Hi. My name is Krissy, I’m 38, I am post-menopausal, and I use cannabis to treat my symptoms.
That’s how I start most of my introductions when meeting people. Kidding. But in all honestly, I have found that I am having more and more conversations with all the people in my life about my experience with menopause and how cannabis can be a natural, non-harmful way to find solutions.
The story of how I came to be an advocate for women’s health – particularly menopause survival – was not by natural course. Most women enter perimenopause or menopause sometime in their 40s or 50s and it starts to mark a natural progression of aging that almost all women experience.
I, however, was forced into this phase of my life at a young age and not by choice. When I was 25, I was diagnosed with a fatal primary bone marrow failure disease called Myelodysplastic Syndrome. The only cure was a bone marrow transplant. 3 years ago, at the age of 35, I was lucky enough to receive that lifesaving transplant. During the process of my transplant, I underwent total body irradiation (TBI). This weeklong treatment zapped my entire body with radiation and thus, fried my ever-so-healthy ovaries to well done. The resulting effect was being put into menopause immediately.
While this was something that my radiologist had told me would happen, there was no conversation about what I was about to experience or what my body would go through after that. Similar to most women, the experiences were sort of glossed over and I had to figure my own way through it. It’s like trying to follow a trail in a heavily wooded forest and knowing there are signs that you are supposed to look for, but you’re not exactly sure what they look like, and no one is out there in the forest to help guide you. That’s where Hello Again products changed the conversation and shined a much-needed light on the path for me. As someone who has enjoyed cannabis for recreational use, it never donned on me that it could be a remedy for menopausal experiences. I’ve since learned that exploration of cannabis usage and health benefits is ever-expanding. Thankfully, I was introduced to Hello Again products at a time where I was so desperate for someone to just have a conversation with that, on the same night I found them on Instagram, I “dm’d” their profile! With Hello Again, I’ve found a community that allowed me to finally breathe a sigh of relief – women who “get it.” Leave it to the ‘gram.
Not only did Hello Again approach menopause in a way that was easy to talk about, understanding, compassionate, and insightful – but most importantly, with a sense of humor! Women have kept this phase of their lives a secret; even though we all go through it! What’s wrong with talking about hot flashes, changing pj’s 3x a night, the emotional roller coaster, and dare I say… vaginal dryness. I mean, come on people! Get over the vag part. Let’s just have a regular, non-hushed, conversation about it. It’s not gross and it’s not a secret…it’s nature.
And to the men who have female partners in this phase of life – boy, will you benefit from anything that benefits the woman/women in your life!
It’s been amazing to not only see the cannabis industry start to focus on the health and wellness of all users, but also focus on natural help for women dealing with all sorts of reproductive issues. There are definitely barriers for newbies to this world of cannabis, but there are even more barriers surrounding the topics in women’s health. I’m so appreciative that a company like Hello Again is trying to break down those barriers for the sole benefit of women and their health. Strengthen the V-Force with therapeutic help from cannabis!
– Krissy Kobata