I’m a musician and someone going through menopause. The symptoms of this stage of life can be detrimental to both quality of life and work performance, making it difficult to stay atop of things. To counter that and get back a feeling of normality, I’ve been informing myself extensively, trying different ways to manage my circumstances, and I’m happy to say that I’ve been successful!
In particular, this year I’ve got excellent results in two areas: quality of sleep, about which I already wrote an article with some handy tips to achieve a good night of rest, and prevention of diabetes.
To be clear, diabetes isn’t a symptom of menopause. Rather, the hormonal changes associated with menopause can make you gain weight and/or increase blood pressure, both of which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Depending on your genetics and lifestyle, you’re more or less likely to develop the condition. In my case, my family has a history of diabetes. While I hoped I didn’t have to experience it myself, I got diagnosed as pre-diabetic in December 2023.
Upon receiving the news, I decided that I had to do something serious about it. I tried different things that didn’t work out, but then I joined a Zoom call for a certain product that helps with post-menopausal symptoms, and there I met Pamela, a game changer.
Pamela talked about her business, Smarter Change, and what she offers to people going through any stage of menopause. I thought that what she said made a great amount of sense. Up until that point, I’d been taking this or that supplement, trying to improve my exercise levels without being sure how, wondering what I should or should not eat, and overall feeling a bit lost in a sea of information. Pamela seemed able to organise everything together in a neat, manageable package.
After the call was over, I went to read her blog and joined her mailing list in order to assess whether she could be of help. I learned that she offered a 12 weeks long programme which, albeit pricey, looked like what I was looking for. Pamela’s personal experience and perspective resonated with me enough that I decided to take the step and sign up.
The programme goes in extreme detail. I even had to wear a monitor, which is a whole story on itself! With it, I could see what was happening in my body and realise that drastic changes had to be made. Pamela was there to guide me every step of the way, so I could do what I had to do and improve my quality of life.
Before the programme and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t do something as simple as laying my head on the pillow and quickly falling asleep. I was restless, sleeping for barely an hour or two before something happened that made me resurface without understanding why. Intermittent night sleep led to fatigue and the need to nap during the day, which even for a gigging musician like me, who has a lot of control over their schedule, was inconvenient and unsatisfactory. Now, though? I fall asleep within seconds of getting in bed and stay like that the whole night through. I don’t need to nap during the day any longer!
In regard to the pre-diabetes diagnosis, I first talked with someone who controls their symptoms with exercise. They were able to give me some good tips, but although I applied them, there was only so much they could achieve, and I struggled to remain consistent. By contrast, Pamela was able to give me detailed guidance and help me apply her advice. I didn’t only improve my exercise habits, but also managed to work out exactly which foods trigger an increase of insulin in my body, and which have more sugar than I particularly should consume. This knowledge is quite empowering! My blood test in May showed an important reduction on the diabetes marker, and by June, I was out of the pre-diabetic range altogether. I can begin to explain how happy that makes me!
While the programme has finished already, Pamela is going to run more, and she offers other services that might interest you or someone close to you. I wholeheartedly recommend her and her work. If you’re interested, you can book a consultation via video call with Pamela following this link.
My menopausal symptoms aren’t completely gone, but I know that, over time, I’ll be able to tackle them and find more ease and comfort in my daily life as a menopausal musician. In the meantime, I want to share with you more about what I experienced, what I changed, and how it helped me feel better about myself. For this reason, over the next few weeks, I’ll post blog entries about four topics that we explored extensively during Pamela’s programme:
Please, look forward to them!
