HGTV star Alison Victoria bravely opened up about her struggles with menopause. The “Windy City Rehab” alum sat down for an appearance on a recent episode of the “Wife of the Party” podcast where she dished on her experience.
Alison Victoria Tells All About Menopause
The longtime HGTV favorite wants women to advocate for themselves when it comes to menopause treatments.
“I’ve literally been going through it. I am so annoyed with it. It started with the hot flash. I was getting two hot flashes an hour,” she told host LeeAnn Kreischer during the Thursday, April 23, episode. “And my doctor’s like, ‘Well, that’s not normal.’ I’m like, “Don’t tell me that.’ Or ‘You’re too young.’ Don’t tell me that. I’m not too young to go through it.”
She continued, “Like, it’s happening. And then I bottomed out. Like, my hormones went to zero. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t like anything. I didn’t wake up happy. I didn’t know what was happening. All that [ expletive] that they say happens, happened.”
The “Sin City Rehab” star shared that she “got on top of” her symptoms, “only to realize that most women don’t.”
“They just go through it, and it’s like, ‘Oh, hell no,'” she added.
According to Victoria, women can request a “full blood panel” from their doctor to check their hormone levels.
“Let’s see where your levels are. Let’s get you on this much estrogen, progesterone. Let’s try a little like testosterone,” she explained. “Let’s try some peptides. I have bruises all over my stomach. I’m a peptide [expletive]. I’ve been doing peptides for 5 years before anyone knew what a peptide was and it’s been a saving grace for me for everything from back issues to like brain fog to muscle tone and all that. I love all that stuff, but being proactive is the most important part. Most important part.”
Alison Victoria Gushed About Partner Brandt Andersen
Victoria went on to give credit to her longtime boyfriend Brandt Andersen for his support throughout her menopause journey.
“But what I love about my partner is he was like, ‘Let me find out more,'” she explained. “He started asking his doctor about menopause. Like, ‘What is this? What’s she going through? What’s happening with her?’ Like so curious. Instead of just going, ‘Well, she’s batshit crazy. Yeah, I’m leaving her.'”
The “Battle on the Beach” alum hopes to be through the darkest part of her menopause journey.
“I can see why a lot of women going through menopause get divorced. I can see why the statistics show that there’s a lot of suicide happening with women going through menopause,” she said. “My one bout, which I hope is over. I hope I don’t go through this again. But that moment where my hormones crashed, I did not want to wake up. I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t care about anything. I was in Paris when this happened, which is my favorite place on Earth. My boyfriend brought me there as a surprise for my birthday. And I was like a zombie.”
