Confused about Menopause
In 2013, I started taking the Depo-Provera shot because my periods were always heavy and painful. I spotted blood for the first few months, but I didn’t have a real period after that. I was happy because they were hard for me to manage and I had the worst cramps and headaches.
In late 2020, I decided to stop the Botox shots for my migraines. I had to sit still to get all these needles in my head, and it was hard to do with my cerebral palsy. I have gotten these for almost three years. I started the Aimvoig shots in September 2020, and I finally felt some relief. I only had migraines like once or twice a week, and I was so happy about that. I found a solution to migraines!
By the time I turned 50, people were asking me if I was going through menopause. I did not know if I was going through it because I haven’t had a period in years. So I didn’t know if I was going through it, when it would happen, and what symptoms I would experience.
I have had migraines every day since 2004 and was tired of the pain. I never knew if my migraines were hormonal or not. I would be on so much medication, everything from preventive medications to Botox. I really did not like the Botox because they would put needles in my head, and I would have to be completely still. This would be hard for me to do with my cerebral palsy. Plus I didn’t see any significant relief anyway, maybe for one to two weeks. Then I would be back to my daily headaches. I know I would be taking a lot of medicine, just to get rid of the pain, but a lot of the time, nothing helped.
My neurologist suggested that I go off the Depo-Provera shot to see if my migraines would improve. So in October of this year, I stopped taking the shot and life had really changed.
I had crying spells, I felt depressed, I felt my body was missing something, but it didn’t know what. I felt like I was going to bleed. I had migraines almost every day. Going off the Depo-shot made everything worse, instead of better. I definitely felt more emotional. I don’t know if this was a sign of menopause.
I think the combination of the Depo shot and the Aimvoig shot really helped me a lot. Some weeks I was down to one to two headaches a week. I never experienced that before. I felt happier and had more energy.
Now I have headaches every day. Sometimes they skip me once or twice a week, but that’s rarely. I talked to a nurse practitioner, and she said I shouldn’t go back on the Depo shot because she is afraid something might happen to my bones since I’ve been on the shot for so long. I am 52 now and I have been on the shot for 10 years. I really don’t know what menopause feels like because I never have hot flashes. I always feel cold more than anything. So I don’t know if I will get a period again.
I don’t know if I’ll ever experience menopause. I haven’t had a period in over ten years and I’m not sure if I ever will again. So I guess I will wait and see. In the meantime, I will do what I can to combat those headaches.
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/menopause-word-made-square-letter-on-1241630116
