My Silent Suffering At 40 Was Due To This — It Took Multiple MDs To Figure Out

In my 30s, life was pretty great. I was happy and healthy and owned a successful fitness center franchise with my husband. We followed the "eat right and exercise" paradigm of well-being, and so far it had served me well.

That first year after having my youngest child, it felt like my life was unraveling. Sure, I'd just had a baby and I was "older" than many postpartum mothers, but it was truly so much more than that. 

Fatigue and brain fog took over my days, but at night I was having a terrible time getting good sleep. My husband would say I was haunting the house because I would just walk around when I couldn't sleep. I was also incredibly depressed despite having many forms of support in my life, and I had zero energy. At this point, I was 20 pounds overweight and didn't recognize myself or feel good about the path I was heading down. I wasn't showing up for my family the way I wanted to, but I was also so drained it was hard to focus on what needed to be done. 

I decided I needed to do something, so I started going back to the gym with a trainer and seeing a nutritionist. I thought if I could just look better, I would feel better, as many of us do. We think if we can make things appear fine, they will be fine, but I learned the hard way just how untrue that is. 

Nothing helped my weight, and my depression only sunk me further down. I think women especially get used to living in a depleted state, and that's where I was—a mom of four, doing my best to manage my family and get through the day. Add to that that the things I was doing to try to help myself weren't working, and it was just so demoralizing. I was trying to free myself without any progress. 

I went into my first doctor's appointment feeling hopeful, like this could give me some answers and get me heading in a better direction. Instead of hope, I received a lack of compassion and an extremely outdated point of view in the way of "This is just the woman's body in decline; this is what happens with age." The only recommendation I was given was to start an anxiety medication; that was it. So I went to another doctor.

I found a third doctor, an obstetrician, and he was the first one who ever mentioned hormone testing and bloodwork to me. I finally had a starting point, a sliver of hope to get real answers about my body. It turns out I had zero estrogen and zero testosterone, both of which aligned with my symptoms and were rare for someone of my age. I was experiencing early menopause and had no idea.

Having too few hormones can actually be a risk factor for certain cancers, so as a precaution, my doctor recommended a pelvic ultrasound and mammogram. Everything looked good, so he felt I was an excellent candidate for hormone replacement therapy, and I was game to try. I can now say that was one of the best decisions of my life—within two weeks I was the person I had been missing. My brain fog lifted; I started sleeping; my energy increased; my mood was upbeat. I felt joyful and I was a more patient mother and wife, more like the person I knew I could be.

Now, at 51, I feel vibrant, fit, and dare I say even excited about aging. Hormone replacement therapy truly changed my life after my completely unexpected run-in with early menopause. I was fortunate to have a doctor who was informed and up to date with the research, who did regular testing to stay on top of my dosages. I continue to track my hormones and take hormone replacement therapy to this day.

This experience was so truly eye-opening not only to me but also to my husband that we went on to found the first Serotonin Anti-Aging Center, which has now become a national franchise. We help our clients focus on the four cornerstones of hormone restoration: weight control, immune recovery, and aesthetics, for a well-rounded approach to enjoying longevity.