Fair Warning: These entries will only interest the over-40 and female crowd or quite possibility a forward thinking husband interested in what is happening inside the mind of the average female.
I have spent the better part of my 40's trying to figure out - or maybe outsmart - my body. I've also spent that time totally pissed off that my body would simply betray me. I've been horrified by the undeniable conclusion that I'm not 25 anymore. Imagine that!
Why the hell don't they warn you about this! I have read nearly every medical journal, women's magazine, alternative and holistic, that has anything to say about perimenopause and menopause. I've tried nearly every health supplement, yoga position, exercise and a number of prescribed medicines.
My symptoms are typical: insomnia, migraines, irritability (or rather, outright bitchiness), digestive distress (IBS), and power surges. It's sapped my energy, my creativity, and my patience.
Here's what I discovered.
It really doesn't matter what you do. You're going to go through that change with or without symptoms no matter what you do. If you take a pill, you'll likely bring on some other symptom. So forget the majority of the supplements, the funky yoga positions just for menopause, and the outlandish diets (like Adkins).
Save yourself all that reading and research time. I have figured it out.
Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you're not.
Eat the chocolates, even the french fries! Just don't be a pig. A couple of bites is enough! Really!
Sleep when you need to. Stay busy - that is, active - when you don't.
Take a quality multi-vitamin.
Don't smoke and don't drink too much.
Write your old friends. Have lunch with your girlfriends. Get a massage. Train a puppy. Dig a garden. Make love to your husband. Tell your kids that you love them every day. Decide to be happy. Flirt with cute men. Say thank you when they hold the door open for you. Oh, and stand up straight.
Forget the skinny models in the magazines. In fact, cancel your subscriptions.
Forget the psycho's in the work world who tell you to climb that ladder or you will amount to a nobody. Don't let them decide your worth.
Throw out all your diet books. Get out the good recipes and make those delicious meals more often. While you're at it, get out the china once a week. What's the point of it being put away?
Mean people suck, so don't give them the time of day.
Trust your instincts. (God is talking to you, so listen for a change!)
Mostly just quit working so hard at avoiding what naturally will/should/must happen. It will just wear you out and bum you out. Then you won't have time or the interest for gardening, or that afternoon quicky.
Okay, 50. I'm ready.
Glad to see you back, Frankie! Fortunately, I was so enthralled in my work and life that menopause was relatively easy for me. Yes, I got the power surges (I've commented, before, that my first hot flash occurred during a working meeting at which I was the only woman--and I was nearly convinced that I was having a heart attack! F-u-n-n-y!), and a type of migraine to which I had not previously been subject became the bane of my existence; but, I was spared much of the angst.
Good for you in figuring out how to get through all of that. Graceful aging is the word for what you have decided to persue and, unlike some women I guess, I highly recommend your path. Now, put your head forward (imagine that you have horns atop your head), and take that running start at 50!
I'm not quite there yet, but I love your perspective on it! Definitally taking notes (it's not that far away...)
(Whispering--I'm pretty close to starting a run toward 70!!)
I can't tell you how happy I am to hear you take this stand! It's much better to be doing things you enjoy, than worring about things you can't change. I know a lot of women rail at reaching menopause, but I like Dear Husband's point of view....NOT reaching is much worse.
As your older sister, I'd like to reinforce just one thing.....STAND UP STRAIGHT!! *G*
I can't wait to see the other installments in this series of posts!
Great post, Nan. Most important point of all is your final point --- no, no, no. Not the quickie (heaven forbid??), the gardening.
My mother sailed through all this stuff pretty much the way you suggested. No hormone therapy, or artificial compensations for the aging process. But one thing she did stress was the benefits of gardening. And believe it or not, I actually read somewhere that there are magical things in garden dirt that do fool your body into thinking it is getting hormone replacements.
Roberta--And I thought that stuff in the dirt was horse manure! (I couldn't help making this observation since the source of estrogen replacement medications is a pregnant mare. Or, at least if my mind isn't fooling me, it was at one time, at least.)
You guys are killing me! What a comedy routine - I was laughing myself silly! You're right about the horse pee - Premarin - but I'm not sure it is still used. Seems like there were some deliterious side effects.
Hey! If you can't have instant peace, you might be able to find something to make you guffaw, occasionally. It's just about as good! ; )