Hormone Hell is Over!!!
As a wife, mom of two kids and a busy hairstylist for 20 years, I have never been one to stay still for very long. I use to burn the candle at both ends as they say and never seemed to miss a beat. However, by the time I celebrated my 41st birthday, I was feeling much older than 41, very tired on a daily basis no matter how much sleep I got, 25 pounds overweight and moving down a slippery slope of the hormone nightmare called “Peri-menopause.” Crying spells, sleepless nights, low energy and overall deteriation in my health began to be a constant uninvited problem. Seeing my need for help, a friend introduced me to the Shaklee Products. I began to feel better literally within the first week of taking just the basic nutritional supplements. I will confess, I was not very good at taking them consistently. I learned how very important daily consistency is a little later. I was also quite stubborn and skeptical that Shaklee’s hormone support program could really help me, so to address the hormonal issues I was having, I chose to go the traditional route that so many women I knew were going…that of Bio Identical Hormone Therapy. This began three years of continual disappointment and frustration, as I never did reach that place of simply feeling good again and feeling like “myself”. My doctor continued to “tweak” my prescription, but no matter what changes that were made to my dosages, I still was struggling with unwanted issues.
From acne break outs, to more weight gain, to night sweats and severe moodiness, I was so OVER IT!!!! I had more acne breakouts at 41 than I ever had at 14! I knew enough to know that “this” was not “it”…the way I was feeling could not possibly be what I had to look forward to the rest of my life! Maybe for some women this approach has worked well, but for me it wasn’t working. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when I had a bad mammogram report that resulted in a lumpectomy being performed. I had issues that were of concern in both breasts. Thank God, I did not have breast cancer, but when the attending physician asked me if I planned to continue hormone therapy, I asked him why was he asking? He simply replied, “If you are going to continue on hormone therapy, I want to start seeing you for regular mammograms every six months, instead of once a year.” That told me all I needed to know. I would not continue pumping estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone into my body at the risk of breast cancer. Especially since it never really delivered the kind of help I was looking for anyway. Around this same time, I learned that my uterus was full of fibroid turmors, with cysts on my ovaries. I was having my cycle for at least 10-12 days out of the month. This is when I decided to take a look at what Shaklee had to offer by way of hormone support.
I opted for a complete hysterectomy in October 2010. Before this surgery, I felt I needed all the strength and health i could muster, so i got seriously consistent about my daily supplements (leaving them out on the bathroom counter so I would not forget it). I also began implementing Shaklee’s recommendations for hormone support. I added in their GLA, Menopause Balance, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B Complex and daily Protein. At first, I felt like a pill poppin’ crazy woman! I had a hard time at first, but was determined to give it my best shot. I was so tired of feeling bad and desperately wanted to feel good again. So I stuck with it as I headed into the hysterectomy. I had an easy robotic full hysterectomy and did great. After a short time of weaning off the Bio Identical Hormones while also adding in the Shaklee Hormone Support System, I began to actually feel soooo much better – in just a few weeks really. Mood swings slowed down then stopped, no more crazy crying spells, sleeping improved, hot flashes subsided…woohoo!!!! I was feeling like me again! I also felt like exercising again, and the weight began to come off.
It still amazes me that I have no ovaries, therefore no ability to produce female hormones any longer – yet I feel so good. I have researched and learned a lot about how our bodies work hormonally. Shaklee’s products have combined with my adrenal glands to help me feel like “me” again. Truly…it is amazing and wonderful and I love to share my story with other people that could benefit in the same way! Shaklee has given me my life back and I am forever grateful. These products will be with me and my family forever!
— Laura, TN