Is it Covid?

Who among us has not wondered, “wait – do I have Covid,” when in fact experiencing unknown-to-us symptoms of perim/menopause? They’re so similar, and yet, so different.

In March, 2020, when the world shut down, all we knew about Covid was that it presented like pneumonia or the flu, and likely led to hospitalization, respirators, or (gulp) death? Not how we got it, how to prevent it, or what treatments may help.

As time went on, the disease morphed, our understanding of it deepened, and the list of symptoms went from “fever, trouble breathing,” to “fever, cough, chills, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, runny nose or congestion, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea….[and] this list does not include all possible symptoms,” per the CDC.

Peri/menopause works the same way. Except we know how we got this.

In the beginning, there are three symptoms: hot flashes, ‘potential mood swings,’ and fading periods. Then it hits us, and the symptom list grows so, so much longer than we could ever have imagined, so much deeper than we’d ever want. Just like Covid, none of us seems to have the exact same case, and, despite the fact that, unlike Covid, we’ve been struggling with this for centuries, no one seems totally sure what treatment is the golden ticket. More concerning: they don’t seem that concerned.

When I got Covid, I let the symptoms wash over me. I knew I couldn’t fight it, so I watched for any signs that indicated ‘go to hospital. Go directly to hospital. Do not pass go, do not collect $200,’ and slept my way through it.

Immediately after recovering, I noticed a brewing, robust discussion with – well, everyone – about what symptoms we had, at what stage of the illness, how long they lasted and what helped. It was like a giant Covid study session, a little late in the game.

How nice it would be to have Cliff Notes like these for peri/menopause symptoms, preferably before they hit. Think how many Covid tests I could have saved if I had known about brain fog, head rushes, or anxiety (manifesting as breathing challenges)!

Or fatigue. That deep, aching fatigue that is so prominent in Covid, where people are calling to check on you and you can’t muster the energy to reach for the phone, let alone hold a conversation. I’ve taken three Covid tests because of this one symptom, only to be dismayed to learn it is, in fact, just peri/menopause*. This fatigue is immersive, all-consuming. Working, parenting, being a good adult to yourself, all seem completely impossible, and, in my experience, lead straight into this other fun symptom: depression.

But wait! There’s more!

Eyes and/or ears itchy? Eyes changing focus? Skin crawling? Period hiding for months and then returning, or just showing up with an uncharacteristic vengeance? Waking up from a deep sleep drenched in sweat? Or maybe just not sleeping? Don’t worry – it’s normal.

Did your waist get up and leave you? Did you suddenly start wondering who had awful gas all the time and realize it was you? Did you eat a burger three weeks ago and somehow it seems to still be in your stomach? Good times.

Worried you are one of those rare but existing humans for whom either getting Covid or just taking the vaccine makes their hair fall out? Don’t be; you’re just perimenopausal! Point of differentiation may or may not be your scalp itching while your hair thins. Probably not lice, just perimenopause.

Are you flashing back to your teenage years, because suddenly you break out for no reason, or your boobs got really big, or much smaller, in no relation to weight gain or loss, or mood, or health condition? Are your joints hurting like they did when you had ‘growing pains? Bad news: you’re more likely to be shrinking an inch than growing taller.

We will get to all of these in good time, in this blog and likely, in life.  We won’t all get there at the same time, because like grief, peri/menopause seems to come and go in irregular cycles, just like our periods. It’s an apt simile, since there is also, symptoms aside or because of them, some grief processing that needs to be done with these signs that we are not at the beginning of things, but friends, a reminder: we are also not at the end. We may, in fact, be in our prime.

I would love to hear about any symptoms – love ‘em or hate ‘em – that you may be having that I missed. I promise for every one you add, there are eight – or eighty – people sharing your plight.

*Footnote: Obviously, it’s not a bad idea to take a Covid test if you may have been exposed and/or are experiencing symptoms. Maybe don’t take ten, waiting for a definitive answer, but one [or three] seems normal.