By COURTNEY REISSIG
The bright red numbers on the clock taunted me just as they had every night that week. 3:30 a.m. It is not an hour that anyone should be wide awake. But I was, again. For months I had faced sleepless nights, fatigued days, and unpredictable emotions. And that’s not even counting the hot flashes and many other side effects of menopause. But I was only 29. Women in their late-20s are supposed to be busy, productive, and alive, not lethargic and weepy. Yet here I was forced to deal with my medically induced limitations, all in an attempt to preserve my fertility. Frustration and discouragement washed over me as I struggled to catch a few moments of sleep before my alarm woke me at the crack of dawn.