I wish I'd asked my doctor about HRT the instant I started having perimenopause symptoms. I'm on it now, and it has made a world of difference.

Fucking life-changing, and it's been less than 2 weeks. My OB/GYN did a blood test for my testosterone level and based on the results she added topical testosterone to my HRT cocktail. My understanding is full effects don't really kick in for 3 months or more, which feels like taking testosterone's effectiveness on faith for a while.

Progesterone has not made an appreciable effect on my sleep, which makes me sad. Though Dr. Google says "It often takes up to 2 weeks of consistent bedtime dosing to experience steady, full-night sleep improvements." And it hasn't been a full 2 weeks for me yet, so maybe my sleep will start improving in the very near future. Fingers crossed!

I wish I had some sort of tracker to tell me how far along the work on my car was

Poor Skinner is sick again. He has had frequent digestive issues throughout his life so I don't pay attention to that anymore. He threw up last night and didn't want to eat this morning, but that happens so often it was ignored. This changed when I was giving him morning ear rubs, as one does, and he was noticeably warmer than usual. Called the vet and brought him in. Temp of 104.4. When he had a bunch of tests done a couple of months ago, all his blood tests were completely normal. Today, all are screwed up. White cells up, red cells down, liver way the hell out of whack. So injections and a couple different kinds of antibiotics, as well as liver meds. She wouldn't even give him anything for the fever because his liver was so off.

Bottom line, I would be significantly better off if I had chosen veterinary medicine as a career. Just sayin'.

Aw, poor Skinner. Hope the vet can get it sorted out.

I've had dogs all my life, more than I can even remember, and this is the first time I ever gave one a morning hug and they were warm to touch. Poor boo.

Health~ma for Skinner.

It was a one-off class for Coptic binding.

That looks neat! I had a book group meeting at my library last night and asked them about a bookbinding workshop. They gave me a firm maybe. So we’ll see, I guess.

Re: menopause. I was done at 43, and I didn’t even notice. That’s because I spent 18 months before that taking care of my dying dad, and I was on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds for a big chunk of it. As coping methods go, I can’t recommend it. But it is very nice to be done.

Yes, Calli. I am sure that emotional upheaval contributes significantly to the hormonal shift. Of course, I put the whole menstrual process on the list of things that the maker didn't think through very well. See also knees and backs.

You have almost all convinced me to ask my doctor about hrt. Because perimenopause is a bitca. I’m 49 for the record.

Pix, ime perimenopause definitely makes adhd symptoms more intense.

You have almost all convinced me to ask my doctor about hrt. Because perimenopause is a bitca.

In addition to helping with hot flashes and mood, hrt has substantial long-term benefits on heart health and bone strength when you start it in perimenopause. It can help joint pain, too (fingers crossed).

Just in the past few days, my mood has improved so much that I hadn't realized how much it had dropped, or how long it had been this low (a long damn time). It's like switching from an older TV to an HD TV. Everything is just brighter and sparklier.

I recommend anyone thinking of menopause hormone therapy subscribe to The Vajenda to get deep dives into what does and does not have strong evidence supporting it. There's a lot of marketing that turns out to not have a lot of evidence behind it and many risks that have to be weighed.