Are health decisions worth it?
Read first-hand health outcomes from people who tried treatment, surgery, therapy, sobriety, HRT and weight-loss medication. These are personal experiences, not advice.
Was getting sober at 44 after realising wine o'clock had become wine all evening worth it?Sleep. I had forgotten what proper sleep felt like. Six months in I felt younger somehow. That sounds ridiculous but it is absolutely true.Was having a full hysterectomy at 44 to manage endometriosis worth it?The grief surprised me even though I didn't want more children. There's something about the choice being taken away permanently that hits different to choosing it yourself.Was having weight loss surgery after years of trying everything else worth it?How much my relationship with food had to completely change mentally — the surgery was the easy part.Should I get a labiaplasty? A real outcomeHealing sucksWas starting HRT at 55 after spending three years convinced I just had to push through worth it?I was furious. Furious that I'd spent three years suffering when there was help available that I'd been too scared to ask for. Don't do what I did.Was starting HRT when perimenopause hit at 47 worth it?I got my brain back. I didn't even know I'd lost it — I thought I was just becoming less capable. Turns out I was hormonally depleted.Was starting taking Wegovy for weight loss after years of trying everything else worth it?The noise in my head about food just went quiet. I didn't realise how loud it had been until it stopped.Was starting therapy worth it?Starting therapy was so scary but I am so glad I done it! At first the first couple of months I would say I felt that I’d made a mistake because I felt like I was bringing up emotions that I just did not want to deal with so it was quite stressful and emotional but when I stuck it through I now realised it’s not about forgetting it’s about learning how to cope with the emotionsWas starting using a GLP-1 injection for weight loss at 52 worth it?People started treating me differently before I'd even lost a noticeable amount. That made me angry in a way I wasn't prepared for.Was stopping drinking completely at 46 worth it?I thought I'd miss it. I don't miss alcohol at all — I miss who I thought I was when I drank it. Turns out that person wasn't real.Was stopping taking antidepressants after 8 years worth it?The withdrawal was brutal and nobody warned me properly. On the other side I feel more like myself than I have in years — not sure if that's the pills or the absence of them.Is taking Mounjaro worth it? A real experienceThat Mounjaro has an enormous positive impact on inflammation in your body generally. I had chronic back pain in the morning which also made sleep quality poor and after a few weeks on Mounjaro the pain disappeared. I also had less swelling in my ankles and my asthma seemed to disappear. Arguably this may have improved because of my 2.5 stone weight loss over the first 4 months, but this benefit remained for almost 3 months on the dot when much of the inflammation symptoms returned again as I had them pre Mounjaro, and this is how long the hormone L stays in your body afterwards (as I understand it) so I do think for me there was a clear connection. I have started taking Mounjaro again to not only help lose some more weight (and no I didn’t put on more that a few pounds of the weight I lost during the 4 month break I have had since stopping in late November last year a it’s now March), but to get rid of the back pain. I am 2 weeks in and I can already feel the difference and have reduced back pain in the morning already. This seems to have such a positive and unexpected benefit that I would recommend it if your health status allows you to try with medical guidance.Was going through menopause without HRT because I was scared of the risks worth it?I lost four years of my life to symptoms I could have managed. The research I was basing my fear on was outdated. I wish someone had pushed back harder.