What Is Your Body Telling You?

Forty-seven-year-old Lawana says her perimenopausal symptoms have made her dependent on caffeine and medication. "I really feel like that I've gone through a lot of changes in the last year. I used to never be a coffee drinker. Ever. And now all of a sudden it's become a way of life for me."

Among the pills Lawana takes during her morning routine are blood pressure and weight loss medication. "I've got a variety of things that I've thought to try for weight, because in the last year I feel like my weight just keeps going up and up and up—no matter what I do."

Lawana also takes an anti-depressant. "My daughters have called it my anti-bitch pill," she says. "But here I am at 47, and if I didn't have these little pills right here, I guess I would fall apart."