I was always into fitness and nutrition, but I first started to really focus on my health after a traumatic divorce left my health shattered. I became really unwell with debilitating migraines and painful bloating. I kept my head down to keep running my nursery business and looking after my kids, but I was barely surviving. Medication was making me feel worse and something had to change.
After finding out I was intolerant to gluten and dairy, I concentrated on creating a healthy, balanced meal plan. I began experimenting with food to take care of my allergies and I finally recovered. As I developed the recipes for myself, I began to develop my new business, Meera’s Made From Scratch. Now I offer exercise classes, workshops, and a range of herbal teas, fermented foods, broth, snacks, sauces, sweet treats, soups, and activated nuts and seeds.
My menopause journey began with hair loss
At around age 40, I noticed my hair was drastically thinning. When I went to my hairdresser, they confirmed I was losing my hair and I went to a trichologist.
Fast forward a couple of years later and I burst into tears in the yoga studio after confessing that I was in so much pain that I struggled to get out of bed, couldn’t touch my toes, and my joints ached so much. I was sweating all the time, couldn’t sleep as I was changing sheets each night, and I kept forgetting things.
Close encounters of the third kind
My yoga teacher said: “Do you feel like aliens have taken over your body?” It was just like that. I didn’t recognize who I was anymore and it was really frightening. I felt like I was watching someone else. After all, I had been a runner who did half marathons and ate well. I couldn’t work out what was wrong with me. That’s when my yoga teacher said I could be going through menopause.
I was confused as I still had my periods and I thought they had to stop before you got symptoms – I later found out that many people experience symptoms years before their periods come to an end. I spoke to my healthcare provider and was given antidepressants, but I didn’t take them. I felt there was something else that could help. I wanted to try more natural ways first.
It felt so lonely at the time going through all this. I talked to my mum about menopause and she said she didn’t have symptoms: “I just woke up one morning and it was all gone.” She told me I thought about things too much and I got the feeling that I was just meant to get on with it. My social circle was talking about menopause but they were older than me and I was the only South Asian woman. When I raised what I was experiencing, they felt 42 was too young for menopause. But while menopause most commonly happens between the ages of 45 and 55, symptoms can start several years before this during the menopause stage called perimenopause.
Back to basics
I had remarried by then and my husband was a wonderful friend and great to talk to. He was a pharmacist and helped me explore what to try. I am lucky.
My yoga teacher said I should have a look at my diet and see which foods might help. I went deep into research and learned about perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.
I began to understand that my immune and digestive systems weren’t working as well as they once did. I stripped my diet back to basics and experimented to see what improved my symptoms.
I don’t know how I found the strength to do it, but I did, as there was no other help out there. I used my Indian herbs to try new things and made a turmeric mixture to help my joint pain and inflammation. I reduced how much sugar I ate and changed how I exercised.
I came to realize that I should stop running as my hip and knees were hurting and I was losing weight. I felt I was running just to keep up with everyone. Instead, I concentrated on meditation, yoga, and strength training to look after my bone health and muscle mass. I have a great personal trainer who worked with me to figure things out. Now I am feeling better and stronger and ready to keep on growing my new business!
Coming soon…
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