Do you have a functioning uterus?

kshama2001 wrote: »

Great thread title! I'm 54 and am so ready to stop having a functioning uterus

After weighing daily for a while I learned I gain weight at ovulation as well as premenstrually - sometimes as much as 6 pounds!

YES. The ovulation bloat is awful. It *may* retreat just in time for the PMS bloat to begin. If I eat any extra salty stuff in between, it probably won’t.

A younger friend said her weight stays in a 3lb window and I almost choked laughing. My weight can fluctuate 3-5 lbs in a day. Thanks, perimenopause.

Another vote for cycle tracking. I’ve been tracking for over 15 years and can see how my cycle has changed (ovulation happens earlier now, shorter total cycle length than in my 20s), and when something is wonky. That led me to get a full hormone panel (multiple blood draws over the course of my cycle, so we could see if hormones were doing their jobs before, at, and at a few points post ovulation). Turns out I have normal to high progesterone but low estrogen, so that explains why ovulation is just as fun as pre menstrual period, bc estrogen naturally dips then, and my already low estrogen bottoms out. It actually made me feel much better to know there was a reason, and to be able to know/plan in advance that at certain times during the month I was going to feel like a cranky, constipated pregnant woman 🙄

Another bonus with tracking is getting a feel for how your performance and cycle are connected. My normal working weight for lifts definitely feels heavier in the last week or so of my cycle, even if I don’t have any other PMS symptoms. And I feel like superwoman bt days 4-10, so I need to be wary of over enthusiasm that has led to some minor injuries in the past 😆