BV and Peri/Pre-menopause: It's not for the Faint of Heart

****Please note: this article contains medical/feminine issues and terms. If this stuff makes you queasy, then, feel free to move right along, and I won't be offended!****

I hate BV. I hate Peri/premenopause. They both are not very fun. I have posted about Peri/Pre-menopause before. You can read about it here; I have also written about BV here. Feel free to read those in order to "catch up".

I have had BV (Bacterial Vaginosis) on and off for years (if you don't know what it is, look it up). It is an infection (essentially) in the Vagina, and isI will have it for awhile, then it will go away. I have tried a few different things; antibiotics, which have only worked for a week or so, and then it comes back. I have also tried Gynalac vaginal gel, which helps, but when I am done with the treatment (which is also very expensive), it comes back after a day or two. I had tried drinking cranberry juice, and taking garlic pills, but they really didn't help much. About a couple of months ago, I decided to try taking the acedopholis every day, and although I forget it (I also don't take it with me when I go somewhere overnight), I have generally been taking it every day, and it seems to help with the smell some. I have been pretty consistent at taking the acedopholis lately; 1-2 a day, and i think that is what has kept it from getting bad again. It depends on my cycle; sometimes, it won't bother me for a few weeks, and other times, it is horrible! Right now, it has been not too bad; and i think i attribute it to taking the supplements! The pads also help with the smell, and to keep things dry, and the medication helps to tackle it if/when it gets really bad! I probably should try to omit sugar and probably yeast, but i just am not that disciplined! 

Then, there is the peri/pre menopause! This can be YEARS in the "making!! I am not even making this up! There is the spotting, the early arrival, the late arrival. The starting, the stopping. The heaviness (though, to be fair, I have had this all my life...#thankspcos), the lightness. The length of said period (no matter what the amount)! Then, there is being hot/cold, weird hormones (I will let you interepet that as you will!), weird food cravings, the being hungry when you shouldn't be hungry! THAT CRAP IS REAL! THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!!! This can last until you are in your 60s! I hope it doesn't last that long for me! I don't know if I can handle it!

The moral of the story is...be kind..someone you saw today is probably going through peri/pre-menopause!

My Word for this Year is.......

Well, it now February 3rd, and I posting about my word of the year....:) To be honest, I have never done a "word of the year" before. I don't even know on how or when these types of things got started...I would think because of Social Medea. Anyway....I thought that this year I would get on the fun; call it peer pressure, or wanting to "fit in". I actually wasn't going to join in this year...I  hadn't really felt a stirring, or a voice, or whatever on what my "word" for the year should be....how would I know?

Then a few weeks ago, I was remember that last time that I went to my church before Christmas, and I had a "word" come to me...and so I wondered if that would be "it", so I decided that maybe that would be my word for the year...that maybe that was to be my word.....so, here it is!

The word for the year is...COURAGE! I was singing in church the Sunday before Christmas, and I somehow had/heard the word courage in my heart and mind. I didn't (and still don't) know what it meant....maybe it was courage for this season of life...maybe it is courage to try something new, or to step out in faith. I have no clue. Or, maybe it doesn't mean anything. Maybe it is just simply to have courage in my every day life. I do lack courage in a lot of areas. I need to be bolder, stronger, and braver. I need more courage in my every day and non-every day life. (What is a "non-every day" life, anyway?) I think we all do. Courage is hard, folks! It takes courage to have courage, and to be courageous!

I am not an overly courageous person in most areas of my life. I think I am a courageous person in my every day life...but when it comes to the BIG things? Not so much. It has taken a lot of courage to  do the BIG things in my life; getting my drivers test, going back to school after being sick (that is a post for another day), even my first few years of life were courageous..or, maybe it was a miracle..or maybe a bit of both! There are a lot of areas in my life that I need courage to do....things that I have been stalling on doing for awhile. Things that are scary. Things that are messy. Things that are hard. Things that are new.

I like this quote from the "Cinderella" movie a few years back..."Have courage, and be kind". I love this verse from Joshua 1:6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them."