Hmmm…where do I start? I was just turning 36 years old and I noticed that things were changing in my body. I really never experienced PMS, cramps, headaches or other symptoms that most women experience with their cycles. My sister had the opposite of me from the start. She experienced heavy flows, long cycles, severe cramps that would keep her home from school. I couldn’t relate. Until I started to experience what seemed like overnight weight gain. I remember walking with my mom and a neighbor who had not seen me in a while actually gasped when she saw me. I blew up like a balloon ready to pop! Ok, the weight gain wasn’t overnight, but over the first two years of perimenopause, I gained 55 pounds. Along with that, I was having mood swings that were uncontrollable and made me miserable. I craved everything salty and sweet. Then the hot flashes started to come. At first, they were here and there. Then they started to come with a vengeance. I remember my mom trying to put her makeup on and my sister and I would laugh because she would get so frustrated sweating from hot flashes. Well, I was not laughing anymore. I went to my trusted doctor who took some basic labs and promptly told me that I was not premenopausal and I should just suck it up and try harder to lose the weight! I was horrified. And then I felt the depression which I had never experienced before. That’s when I knew I needed to find the right 
practitioner to help me.
I fired a lot of doctors both men and women over the next 7 years. You see I have a super sensitive system so through trial and error I found out I was unable to use HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) or BRT (Bio-identical Replacement Therapy). So, through much research and lots of reading, I started to look for holistic remedies. I managed with high-quality supplements, changing my food plan, adding essential oils, and exercise. I also found an integrative practitioner who knew the right labs to do and found out where I was in the journey. I learned that I am my own advocate for my body. I spoke up and empowered myself to get my sanity back and support my body as it changed. This is a natural progression for women. I found a safe natural weight loss program that helped me lose 62 pounds and 26 inches.
Today, I am healthy and thriving! I am still using the holistic protocol and I have added to it to maintain my bones. I learned I was over exercising so I found other workouts that benefit menopause, bones, and overall health. I love where I am today. The other side is blissful!
If you would like to know more about me and my coaching, check out my website at www.susanorehowsky.com and sign up for my free e-book! You can also reach me by email at susano@livinglifeholistic.com
