We're Back Baby! Hello Again!! The Grown-Up Girls Report Returns!!

In this episode of The Grown Up Girls Report, host Alex Merton-McCann explains where she has been for the last three years! She shares her personal journey through menopause and the challenges she has faced over the past three years. She discusses the gradual onset of menopausal symptoms such as sleep disturbances, brain fog, and low mood, and how these affected her daily life and confidence. 

Takeaways

• Menopause can be a gradual and challenging journey.
• Recognizing symptoms like sleep issues and mood changes is crucial.
• Support from friends and family can make a significant difference.
• It's common for women to feel overwhelmed during midlife.
• Seeking help and being proactive is essential for mental health.
• Hormone therapy can be a game changer for some women.
• The emotional toll of menopause can lead to feelings of isolation.
• Self-care strategies are important for navigating midlife challenges.
• Community and connection are vital during this stage of life.
• Sharing personal experiences can help others feel less alone.

Chapters

00:00
Navigating the Journey of Perimenopause

06:08
The Impact of Family and Life Changes

08:47
Looking Ahead: The Future of the Podcast

09:51
New Chapter

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Transcript

Alex Merton-McCann (00:07.128)
Hi everyone, my name's Alex Merton-McCann and I am the host of the Grown Up Girls Report podcast. Yes, it has been a minute and thank you all so very much for your patience. In fact, it's been more than a minute. It's been three and a bit years. And if I had to sum up where I've been for the last three years, I just have two words for you and I have a feeling you might relate.

perimenopause and menopause. And man, what a package deal they are.

When I recorded my last episode, which was in late November 2021, I was really just hanging on. My youngest son was just about to finish school and I just had to get in through the HSC. So I was just hanging on until we could get past the finish line. But when I look back, it had actually probably been more of a gradual decline and it sort of just crept up on me and took me a while to connect the dots. So the first thing that went awry for me was my sleep.

And I had always been an Olympic sleeper. I was the one that didn't actually hear my babies cry when they were young and my husband had to elbow me to wake up. So I was just, you know, always very talented sleeper. But in my mid forties, that sort of started to unravel. But I was able to throw a few different supplements, melatonin, gather those sorts of things at it. And so I could sort of wade through with that one. So that was sort of manageable. 

Brain fog? Yes, that was big. But, you know, I had four kids. I had quite a big part-time job, you know, three days a week. And I just put that down to just having a lot on plus, know, a big life and lots of other community things I was involved in. So I sort of thought, yeah, well, you know, you know, if it's normal to forget, you've got so much on, there's limited space up there. So the brain fog, you know, I didn't sort of join the dots between the two of them, but it was when the third big symptom for me arose that I started to really, really slow down and just stop functioning.

Alex Merton-McCann (02:41.869)
But was when the third big symptom for me came along that I really started to perhaps join the dots, start to join the dots, did still took me a lot of time. And that was mood. I was feeling really low. And that again crept up on me, know, bit of overwhelm set in. Just my confidence started to really start to be a bit shaky. But you may know what I mean by low mood. I'm talking days where you drag yourself out of bed, just by the kettle to get yourself a caffeine hit, in my case Earl Grey. Just straight to the couch and hours on the couch, TV, some quite good shows, but just not really functioning, just not really achieving very much. And for those of you who know me, you know, that's not my natural state. I like to have a little bit too much to do. I like to be just, you know, thinking, oh, I've got, you know, what's the time? I've got a big day. I was unable to do any of that.

I actually didn't want to leave the house. I didn't actually really want to talk to anyone about it. I didn't even really start to talk to my friends about it - I think a couple of the clever ones started to clue on. But I was just really in shutdown mode and I really had barely any capacity to do anything. Although I was able to cook dinner most nights. Nothing flash. Don't get the wrong idea. But I was able to make sure my children were fed. That was really the extent of it. But a lot of Thai takeaway in between. I love Thai.

And don't really think my boys knew what was going on and my husband was just so incredibly supportive - I'm so grateful to him for his approach. But there were actually warning signs along the way. And for me, there are a couple of big ones. Obviously my mood was low, but when I really started to think, know that things were just out of control was when I started to get involved in lot of public crying. I'm very good at public crying and it's either to very kind face strangers at coffee shops, clothing shops, Woolies line, pathology line, that was always a good one for me. know when someone's, I don't know, they can sort of intuitively pick up on that you're not great or start a conversation and you know before you know it I'm sobbing. I don't even know these people's names anyway. The other thing I'm very good at is crying in bathrooms when I'm out with, well I'm better at it now, but when I was out with a group of girls and I

Alex Merton-McCann (04:59.04)
You know, we when you're out with friends and I actually still did want to have a good time and still see some people occasionally, still feel like I was being a little normal. So I'd go out for a night, you know, with some girls and try really hard to be in the zone and to be up. I don't want to be that Debbie Downer, that person that's moaning and groaning and bringing the whole vibe down. So I would do that and then I would, when I was just feeling overwhelmed, pop into the bathroom and have a little cry.

There was one night at a local Thai restaurant again yes Thai food is a real theme of this episode when a very good friend of mine who has actually been on the podcast before Dr. Annette found me crying in this bathroom and I love Annette and it's a straight shooter but Annette was like my friend what's going on what this is what's happening we need we need to get you some help and that really made me realize that

I was not great and I really needed to start being more proactive now up until that point I'd had some visits to the GP but you know not particularly regularly and so anyway she helped me get on you know a better course which was really really good and I can't tell you how much I love her and how grateful I am to her for for making for making it happen for me and for helping me out.

Now, look I'm not going to download my entire journey on you now it's just a bit 
too much at once my friends. I just really wanted to check in and say hello and assure you that we are back. But I do promise that I will share it with you another time. But there's one thing I do know about this whole experience is that my journey is not unique. In fact, it is incredibly common for women to struggle at this midlife stage and I just felt like I had absolutely no warning about what was going to happen. I, know, I pride myself on being quite the conversationalist, you know. I love chatting with my girlfriends and I just didn't see this one coming. But one of the...

Alex Merton-McCann (07:11.145)
Other frustrating things I want to just quickly mention about the whole magic of perimenopause and menopause that was meant with sarcasm this time but there probably will be some magic we'll talk about later but was that it really started to shake my confidence and it actually really diluted my zest for life. You know there were so many times over the last three years where I thought yeah look I'm better I'm you know I've put some new strategies in place and I feel like I could get back into the podcast but then something would happen.

and the concoction of hormones that I was able to take for a couple of months that was helping me all of a sudden wasn't. And because I feel like it was a roller coaster the last three years trying to get myself into a stable position. So my ability to cope with the day-to-day was greatly reduced because of this roller coaster and my confidence was shattered and then I'd be back to the couch and back to my binge watching. 

Now of course on top of all this menopause stuff which we all had to go through, there's been a ton of family dramas and I have no doubt there's been a ton of family dramas in your life too. I think that's what happens when we're in midlife. We've got the kids and we've got the parents and we are what's known as the sandwich generation. So we had a lot of family health issues. My husband had a significant health scare with some really stressful heart surgery. We had some unexpected deaths of some beautiful close friends. My kids have been sick on and off and just all those normal things which you add to the general mental load which probably would be easier to manage if we weren't also navigating menopause. 

So three years down the track I am pleased to report that I am doing better but I am still going. I'm still wading through various hormone supplements, some talk therapy and some new wellness strategies which I will be sharing with you over the next little bit. But by no means am I on the other side yet.

But my recent ability to tolerate just a little bit of estrogen has actually just changed my whole world. It has been the biggest game changer for me so far. And in fact, I think I'm going to call it the unofficial sponsor of the Grown Up Girls report because it just means that I can be here with you today. 

Alex Merton-McCann (09:39.791)
So, let me tell you what the plan for the podcast is going forward. I am going to aim to be in your ears and eyes. We're now going to do some videos as well at least every month and if I can tolerate some more estrogen and I will and if I can tolerate some more estrogen I will hopefully ramp it up and be with you every fortnight and what we'll be talking about well there is so much to cover. Of course we'll be doing some books, we'll be doing some beauty, there'll be a lot of health, there'll be a lot of wellness.

We're going to be talking to some really inspiring women who have got a wonderful sense of community and are keen to share their stories. And I'll be introducing you to some of my friends, which I love doing and like I did in the previous version of the podcast. So I am excited. I am really, really grateful to you for all your support. And when I shut down 3 and a bit years ago, I'm sure a lot of you just could not work out what was going on. I didn't know what was going on and I thank you so much for those kind words and if I didn't actually reply to your messages and thank you I meant to. I just want to say thank you now because they were so helpful and so kind because sometimes when you're just feeling low you just need a kind ear. You just need some kind words and so they all just hit the spot.

So thank you for taking the time to tune in today. I am so grateful to you and I can't wait to be back in your ears and eyes in the next few weeks and until that time I'm sending all my love to you. Take care.