Sharleen Senior tackles ‘The Silent Storm’ of perimenopause

It is the transitional period, a natural biological process before menopause, where a woman might believe she’s actually dying based on what’s happening to her, physically and emotionally.

For women not familiar with the effect before it actually starts, perimenopause could be a nightmare.

Now, one woman’s experience, where she admitted she thought she was dying, has prompted her to write a book based on her experience, to help others who might suddenly come face-to-face with the condition.

Sharlene Senior, a devoted Christian and a 20-year veteran of the tourism industry, recently launched her first book, The Silent Storm, which tells of her journey and how things came to a climax one night in St Ann, culminating with her having to be treated at the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital.

Senior spoke with The Gleaner about her experience.

“The book is called The Silent Storm, and I wrote it because I was going through battles of perimenopause,” she began.

“There was a period in my life, starting about a year and a half ago, where my body was not my own. It started with just a lot of symptoms, simple symptoms, simple issues that escalated to more – my hormones became unbalanced; I started having pains in different areas, including my back; then I started having heart palpitations; then I started having menstrual issues. It was just a series of many things.”

Her visit to the doctor resulted in her doing a series of tests, which failed to properly diagnose the problem.

“I’ve literally done every test under the sun and I did not know what was happening, and that’s one of the main reasons why I wrote the book,” she explained.

BODY ON FIRE

Things culminated one night when she was driving home from work.

“The main period was, one night I was driving from work about eight o’clock and I had a serious case of hot flashes and cold flashes, internally. I felt like my body was on fire, literally on fire, and then I felt the cold. I later found out that I was having a panic attack. It felt like I was dying.”

She actually phoned her husband to tell him she was “dying”. He told her to stop the vehicle. But on the lonely stretch of Llandovery, she thought it best to press on. They remained on the phone, praying.

She said she felt like she was taking her last breath.

“No, you’re going to be fine,” he said.

“You don’t understand, I feel like I’m going to black out,” she responded.

He told her again to stop the car. By this time she had reached Priory.

“And I’m going to be very honest with you, when I reached Priory I had no recollection of what happened [next]. I felt like I actually blacked out. When I opened my eyes I was at the hospital. I had no memory of driving from Priory, where the pudding man is, to the hospital. I had no recollection. All I can say is, Jesus took the wheel. When I opened my eyes I was at the hospital.”

Her husband and mom arrived at the hospital shortly after.

“Long and short of it, after doing several tests, the doctor said I was having a serious case of perimenopause,” Senior explained. She eventually reached home around five the next morning.

Later on, one of her church sisters told her she had a somewhat similar experience.

Ultimately, it was her husband who suggested she wrote a book, knowing her penchant for writing.

“And one of the reasons I decided to write a book is because women need to know what’s happening because, had I known what was happening, I would have been able to deal with the situation,” Senior explained.

“I have 19 chapters about my experience, and each chapter has a devotional guide on it because it was the grace of God. He met me in my storm and he pulled me through, so I want to just make women aware that you are not alone.”

The Silent Storm is available on Amazon and Stan Store in e-copy, paperback, and hard cover.

editorial@gleanerjm.com