Women’s stories

“Your website and Program have helped me so much!”

Kendra, now 43, had a partial hysterectomy at the age of 32. A year ago, she says, “My body crashed.” She began to experience daily anxiety attacks and nightly insomnia. Responsible for running a busy chiropractic office, these symptoms were derailing her life — professional and personal. Until she found the Personal Program. She recently e-mailed to tell us, “I wanted to let you know how your website and Program have helped me so much…”

“I am the mother of three college students, and I also have a wonderful husband. I am an office manager for two chiropractors and five women practitioners. So needless to say, I am constantly under pressure. But I have always loved the challenges of life — until menopause.

“On that fateful day last year I began to cry uncontrollably, for no identifiable reason. I soon began waking at 1:00 AM each night, unable to fall back asleep. Then I began experiencing extreme panic attacks that would hit three to four times per day and last for at least an hour. I never knew when I might begin to cry or shake uncontrollably from the tremors. Ultimately, I had to take a leave of absence from work because I just could not think.

“I actually felt like I was losing my mind. Talk about brain fog — I was unable to remember anything. I had a feeling that I might be going insane. So I immediately called my doctor, and his associate was able to see me that day. Well, his prescription was Zoloft. I knew that Zoloft was an antidepressant and that I was not depressed, so I took the prescription home and threw it away. I knew that there was something wrong with me, but aside the certainty that it wasn’t depression, I just did not have a clue.

“So I went back to my doctor the next day and told him what was going on. He was concerned because having been my physician for 15 years, he knew these symptoms were not normal for me. So he ran all the hormone tests, and even thyroid and adrenal function tests. He said that judging by my symptoms, I could be perimenopausal, so he started me on a 0.06–mg Climara patch. Then he tried to offer me Lexapro and Ambien, but I said no — if this is menopause I want to go as natural as I can. And so my research on the internet began.

“To make a long story short, I am now enrolled in your Personal Program. I’ve been taking your Essential Nutrients since last year, and I want you to know that for one month I did try another type of women’s vitamins for menopause, but instantaneously just did not feel ‘well.’ So this month I’ve reordered your vitamins and will not stop taking them again.

“Along with finding WomentoWomen.com on the internet, I found another website called Dearest, and through them I got on customized bioidentical hormones. But I wish I did not live so far away (Kansas), as I have not been able to find a doctor here who understands menopause so well, without trying to put me on antidepressants. If I do need help when I’m ready to wean off these hormones, I plan to make a trip to your clinic in Maine in the future.

“Once again, thank you so much for everything. Your vitamins and the bioidentical HRT have given me my life back. And I know my family thanks you, too.”

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Original Publication Date:08/29/2006
Last Modified: 02/16/2010
Principal Author: Genevieve Morgan