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Sometime in my 40s, I started waking up with pain in my fingers. The joints ached, and I had to negotiate with them first thing in the morning before they would fully straighten. It wasn’t just my fingers. My back carried a dull, persistent ache when I got out of bed, and my ankles felt… less trustworthy. Those days of bounding down the stairs two steps at a time? Gone.Now I reached for the handrail and descended carefully — and, uncomfortably, images of my grandmother flash

Okay—picture this. I’m standing in the grocery store with my arms crossed over my chest. Slowly, I start swaying left to right, arms still folded. I glance over my shoulder to make sure no one is watching. To an outsider, it probably looked like I was rocking myself, deeply unsettled by something in the frozen food aisle. A woman confidently stands with arms crossed in the freezer aisle, amidst the neatly organized frozen goods. This photo was generated by AI. A dance move?

The other day, I was absently feeling my arm when I noticed a firmness along the upper, outer side. I pressed on it. Still there. I flexed my elbow, and the firmness became even more pronounced. What was this foreign mass in my body? Cancer? Abscess? Hematoma? Nope.It was my deltoid. A vibrant pop art style illustration of a confident woman displaying her deltoid muscle, showcasing strength and elegance with bold colors and striking features. When I was in elementary school

What is it? Progesterone is a steroid hormone made in the adrenal glands, the ovaries (and the testes in men), and—during pregnancy—the placenta. After ovulation each month, the ovary releases progesterone to prepare the uterus for a possible pregnancy. If the egg is fertilized, the placenta eventually takes over progesterone production. If not, progesterone levels fall… and your period begins. Structural representation of progesterone, a steroid hormone with the chemical for