OK listen. I don't know you (hi! I signed up like a week ago and am happy to be here!). Unsolicited advice is annoying. But I think women talking to other women is the way we get out of this menopause morass we're currently in. So here goes: there is a big link between vasomotor symptoms and heart disease, and heart disease is the number one killer of women, more than all other cancers combined. Impaired sleep is also not great for your brain. (I ghost write healthbooks, I've talked to many many menopause certified doctors.) You may think your symptoms are manageable but they can last up to 10 years. Also, estrogen loss is not great for bones. There is no shame in hormone therapy. I have been on it for a year now, after suffering through perimenopause and early menopause for about 5 years with nada and it is a fucking dream come true. I sleep. I'm building muscle. I'm no longer gaining weight. It is very low dose, the hormones are bioidentical now (not from pregnant mare's urine, for example), and they will have to pry them out of my cold dead hands. Just saying--don't rule it out. Yes there are some contraindications but fewer than you think. You need a hormone savvy doctor who can help you assess your personal risk, but their biggest guide is quality of life. There are also a lot of options--some anti-depressants are FDA approved to help with hot flashes. The mirena could provide birth control and some progesterone. You maybe only need a little estrogen the week before your period if you're still cycling regularly. But you don't need to suffer. Signed, a 53 year old women who celebrated her menopause birthday in 2020 when she was locked up in a house with a 13 year old girl who was getting her period for the first time, with no hormones.
A good laugh--or several--to start my day! Thanks, Jane.
By way of misery and company, my dear friend, Judy once drove to her doctor's office without an appointment, burst through the door and announced, "YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME!" And another friend's "flushes" turned her into a giant thermometer... really. You could see the blood starting at her neck and moving in a horizontal line up her face. We always worried that when it got to the top, her head would explode. It didn't. Great work on the shoes, too, and I'm not sure about the guitar, but the hat is right outta BURLESQUE! Christina Aguilera should've looked so good.
Unrelated to this newsletter (which was fabulous), I saw The Society of Shame at my favorite local Cincinnati bookstore this week (The Bookery) and it was OUTWARD FACING. WOOT WOOT. Go you! I should have been thoughtful and taken a picture and then tagged you (and the nice bookstore) ... but I always hesitate to take pictures of books in bookstores in case they think I'm going to go home and buy that book on Amazon for $3 cheaper. Just me? Anyway, sorry I didn't snap the pic. But it felt like a celebrity sighting! Congrats on being famous in Cincinnati. You've arrived.
I never had children, which I think made me resent the whole hot flash thing with a tad more vengeance than many other women, but it sucks. Like, seriously, royally sucks. I sweated so much during perimenopause and menopause that I should have hired myself out to drought-stricken countries as a reliable source of, well... not quite water. Night sweats were the worst and it's a wonder there was any moisture left in my body every morning. But we humans are adaptable, right?
Enter the awesome retro tabletop fan that has been on my nightstand for the last 20 years. I still use it, even though I only rarely have very mild hot flashes these days (I'm 65 now). Another adaptation was sleeping on a towel so that when the inevitable night sweats happened, it didn't ruin the rest of the night after I'd changed my jammies and flipped the pillow over. The final one was wearing only natural fibers against my body. Even all these years later, I start to sweat when I put on a polyester top. It's like flipping a bloody switch.
By the way... I love your writing and sincerely hope you get through all this sh*t faster than I did. I also hope you don't have friends or a mother who love to tell you (over and freaking over again) that they only had <insert absurdly small number here> hot flashes. If you do know women like that, I suggest you only speak with them over the phone because having someone tell you how easy it was for them when you're sleep-deprived is a great way to end up wearing an orange jumpsuit. I don't know about you, but I look like crap in orange.
I love all your posts - so many make me laugh out loud -
But this one truly resonated. Being a few years older, I promise it gets better. Also check out a brand called Bonafide. They have lots of homeopathic products for menopause. Relizen for night sweats.
I'm sorry about your temperature fluctuations. I am mostly freezing since menopause, and also wake up either steaming or freezing in the middle of the night. Sucks to be us! Those shoes though. Good for you.
Great post Jane. It hit the nail on the head. But what really grabbed me was how many of us share that awful feeling in the pit of our stomach, that sense of dread, almost like if you were about to upchuck. Add menopause. How do you survive? The only way you know how to do it so well: humor!.
My best to Moock and kisses for the girls. Hang in there!
Mine lasted 7 years. Then I was done! They were gone! Then I got some pesky cancer, which is also now gone but the anti-cancer drug I'm on put me right back into the HOT territory at night (for the next 5 years!). What fresh hell is this? ;-)
OK listen. I don't know you (hi! I signed up like a week ago and am happy to be here!). Unsolicited advice is annoying. But I think women talking to other women is the way we get out of this menopause morass we're currently in. So here goes: there is a big link between vasomotor symptoms and heart disease, and heart disease is the number one killer of women, more than all other cancers combined. Impaired sleep is also not great for your brain. (I ghost write healthbooks, I've talked to many many menopause certified doctors.) You may think your symptoms are manageable but they can last up to 10 years. Also, estrogen loss is not great for bones. There is no shame in hormone therapy. I have been on it for a year now, after suffering through perimenopause and early menopause for about 5 years with nada and it is a fucking dream come true. I sleep. I'm building muscle. I'm no longer gaining weight. It is very low dose, the hormones are bioidentical now (not from pregnant mare's urine, for example), and they will have to pry them out of my cold dead hands. Just saying--don't rule it out. Yes there are some contraindications but fewer than you think. You need a hormone savvy doctor who can help you assess your personal risk, but their biggest guide is quality of life. There are also a lot of options--some anti-depressants are FDA approved to help with hot flashes. The mirena could provide birth control and some progesterone. You maybe only need a little estrogen the week before your period if you're still cycling regularly. But you don't need to suffer. Signed, a 53 year old women who celebrated her menopause birthday in 2020 when she was locked up in a house with a 13 year old girl who was getting her period for the first time, with no hormones.
A good laugh--or several--to start my day! Thanks, Jane.
By way of misery and company, my dear friend, Judy once drove to her doctor's office without an appointment, burst through the door and announced, "YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME!" And another friend's "flushes" turned her into a giant thermometer... really. You could see the blood starting at her neck and moving in a horizontal line up her face. We always worried that when it got to the top, her head would explode. It didn't. Great work on the shoes, too, and I'm not sure about the guitar, but the hat is right outta BURLESQUE! Christina Aguilera should've looked so good.
p.s. love the shoes! nice score
Unrelated to this newsletter (which was fabulous), I saw The Society of Shame at my favorite local Cincinnati bookstore this week (The Bookery) and it was OUTWARD FACING. WOOT WOOT. Go you! I should have been thoughtful and taken a picture and then tagged you (and the nice bookstore) ... but I always hesitate to take pictures of books in bookstores in case they think I'm going to go home and buy that book on Amazon for $3 cheaper. Just me? Anyway, sorry I didn't snap the pic. But it felt like a celebrity sighting! Congrats on being famous in Cincinnati. You've arrived.
I never had children, which I think made me resent the whole hot flash thing with a tad more vengeance than many other women, but it sucks. Like, seriously, royally sucks. I sweated so much during perimenopause and menopause that I should have hired myself out to drought-stricken countries as a reliable source of, well... not quite water. Night sweats were the worst and it's a wonder there was any moisture left in my body every morning. But we humans are adaptable, right?
Enter the awesome retro tabletop fan that has been on my nightstand for the last 20 years. I still use it, even though I only rarely have very mild hot flashes these days (I'm 65 now). Another adaptation was sleeping on a towel so that when the inevitable night sweats happened, it didn't ruin the rest of the night after I'd changed my jammies and flipped the pillow over. The final one was wearing only natural fibers against my body. Even all these years later, I start to sweat when I put on a polyester top. It's like flipping a bloody switch.
By the way... I love your writing and sincerely hope you get through all this sh*t faster than I did. I also hope you don't have friends or a mother who love to tell you (over and freaking over again) that they only had <insert absurdly small number here> hot flashes. If you do know women like that, I suggest you only speak with them over the phone because having someone tell you how easy it was for them when you're sleep-deprived is a great way to end up wearing an orange jumpsuit. I don't know about you, but I look like crap in orange.
Hands down, one of the best posts that I've read on hotflashes!! Thank you for the laughs and so happy you found the shoes at a decent price! : )
I love all your posts - so many make me laugh out loud -
But this one truly resonated. Being a few years older, I promise it gets better. Also check out a brand called Bonafide. They have lots of homeopathic products for menopause. Relizen for night sweats.
Nice! I’m putting the Sicilian Inheritance on my list! 🇮🇹🕶️☀️🍷
I'm sorry about your temperature fluctuations. I am mostly freezing since menopause, and also wake up either steaming or freezing in the middle of the night. Sucks to be us! Those shoes though. Good for you.
Great post Jane. It hit the nail on the head. But what really grabbed me was how many of us share that awful feeling in the pit of our stomach, that sense of dread, almost like if you were about to upchuck. Add menopause. How do you survive? The only way you know how to do it so well: humor!.
My best to Moock and kisses for the girls. Hang in there!
Mine lasted 7 years. Then I was done! They were gone! Then I got some pesky cancer, which is also now gone but the anti-cancer drug I'm on put me right back into the HOT territory at night (for the next 5 years!). What fresh hell is this? ;-)