Menopause, it is often the unspoken span of life that women don't like to talk about and that men run away from screaming. I am starting the joy of menopause and wanted to share some things that I am learning and that I have learned from others. I have had read some articles and books about menopause and in several of them the women thought they were going crazy, now that I am starting to go through it, I can understand that feeling.
I realized that I was starting to go through menopause when our oldest son was getting married. So the first lesson I learned was that menopause shows up when you don't want it to. When I figured out that I was going through menopause I started asking older women how they went through it. I first asked my mom, she basically had no symptoms, so she did not count. Then I found out a lot of my older friends cheated and had hysterectomies and went on hormones, so they did not count either. A lot of older women also had hormones (before it was found out that they cause cancer), so that did not count either.
I found a great Christian book called 'Hot Flashes From Heaven'. I read it quickly and I laughed and I cried through the book. The book begins with the fact that this woman has been to several doctors and can't figure out what is wrong with her, she finally stumbles on to a doctor who says let's see if you are going through menopause and that is what was 'wrong' with her. She has several insights into menopause and helpful hints. It was a good book to get me started going through this stage of my life. The one thing she kept going back to was the fact that even though she often did not feel it, she knew and reminded herself that God truly loved her even as she was going through this phase of her life.
As I have been going through this and have talked to other women about it I realized along with menopause comes a lower tolerance level. Things that used to not bother me, bother me. I don't think it is all bad, but I do have to watch myself when I am put in certain situations. I am less easy going and a little bit more outspoken than I used to be.
With my own personal research (which compiles of me asking my friends and family members) I have found several symptoms of menopause that are lightly touched upon, but really can impact a woman's life. I have a friend who itched. She said her skin felt creepy crawly and just constantly itched. It was not an itching from the outside, it was an itching from the inside (not the dry skin that is talked about in books for menopause). She just had to suffer through it. When I told my doctor (who is a female) that I thought I was starting to go through menopause, she laughed and said enjoy the ride. She said she did not know what was happening to her, all of a sudden she would get dizzy, and she did not realize that it was menopause. I have another friend who told me that when she started going through menopause that she picked up her daughter from school and was going to take her to swimming lessons, half way there she forgot how to get there. She had been driving her daughter to swimming lessons for over 7 years and she said her mind just went blank. She called her husband and said she did not know how to get her daughter to her swimming lessons. No wonder women used to go to mental hospitals when they started going through menopause.
Some of my symptoms are lower tolerance, feeling anxious, dizziness, dry skin,memory loss (all of a sudden my mind goes blank and I can't remember names) and lately hot flashes. One of the first things I did when I figured out that I was going through menopause was I went to my doctor and got a complete physical. I did it more for my sanity than for any real concerns about my health. I have had this body for over 47 years and I knew how it worked and now all of a sudden I don't understand it at all. Some of my symptoms I just have to laugh through, and others I can do practical things to help. I have cut down on my caffeine on days that I work (and drive). Sometimes I will be sitting at a stoplight and it will feel like my car is going backwards when it isn't. Caffeine can increase dizziness and anxiety. Hot flashes are becoming worse for me. I have gotten a few tips that help. My Aunt Judy told me to keep an extra pillow on the floor so when I get a hot flash at night I can switch out the pillows, I have found that it really does help. I also keep a blanket on the floor because sometimes I get cold flashes too, often times after hot flashes. One of my friends told me that she noticed that her hot flashes were worse on the months that she did not have her periods. I thought that was an interesting. Just realizing and knowing that these are symptoms of menopause helps. If I forget someones name, I don't freak out, I just remind myself that this is menopause.
Talking to friends that have been through the other side I have found out that I will not be who I was before menopause, but its OK. I will cry a bit easier, and I have found that even now I laugh a bit easier too. I will not be able to multi-task like I used to. I will still be me, but maybe a bit gentler version of me in the end.
I hope this helps for any of you going through this and for those of you who have gone through it, it may give you a good laugh.
Blessings
