Perimenopause Threads
Stitching together a menopause message
After a few weeks writing about some heavy perimenopause topics, I wanted to take a peri-pause and share something a bit lighter this week. You’ll appreciate the break after you see what I have in store in the coming weeks. I’ve been working behind the scenes on some heavily researched articles that showcase little-known information about menopause.
So this week, let’s discuss social media and how I’m using it as a megaphone to share information about perimenopause in a way that makes it make sense.
My social media home is Threads, Instagram’s short-content word-based platform. I post several times a week and enjoy the conversations I have with people there about perimenopause. I reply to every comment left on one of my posts.
The one thing that I find challenging about Threads is not having the space to write whatever I want to. I’m limited to 500 characters, which is not much for someone like me who loves TMI (and word count!). It also forces me to skip grammar sometimes - leave out a comma here or there to make everything fit. But I like the creative challenge, and I’m not Grammar Girl anyway.
In today’s article, I wanted to share the more popular threads I’ve posted that seemed to click with people. Since I have the freedom of space here, I’ll give some context to what I posted.
If you miss me Friday - Wednesday when I’m not sending out an email (except to my paid subscribers), please visit me on Threads for more engaging perimenopause information and education (and a bit more into my current personal life). Your Instagram account login is the same for Threads, so no additional account is needed. In a few weeks, Threads is celebrating its 2nd anniversary, and I’m sure, just like last year, they have some exciting celebratory activities for “Threaders.”
Writing my profile for Threads took me 4-eva to get it to a place I could live with. Reducing what I do to a few short sentences was next to impossible. It forced me to think big about what my core values were.
I started The Periprofessional because I didn’t like how perimenopause and menopause information was being presented online. It was either too medical, too newsy, or just for entertainment. There wasn’t anything in between that women could relate to, but still learn all about perimenopause and how it shows up in our lives outside of hot flashes. That’s why it’s important to me that I mention in my profile that I keep it real and I tell it like it is… facts. My goal is to blend relatability with education.
“My endurance sport is perimenopause.”
This was the title of the second article I wrote. I re-read it from time to time as it still applies. Perimenopause got hot and heavy for me in 2020 and 2021, but looking back now, I can see signs that it started around 2017 or 2018. That’s about 8 years in perimenopause. That’s a long time. I feel like it’s been forever.
And forget bra burning. Once I reach menopause, I’m burning all of my underwear. They are all period underwear now.
“Shorter menstrual cycles are one of the first signs that perimenopause has started. You don’t have to skip a period to be in perimenopause. With shorter cycles, you may see an increase in PMS symptoms intensity. You’ll know it when you see it. PMS supercharged.”
This one seemed to surprise people on Threads, and I got a lot of “Ahhhh, so that’s what’s happening.” I also once associated the start of menopause with skipped periods as the first sign because that’s what most information told us at the time, even doctors used it to determine if we were reaching menopause. It’s not wrong to use it, but it’s not the only first sign.
FYI, a true skipped period is greater than 60 days. If you start skipping periods for at least this length of time and you’re over 40, there’s a good chance you could be in perimenopause.
“I’m not mad THAT I’m going through perimenopause, I’m mad at HOW I’m going through it.”
I was fed up the day I wrote this. So many things had collided that day. It seemed to resonate with a lot of women who felt the same way. Commenters expressed their frustration with the challenges of perimenopause itself, but also left comments about their experiences of feeling ignored by their medical providers and difficulties accessing medical care.
“Some things that can make you feel that yucky perimenopause anxious feeling ‘for no reason.’
Waiting too long to eat
Being tired (there are 6 kinds of tired)
Too much caffeine
Overexercising
Being sick
Sudden hormone spikes and drops
Later I’ll share what works for me.”
Anxiety doesn’t just come from the thoughts we think; it also comes from our bodies interpreting a threat. When our hormones were cycling in their predictable pattern, we were able to breeze through better, even when doing activities that our bodies think are stressful, like waiting too long to eat or going all night without sleeping. But with this new unpredictable pattern of hormone release, our bodies can become less resilient to stress, and feeling anxious may appear more easily.
I forget the exact words I told everyone later about what works for me, but basically, I treat my body as if it were a separate entity that requires support beyond what my rational brain thinks it needs. That means I pay attention when anxiety shows up, I recognize it for being what it is and not telling myself false stories like jumping to conclusions, and listen gently to see if there is something that my body needs that I’m not giving it. Maybe I’ve been on the computer too long and haven’t moved my body, maybe I pushed too hard at the gym and my energy is depleted, or maybe I just didn’t get a good night’s sleep and I need to lie down for 15 minutes. This is how we build trust with our body, by listening to it. It may sound woo-woo, but I don’t know of any better alternative.
“With these perimenopause body changes my closet is looking like TJ Maxx. I need to sort by size not item.”
I was looking at my closet one day and realized that I now have at least 4 different sizes of clothes in there. Seeing my “skinny” clothes makes me sad, but they also give me joy that I was able to accomplish my fitness goals, starting when I was 45, which ultimately led to smaller clothes. I can’t push myself like I pushed myself back then, but maybe once I get past perimenopause, my weight will settle back down. I’m working on an article about weight gain in perimenopause, but that won’t be ready for a while. You can bet I have an interesting perspective on it.
Funny enough, after I had this thought, my friend,
, and I were chatting that day and she brought it up in conversation.
“Popping in to wish everybody happy f’ing Friday! Perimenopause doesn’t know what day it is, but tell it to go take a hike.”
I’m SO 1900s that I don’t often think to share photos online. I’m all about the words. But I was out walking around my neighborhood and thought the trees made me look young 🤣.
I never swore until reaching perimenopause. But, for some reason, now it just feels right. I had a joke I posted on Instagram … “Asking for a friend, how does someone know when they’ve reached perimenopause?” My answer was “Have they started swearing yet?”
📢 I take requests! If you have suggestions for perimenopause topics you'd like me to cover here or on social media, please post them in the comments below. I’m open to ideas!
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Be well, stay cool…
Shelby Tutty, MHA
Certified Perimenopause Educator
Founder of The Periprofessional, LLC
As someone who always had long cycles, shorter cycles were such a surprise to me! I’m so grateful for online resources like this that helped me realize that is a sign of peri, not me going crazy.