By AMY SHANKLAND
Sandwiched
Just when I thought I had encountered everything perimenopause could throw at me, it decided to surprise me once again this year. As I’ve mentioned before, many of us in the sandwich generation are middle-aged women, which means we’re either approaching menopause or actually in it.
I’ve also stated that there is a tremendous lack of information when it comes to this stage of life. One thing no one warned me about was more frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs.) As menopause approaches, women are more prone to getting them thanks to lower estrogen levels.
If you’ve never had one, consider yourself lucky. I had them frequently in my 20s but they thankfully stopped – until 18 months ago. Since then I’ve had three, with the latest sending me into the ER at midnight last week.
UTIs come on suddenly and are incredibly painful. You not only feel like you have to go to the bathroom constantly, but it burns when you do so. I hadn’t felt pain like I did last week since I gave birth to my sons.
As you can imagine, they can constantly disrupt your life. I’m fortunate to work from home, so I was able to do some things on my laptop while recovering on our couch the next day. I could not have gone into a regular office. In addition to the pain and urgency, UTIs can cause fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion in elderly individuals, and more.
If they’re not treated quickly, they can escalate into worse problems like kidney damage and sepsis.
I’ve been doing all the right things to prevent them for years and even added more to my arsenal lately by incorporating probiotics to my diet. I drink plenty of water. I consider myself the poster child for UTI prevention, yet I still battled another one.
I’m seeing my primary care physician in September, the wonderful Dr. H., and intend to discuss this situation with her. If you suffer from UTIs, I would encourage you to speak to a medical professional.
In the meantime, I decided to do some research to see what supplements might help. I came across Uqora and was impressed by what I saw. Their CEO founded the company after battling eight UTIs in 2014. That told me volumes.
I’m trying their Target product, which is a reasonably-priced drink you consume every three days to help keep your bladder healthy. While I haven’t received it yet, I’m optimistic that it will help me thwart yet another evil perimenopause symptom.
Ladies, we have to keep talking about this and spreading good information. It’s important to be proactive with our health. If we’re not healthy, it’s difficult to take care of our own family and elderly relatives. I’ll continue to do all I can to be in tip-top shape. I’ll keep you all posted on my UTI prevention discoveries.