AF Is Baaack!

**Warning: Possible TMI alert – blood and adult content to follow** 😛

It may have been the law of attraction. It may have been the Universe’s idea of a good joke. It may have been finally returning to regular yoga classes. It may have been a subconscious release.

Whatever it was/is, my monthly visitor — long dubbed Aunt Flo (AF) by me and BFF — has made an unexpected, and unwanted, return after teasing me with a ten-month hiatus.

Strangely, last month I noticed a spot of blood after a session of “sexy time” with the hubs, but just put it down to more than just the tip kind of after-effect. Then, I somehow came across a post or article earlier this month about how someone was in a similar situation – nearly a year in with no visits – when they went for a check-up and found that the cause of the stop was from PCOS. Upon treating the PCOS, her AF returned.

With a little help from Google, this could be me minus the obesity part as I would never call myself at any point in the last year or two as obese – slightly above average in body weight, but always manageable. However, a challenge with processing insulin (though not diabetic, but tingling in my limbs from too much sugar in alcohol or desserts is probably some kind of undiagnosed sign, right?), a noticeable increase in skin tags the last year or so, and having fibroids for years could definitely be contributing factors or reasons to believe I possibly fit this bill. So, having restarted regular yoga classes mid-September and adjusting my eating to include more fiber along with a regular intermittent fasting schedule, I imagine that AF deemed my body worthy for her return.

Although I am not particularly loving the leaky faucet that she has brought with her visit, there are some positives as I reflect on the bliss that her absence brought.

First, I used to always use her visits as a justifiable reason to take a day or two off each month to relax without any niggling voices in the back of my head trying to make me feel as if I should be doing more than lounging on the sofa watching my favorite CBS/Paramount+ crime series. While I have never been the type to beg off doing physical activity like sports, yoga, etc. due to AF, I have often been the type in my adult years to take “sick days” as mental health days to escape the daily routines and social expectations.

Lately, I have been noticing the challenge of losing weight that wasn’t there in my younger years. Although I am by no means a gym junkie or exercise fanatic, I do try to do targeted movement most days. This might mean a short walk through the fields with the pups. Or, a body weight training session. Most mornings, I was doing yoga in our bedroom — until I started taking regular classes again. Now and then, I might use an app to do a series of Zumba routines or cardio workouts. However, on those days when I didn’t do any targeted movement, I would feel as if I had let myself down. With the return of AF, that feeling is gone! 😉

Then, there is food. I love food. I love to eat. Sadly, my days of eating an entire McD’s meal just before cleaning my dinner plate are pretty much over. My metabolism is still pretty good, but it isn’t that good anymore. So, when we don’t have guests we feel need feeding two or three meals a day, I eat a lot less and better. Intermittent fasting has become one of those buzz words and new diet trend, but it does work. Although it has a “fancy” term attached to it, basically not eating after 6pm or before 10am is not that much of a challenge, especially when eight of those 16 hours is during sleep. Doing this the past couple of weeks has brought my weight down slowly, but I believe healthily as it seems more likely to stay off this way.

So, with all of this combined, it does make sense that AF is back. I was not particularly excited about the idea of facing decisions around HRT or other forms of treatment that come with menopause. I had thought I had possibly got away without many negative side effects related to the transition, but alas – that still remains to be seen.

In any case, it could be worse to have my AF back. I’m not sure if she’s going to continue her regular visits or just drop in to turn on the faucet, then leave it to build back up again for another unknown period, but for now I’m going to enjoy a day or two of taking things a bit slower and not hearing any niggling voices at all.

Ah, the silence is beautiful. Now, back to my couch! 🤪

~T 🔥🐉♋️