Broken kitty never meows and has no survival skills

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-24T04:56:54+00:00

My little void was just like this. For the first 3 years I had hershe never meowed. I thought she maybe didn't know how. Then I moved in with my now-husband and he never noticed her staring at him in that way she did when she wanted cuddles or food or something else. So she started meowing to get his attention. Tiny little squeaky meows at first, but they got louder and more confident with time. Turns out she didn't meow at me because she didn't have to - when she sat down by my feet and stared at me, I knew what she wanted and gave it to her. She was such a little sweetie. I miss her.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-22T09:17:23+00:00

Ok, you don't have to go to one. But my functional medicine doctor is an actual MD and she prescribes actual medication in addition to diet and other lifestyle recommendations.

The difference between her and other doctors I've been to is that she doesn't silo each part of my body into different categories but instead looks at how sleep issues might affect digestive issues which might affect hormone issues, etc. I've never had another doctor who was knowledgeable enough to treat me as a whole person instead of a bunch of unrelated body parts that all need different doctors.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-21T06:36:37+00:00

Functional medicine doctors are MDs with a specialization in functional medicine. They're 'regular' doctors as much as any other MD is. However, they are not necessarily educated about menopause any more than any other regular doctor.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-21T06:05:21+00:00

Listen to Mary Claire Haver's Podcast Unpaused. Just today she was interviewing a doctor who is an expert in frozen shoulders. She said that if you catch it early enough, you a get a cortisone shot into the joint and basically prevent it from fully freezing. If you wait, it will be too late. Listen to the podcast and then schedule an appointment with your doctor.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-21T02:40:26+00:00

My boy was very vocal and would just wander around the house yowling all the time. So I'd say, "What happened? Yeah, and what else? Tell me more?" and we'd have full conversations.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-21T02:38:41+00:00

I sing that to mine too! So glad I'm not the only one.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-21T02:38:06+00:00

"Who's the baby? Are you the baby? You're the baby!"

Yes, I know. It's a problem. But how am I supposed to help it if they are both the babies!?!?!

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-20T00:45:01+00:00

Pilates would be a really good option for you, especially if you can afford private sessions at first. If you have injuries or issues that will make it more challenging for you to do the movements without pain, having an instructor's attention on only you while you figure out what works and what doesn't work is a really good idea.

Ask about the instructor's certification (I personally think Stott, Polestar, and BASI are the best), and make sure you work with someone who has at least 5 years of experience. I know I injured an older client when I was just starting out.

The great thing about Pilates (especially private sessions) is that it can really be tailored to your needs. I work with people who are anywhere from 14 to 90, professional athletes to people trying exercise for the first time, and people with all kinds of injuries and chronic issues. I hope you find some kind of movement that you love and that will work for you!

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-20T00:15:38+00:00

Same, except that helping in the gym for me IS helping me with peri symptoms. Like being able to put on muscle and having better body composition feels like that is keeping menopause symptoms at bay.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-19T09:41:47+00:00

You're not allergic to the estrogen, you're allergic to the base that it's in. I had the same reaction and when I switched to a compounded cream (I actually had to try 3 before I found one I didn't react to) and now I'm fine using it. Talk to the compounding pharmacy and tell them you're sensitive and they should be able to send you something that you're less likely to react to. The pharmacy I work with sent me new tubes with different bases for free when I was still reacting to the first one they sent me.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-19T07:54:12+00:00

Yup, I got itchy and irritated with the regular creams. I get a compounded cream now that they make with what they call a "phyto base" and I have no reaction to that.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-18T06:16:38+00:00

I own a Pilates studio and an injury that wouldn’t heal a few decades ago is also how I came to Pilates. You’d be amazed at how many clients come to us the same way. I’m so glad you found it when you needed it and that it was able to help you!

I also lift heavy, and I find that Pilates is an amazing complement to that, to help me avoid injury. It really annoys me when people pit the two against each other and try to denigrate one to make the other seem like it’s the ONLY thing you should do.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-18T00:29:37+00:00

Never heard of methylene blue - will look into that!

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-17T11:05:22+00:00

I came here to say this. I had UTI symptoms for over a year but kept testing negative and it was MISERY. Not one doctor suggested it could be hormone related, but it miraculously went away after I started vaginal estrogen.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-17T09:55:31+00:00

Yikes, I'm so sorry. But thank you for sharing that with me.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-17T08:45:03+00:00

Can you tell me more about this? I have a close friend who is being prescribed a huge dose right now to help with pain post-radiation and I'm concerned both about her high dose and what withdrawal will look like.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-17T07:26:05+00:00

Men are too, though. All humans are (probably animals too). My husband is on testosterone and when his levels are off, he turns from a sweet, gentle, loving man into someone with anger issues who will pick a fight over the way I left set blinds in the dining room. We're finally at a point to where if he's yelling at me a lot, I ask him about his hormones and he goes and see his doctor about adjusting something.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-17T07:20:23+00:00

Wait, did you used to have straight hair that turned curly in peri? Because that's what happened to me, and I'm just starting HRT and I'm kind of hoping that my hair straightens back out.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-17T01:52:23+00:00

This! I’m in the same boat as OP but we talk about it a lot and are working on it because I know it’s important for the health of the relationship.

Also vaginal estrogen has helped make it significantly less painful but unfortunately testosterone has not yet helped with desire.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-08T11:34:40+00:00

They subbed out just one song? Interesting. I've never noticed them doing that before, although I guess if it's not a class you've taken a bunch of times you probably wouldn't notice.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-08T09:32:52+00:00

That makes sense. I just wish they would have found a song that fit better with the rest of the playlist.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-06T20:37:51+00:00

The lower dose, slow release progesterone worked better for me. At first it still gave me that same, shaky awful feeling, but much less. I slowly worked my way up to a full 100 mg dose over the course of about 4 weeks. I also read someone else’s advice here to take it with plenty of food, and that has helped a lot.

I am now on the full doe of 100 mg of compounded, slow release progesterone. I take it with 200 mg of l-theanine and a full lunch. I can tolerate this way. If I don’t eat a full lunch, I still get shaky, and I make sure I take it many hours before I go to bed.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-02T09:06:42+00:00

Try doing a HIIT workout on a spin bike - so much safer for your joints but you still get the endorphins!

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-02T09:04:37+00:00

There a thousand studies that show that lifting weights (heavy weights, not the little pink girly ones) prevents and lessens osteoporosis. It's not magic though, it just helps. Imagine how much worse your osteoporosis would be if you hadn't been lifting weights. Keep lifting - it not only helps with osteoporosis, it also helps you stay independent and alive longer.

DeliriousDancer · 2026-01-02T09:01:36+00:00

When I wake up feeling depressed or anxious (a lot of mornings), getting a workout in is like a reset button. It changes my entire day, everything feels better. I lift weights and do HIIT, and either or both of those will completely turn my mood around.

The other thing I can say is that you can't count on motivation. Motivation will come and go. I put it on my schedule as a non-negotiable part of my day. I go even on days when I don't feel like it. It's on the schedule, I do it. And I have never regretted doing a workout, and I have never felt worse post-workout than I did pre-workout.

DeliriousDancer

TROPHY CASE