Hip Bone is Connected to the Thigh Bone

I DON'T want to break, even if I'm Breaking Bad!

So this blog was set up many years ago to share with my loved ones my progress and to educate anyone that possibly stumbled across this on their research regarding cancer and survivorship.  I really don't think any of my friends read this anymore but it feels good to the soul if anyone can possibly learn from my experience. I'm not the best writer nor have I blog consistent enough but I truly hope I've helped at least one person.  If so, I've done what I set out to do.  

Recap, I was diagnosed November 16, 2005 at 28.  Fast forward to today I'm now 37 and I'm in survivorship mode.  Survivorship tends to be the hardest on most since the "fight" is over and then you have to live with how you've mentally and physically changed.  What I always find hardest is that we'll never know sometimes if it's because we're truly getting older or if treatment has a hand in all this.

Anyway, back to my original topic of BONES!  Because of my last discovery that I was in perimenopause, I immediately asked for a bone density test.  I had a baseline one.  I had one done shortly after I finished chemo and I suggest everyone that has chemo or have things done with their ovaries ask they med oncs about it.  Baseline tests can be good because then they can use it to compare it to when they perform the test in the future.  The reason why you may want to have it check from chemo or ovarian treatment is because those treatments can disrupt your estrogen which tend to help your bones.  That is why older folks, mainly older women, have a higher chance of having osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis are porous or fragile bones more susceptible to breaks.  Most folks are recommended to have this test done every 1-3 years so talk to your docs.  They may or may not bring it up on their own.  They are super busy and see so many patients in a day.  Be your own advocate! 

I had mine done back in the days and it was normal for someone my age.  So I have decent bones going for me with my latest news!  My lumar actually shows a slight increase (these test aren't 100% accurate) and my thigh and hip bones showed just 3% decrease in bone density.  I'll take that!  No changes in my life style are recommended.  I know the lower body has bigger bones but I do weight bearing exercise, usually take my calcium supplement and try to eat a fairly healthy diet.  All this tends to help and that means I'll continue to do all this and may up my weight bearing exercise more since that's just a win win.  I also have to admit that my cal/mag supplement a dose is two tablets.  I tend to only take one so I may need to take the full dosage since I found out about my perimenopause issue.  Things to think about because we have one body so lets take care of it!  

Pausing.. forever?

Pausing can be a good thing, right?  Right, it can make us slow down and think things through.  Well this is certainly the case for me.  The pausing I'm talking about it perimenopause.

This is the definition of perimenopause according to Mayo Clinic:

Perimenopause means "around menopause" and refers to the time period during which a woman's body makes its natural transition toward permanent infertility (menopause). Perimenopause is also called the menopausal transition.

Women start perimenopause at different ages. You may notice signs of progression toward menopause, such as menstrual irregularity, sometime in your 40s. But some women notice changes as early as their mid-30s.

The level of your estrogen — the main female hormone — rises and falls unevenly during perimenopause. Your menstrual cycles may lengthen or shorten, and you may begin having menstrual cycles in which your ovaries don't release an egg (ovulate). You may also experience menopause-like symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep problems and vaginal dryness. Treatments are available to help ease these symptoms.

Once you've gone through 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, you've officially reached menopause, and the perimenopause period is over.

So...you're probably wondering why I'm blogging about this since I'm JUST 37.  I started this blog when I was much younger so I guess the word just isn't really justified?

About this time last year I had my FSH and AMH levels checked.  These tests are used to see how active my ovaries are and to see about my egg reserves.  When I checked 12 months ago I was holding steady for someone my age.  My number was just a tad lower, most likely from chemo treatment.  Fast forward to present day and I found out my test results have changed drastically!  It shows that I'm...gulp...in perimenopause!  Perimenopause!?!?

This means my chance of natural conception will be much more challenging AND that I'm heading towards menopause.  This would explain the trouble with my sleep, feeling emotional at random times beyond when I'm supposed to, feeling as if my joints are creaky and always feeling hungry beyond when I'm supposed to feel super hungry hence dealing with my weight.  I just found this out so I'm still processing all this.

For a lack of better word this sucks.   I obviously know I'm fortunate and blessed in SO many ways but I know it's also okay to acknowledge my disappointment and it's another reminder of how my cancer treatment, mainly cancer, has continued to interfere with being a "normal" 37 year old.  We'll never know if it was from treatment but I'm highly suspicious that it killed some of my mature and immature eggs so my overall egg reserve dropped, especially while I was on cytoxan.  (I think that was the one I read that tends to destroy the immature eggs too.)  Will need to process and then go from there.