temporarily put me on birth control pills. I was deeply disgusted with myself, believing I was doing something wrong.

The Turning Point: Surgery and Validation

The breaking point came when my general practitioner reviewed my blood work and was alarmed by my dangerously low hemoglobin levels, telling me I should be in the hospital. Exhausted from trying to find a solution, I finally agreed to a partial hysterectomy.

When I woke up, my surgeon validated everything. She had to cut through a massive amount of endometrial tissue and found a fibroid the size of an orange. My body had literally been reacting as if I were in my first trimester of pregnancy. I finally had proof that my pain was real and it was not my fault.

The Literal Weight on My Shoulders

While the hysterectomy solved a massive piece of the puzzle, I was still physically struggling. A personal trainer encouraged me to consider breast reduction surgery. I had lived with chronic neck and back pain for years. I realized this procedure was not about vanity; it was about my ability to exercise and live comfortably.

I scheduled the procedure, but the surgeon’s office called to cancel it because my blood work showed an A1C of 6.7. I was officially in the pre-diabetic range.

Silencing the “Food Noise”

Determined to fix this, I made an appointment with a gynecologist who specialized in menopause and hormone replacement.

• Metabolic Treatment: She noted my family history of diabetes and prescribed Metformin alongside a GLP-1 medication.
• Overcoming Stigma: I was incredibly hesitant to try a GLP-1. Because of my background coaching gastric bypass patients, I carried a lot of internal stigma and felt that taking the medication was cheating.
• The Mental Shift: Balancing my body’s chemistry changed my life. Taking the Metformin and GLP-1 completely silenced my internal monologue and the constant nagging about food.
• Surgical Clearance: My A1C eventually dropped a full point, allowing me to proceed with the breast reduction surgery, which successfully removed 10 pounds of tissue.

The “I Hate My Husband” Medicine

As my weight and blood sugar stabilized, my doctor and I finally looked closely at my hormones.

• Estrogen: She prescribed an estrogen patch to help with my poor sleep and the intense, burning hot flashes I was experiencing.
• Progesterone: She also prescribed progesterone, jokingly calling it the “I hate my husband” medicine. I had not realized my extreme irritability was a symptom we could treat; starting the progesterone completely erased my irrational irritation toward my partner.

Finding Your Wonder

The greatest lesson from this entire decade of suffering is the undeniable power of self-advocacy. When my gynecologist called me with lab results, the very first thing she said was that I was not crazy. Hearing a medical professional affirm my complaints brought me to tears. Keep searching until you find a provider who listens, looks at your whole health picture, and helps you get back to feeling like your true self.

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