Is it just me or is it hot in here?

[residualheat]

A thread for me, and anyone else who wants to, to complain about the menopause.

I'm sick of roiling hormones. Too hot, too cold, dizzy, can't remember stuff, emotional, bloated stomach, skin's gone weird, hair everywhere.

Bleagh 

I've had enough. How long is this going to go on for?!!!?

[DoomNymph]

Awww.  (((RH)))

I'm not there yet, but having just gone through my period, I was asking when will *that* end.  I get the most painful cramps and have had them all my life.  Looks like there's not much better to look forward to.

Hang in there.  It'll get better, eventually.

[residualheat]

Thanks DoomNymph 

I get cramps as well and it's crap and I've already had 12 periods this year so it's crapper than ever.

God...38 years of periods and now this.

I'm sick of it. I want a stand-by button.

[Dasha]

This is what 'twin sets' were designed for. I spend the day taking off and putting on a sweater over a t-shirt. Off. On. Off. On. Repeat. I do it with socks too.

A friend of mine was on a neighbouring island the other day and saw a whole bunch of women of a certain age wearing t-shirts with the word CRAFT written on them. She asked what that was about and someone told her it stands for 'Can't Remember A F**cking Thing'. Hah!

Other than the hot/cold/no memory thing... doing okay.

[residualheat]

How long has it been for you, Dasha?

I've had the sweats for about three years and the other stuff really kicked off about a year ago. I've heard that for some women it can last for like ten years before everything settles again, which is not a cheerful thought.

[Dasha]

Well if memory serves me correctly (and it rarely does these days), I've been doing the hot/cold thing for about four years. It was really occasionally at first but now as I said it's fairly constant throughout the day. But it's really not that bad - nothing that can't be helped by putting a sweater on and off and every so often taking off most of my clothes and standing on the deck.

It's starting to get pretty cold in the house at night and my husband asks every night if we should start a fire in the woodstove. I say, well, if you want me stay in the house - gee no.

I consider myself lucky - some women I know get these sweating fits that are just deadly. But talking about it with them - it might be about stress too. You know, the anxiety that there must be in wearing a power suit in a meeting knowing at any time that you just might go beet red and start dripping. I wouldn't know - about the power suit that is.

It's hard to know when you actually go through menopause - it's such a process. My mom says that she did at 55 (I'm 54 so I guess right on target) but what does that mean exactly? Last period? First hot flash? Hmmmm

It's been over a year since I've had a period. I have to say that I feel somewhat sad about that, like it's the end of an era. Almost the same way that I felt when my youngest daughter stopped nursing... like I'll never do that again. Ah well.

[residualheat]

I can see viewing as the end of an era, but I certainly won't miss the end of the stomach cramps.

I don't have any female relations to ask, so don't know what to expect in terms of when 'it' will happen. Menopause is when you have your last period, the bit leading up to it is perimenopause.

The sweats don't bother me if I'm up and about, they're certainly handy for staying warm in winter, it's the night time ones that are difficult. We turned the mattress the other day and my side was actually damp underneath. It isn't like we don't turn it regularly, but it's going to need a lot more airing if I sweat that much.

[DoomNymph]

Just line your side of the bed with ShamWows.  That will take care of that problem.   

[zenobia]

I'm in the beginning, but not hot/cold flashes yet.  Had the insomnia a couple of years ago, which I never hope to repeat.  Getting thick around the middle, but that could be sheer laziness on my part - should go away next summer when I am outside all the time.

And I am glad I am over baby lust.  Now I can look forward to being a granny.

[Dasha]

I've read that the extra 15 or so pounds that women tend to put on during menopause is our bodies' natural reaction to less estrogen. And that the fat actually protects you from the symptoms associated with less estrogen. It makes sense, really. I've been a pretty constant weight my whole adult life, except for pregnancies. But now I've got these extra pounds that I just don't recognize. And it's not like I don't know how they happened - I CRAVE sweet and salty food like there's no tomorrow. I'm just going with the whole flow of it - my husband sure doesn't care what I weigh and I'll just get some new bigger clothes at the thrift store. Hopefully I won't need to eat the entire contents of the fridge forever...

[pamela]

A thread for me, and anyone else who wants to, to complain about the menopause.

I'm sick of roiling hormones. Too hot, too cold, dizzy, can't remember stuff, emotional, bloated stomach, skin's gone weird, hair everywhere.

Bleagh 

I've had enough. How long is this going to go on for?!!!?

LOL
I hear you sister girl!
good God almighty, I thought they were going to kill me there for awhile. Especially in the wintertime when my glasses would fog up!
They are fewer and farther between now, it gets better as it goes along.

[cygnus]

If you are a woman, estrogen is linked to a huge number of other things.  It's linked to seratonin production and uptake, it's even linked to hormones that help you maintain your blood sugar levels.   Once you start menopause, you need to keep a very close eye on everything.  Have comprehensive bloodwork done twice a year. 

I had a hysterectomy about three years ago and lost my ovaries then, too.  (We had assumed I would keep them, but the huge tumors I had basically crushed them to goo, so the doc took them out.)  I was on artificial hormones for a while to fend off instant menopause, but I apparently don't absorb them well.  So after taking four different kinds, and a after a couple of years dealing with all the side effects and getting practically none of the benefits, I stopped taking them and let nature take its course. 

The first thing that happened is I stopped sleeping very well at night due to lack of seratonin/melatonin production and regulation.  I was waking up every hour and a half or two hours all night long.  Second thing is, I gained a fair bit of extra weight around the middle.  Then, after a lifetime of normal blood sugar levels, I quite rapidly and without any fanfare became Type II diabetic.  I have been fighting since spring to get the diabetes under control, and I have finally managed it.   Ultra low carb diet, exercise, stress reduction, vitamins and supplements and some weight loss are what I'm using to help me get to that point.  I am also currently on a low dose of metformin (took over 100 points off my fasting glucose level with the other stuff alone, but couldn't quite shake those last few points on the meter without a little help) but I am trying to get to the point where I can wean off of that as soon as possible.  We'll see if I am able to manage it.  For the seratonin problems, I'm taking 5HTP, extra magnesium and potassium, and some other good multivitamins.  After several years of hell (beginning from the time the tumors started to bleed me white) I can now say I feel better than I have in years.   I still get hot flashes now and then, but the other more serious stuff is under control. 

No one ever warned me these things I just mentioned could happen with menopause, so I'm passing the hard-won knowledge along.  Keep an eye on your other hormones/endocrine functions, and don't let something bad sneak up on you while you're going through this. 

[pamela]

I love a little piece of candy now and  then, but when I eat it, or a lot of meat, I'll get hot flashes.
do you experience that?
do you find the hot flashes linked to something in your diet?

[golddust]

I'm nowhere near menopause and I get hot flashes with PMS. 70F in the house and I'm freezing. We get it to 78F and 10 minutes later I'm running outside in 30F weather wearing shorts and a tank top trying to get some air because I'm burning up. Repeat for about 7-8 days.

Absolutely cruel.

[Dasha]

I love a little piece of candy now and  then

Pamela... a little piece of candy? I'm liable to eat an entire BAG of candies.   Can I have some of your willpower?