The 30-something’s Guide to Taking Supplements

I’m middle aged (or at least my hormones think I am) and I’d like to tell you about it, so as part of a sponsored post with Collective Bias on behalf of their advertiser, I bring you this post. All opinions and medical issues are mine and mine alone, I assure you. #Caltrate3in1 #CollectiveBias

You know you’re getting old when you’re sitting in an air conditioned room and suddenly you feel like a fire has been lit from the pit of your stomach and the center of your brain and you begin pouring sweat. Five minutes later your hair is matted to your head and you look and smell like you just finished a mid-summer marathon. When you look around, you realize everyone else is going about their business, not sweating, just living, enjoying life.

When did 33 become the new 57?

The truth is, I’ve suffered with crazy hormone issues since I was about 15. I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, and insulin resistance when I was 25. The thing is, women with endometriosis tend to have higher levels of testosterone than normal women, and women who are athletic also have higher testosterone levels than inactive women, so I had a double whammy. I’m basically a man in a woman’s body.

OK, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

My hormone issues got out of control sometime in the past 6 years, but I had no idea that’s what was causing me to be unable to lose weight no matter how hard I tried, have hot flashes and night sweats, emotional mood swings, raging sugar cravings, and a litany of other issues. I went back to my reproductive endocrinologist after a 6 year hiatus and was ready to have him rip all of my innards out. He encouraged me to go back to the low carb/high fat way of eating he had me eating several years ago to see what differences I saw with the nutrition change. He also wanted me to start Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

You can only imagine my surprise. I’m THIRTY THREE! That’s SO young! Way too young for hormones, right? Well, perhaps, but I decided to give it a try, but I was afraid to start for a couple reasons.

A photo posted by Summer Davis – Davis Inspired (@dirtyfloordiaries) on May 14, 2015 at 5:38pm PDT

I would have those sticky patches all over my pelvis for the rest of my life, and just ew.

I knew that being on HRT reduces bone density.

My great grandma had osteoporosis, and I remember how hunched over she was in her late 80s. If I started HRT at 33, when would the same thing happen to me? When would my once pristine posture become something more akin to a gorilla’s posture? There was absolutely no question in my mind what the fix was: More calcium. I knew that I had to find a good source of calcium that would allow me to continue to be active and life a healthy, fit life, for the rest of my life. Caltrate ® Bone & Joint Health has been my trusted source of calcium since starting HRT, and I feel confident that I’ve made the best healthcare product decision in a long time. Not to mention the fact that it’s only one pill a day vs. the four I was taking with the other supplement I had been taking that covers the same things.

This is what night sweats feels like

Now that my hormones are reflecting my actual age, I have so much more energy, my sugar cravings are 100% gone, I rarely have hot flashes or wake up swimming in a bog of my own sweat, my moods are much more stable, and I’m just all-around a nicer person to be around. There are some other positive changes I’m totally not talking about here – sorry. I’m finally able to be active in the way a young mom is supposed to be active. I’m no longer too tired to take the kids to the beach by myself, or to one of the many live music events in our town. I’m no longer in constant pelvic pain which makes it a lot easier to tell the kids I’m happy to take them for a bike ride after dinner.

I hope that as I continue to lose fat, and build strength and an effective metabolism, I’m also able to keep up with my family’s increasing energy and busy schedules.

One thing that hasn’t changed, is my ability to remember to take my meds, so I finally broke down and bought an old-lady pill organizer. I covered part of it in pretty washi tape to make it a little more attractive, and painted the lids of the two days I need to change my HRT patch with a pretty, glittery nail polish that I got on sale at Walgreens.

My daily, doctor prescribed regimen includes: Caltrate ® Bone & Joint Health (which contains both calcium and Vitamin D3 for bone strength), an iron-free multivitamin, a blood sugar medicine, and an Omega supplement. I get most of them from Walgreens, and right now, the Caltrate Bone & Joint is on sale for $14.99 if you use the $5.00 coupon in the in-store instant value coupon book at Walgreens. That’s a whole $5 off! Get thyself to a Walgreens and have confidence that you’re getting the best bone and joint supplement for your money!